Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., June 07, 2009 Sivan 15, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:59 (EST+7)
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Obama sweeps Egypt
By Avi Issacharoff

CAIRO - The moment everyone was waiting for came at 1:09 P.M., when the announcer said, in true Hollywood spirit, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the president of the United States." The curtain rose and Barack Obama waved. The audience - Muslims and Christians, ambassadors (including Israeli ambassador Shalom Cohen), parliamentarians, ministers, students and even Egyptian movie stars - stood up and cheered as though Obama were a football star entering a stadium.

Confident and charismatic as ever, Obama laid out his vision. The words sounded familiar, but the melody was totally new to Muslim ears and full of hope for believers of all three religions. He quoted the Koran and did not attack Hamas, Iran or Hezbollah. He promised that American forces would withdraw from Iraq by 2012 and that Israel would stop construction in the settlements.
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In one sense, Obama did what was expected of him: He infused hope into people's hearts. His optimism permeated the audience. For a moment, it seemed that world peace was not just a slogan for beauty queens, but an achievable ideal.

After the reception at the airport, Obama met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at Kuba Palace in Cairo. But Mubarak did not accompany Obama to the university, to avoid attending an event together with opposition representatives.

Obama opened with the greeting "salaam aleikum" in Arabic and immediately received a storm of applause. He spoke at length about the glories of Islam since the dawn of its history, relieving Muslims' concerns about America's attitude toward them.

"I've come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims," he said. "As the Holy Koran tells us ... 'speak always the truth.' That is what I will try to do."

After praising Islam and attacking al-Qaida, he moved on to the most charged issue as far as his audience was concerned - the Palestinians.

He spoke of the Palestinians' suffering and humiliation for 60 years. When he said "America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspirations for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own," he was applauded at length, and again when he said the settlements must stop. At 2:05 P.M., he ended with another call for a new beginning in relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world.

But not everyone was enthusiastic about the speech. "We heard this at Annapolis and Madrid," said parliament member Nabil Beblawi. "We need action. If the speech isn't followed by action, it will end up in the wastebasket."

"I thought he'd say something real about the Palestinians and Gaza, but he didn't," said student Ala Mustafa.

"It wasn't up to our expectations, or the media's," added her friend, Ahmad Yanai.
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