In love with the Egyptian people

Yuval Ben-Ami By Yuval Ben-Ami February 11, 2011 | Edit

In love with the Egyptian people

This moment is so strange. I’m sitting here weeping at news I haven’t even thoroughly read yet. There’s no way to treat it rationally, at least not right now. Later will come the time for that. For now, let’s rejoice. Let’s be amazed at the fact that people can topple the dictatorial regime to which they were subjected. Let’s be shocked at how difficult that was. Let’s be awed by how they dealt with this difficulty, by how stubburn and united they have been over the past 18 days.

I’ll make no secret of it. I’m in love with the Egyptian people. A few days ago I took part in a poetry event in their honor, reading “Easter 1916” by Yeats on Tel-Aviv’s Magen David square. One of our foremost poets, the veteran Aharon Shabtai, also read in that event. Prior to venturing into his poem, Shabtai said into the megaphone: “Anyone who’s ever been to Egypt knows that it’s a land of extraordinary people. Anyone who’s been there is bound to love them and root for them.”

This is entirely true. These people are inspiring. They have done everything right. Mubarak has done everything wrong. He didn’t even have the integrity to go out hororably last night. I wouldn’t be surprised if he left tonight with a gun to his forehead. Everyone wanted him to go, from Hilary Clinton to myself to whoever caused him to finally change his mind, everyone except perhaps Binyamin Netanyahu.

Anything can happen now, including the worst. With all the worry voiced here it seems almost “un-Israeli” to voice optimism. Allow me to voice optimism nevertheless. I’m inspired by the Egyptians and have faith in them as I do in all humankind when it stands up to tyranny. Even if things will turn dour now, the sun is sure to rise later, and as it does, the memory of this unique revolution will provide it with inspiration and encouragement.

Yuval Ben-Ami

Yuval Ben-Ami is an author, journalist, traveler and cultural critic. He was born in Jerusalem in 1976 and raised in diverse corners of the country. He traveled Europe extensively in his twenties, working as a musician. He later moved to the United States and began writing for Israeli and international newspapers and magazines, among them Haaretz, Boston Globe, National Geographic (Israel), and Yedioth Aharonot. Since 2004 he has been resettled in Israel, writing the blog Everywhere. His books include "Susanna, Don't You Cry" - a travelogue of the American South, "Finnish Mythology", the novel "I'll meet you Halfway" and two travel books about Israel: "Wonderland" and "A Day on the Town." Yuval Ben-Ami is always on the search for interesting projects.

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