Prominent Egyptian academic Saad Eddin Ibrahim has come under fire for attending an international conference in Israel where he gave a lecture on Egypt and Egyptian-Israeli relations, with students calling him a “traitor” for legitimizing the normalization of relations between the two countries. The 71-year old sociologist is known for being in favor of Egypt having a constructive and open relationship with Israel, a view that has been widely condemned in Egypt and the Arab world. In an interview with Israeli TV, Ibrahim said that he has visited Israel three times in the past 20 years. Some 20 Arab students attending Ibrahim’s lecture held at Tel Aviv University tarted heckling him, chanting “long live the Palestinian struggle” and “traitor, shame one you.” “You gave up on your nationalism, you traitor. You’re working for normalization and are selling out the Egyptian people and the entire Arab world. It’s a disgrace. The people of Egypt renounce you and people like you,” they went on. Ibrahim noted that what the Arab Students did was “witty” because they were against him for delivering a talk in the university while they receive their education at the…
