Around 30 years after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the Egyptians have not settled yet the issue of normalization with the Hebrew State, and eventually, the issue has turned into a disagreement between the government and its supporters on one hand, and the opposition and those who reject the peace treaty on the other. The controversy - which surfaced when Hala Mustapha, the chief editor of The Democracy Magazine, received Israeli Ambassador to Cairo Shalom Cohen at her office which is located inside Al-Ahram institution that publishes the [Democracy] magazine, comes within this context. This is not the first time that a current or previous Israeli ambassador steps into the headquarters of the prestigious press institution to meet some of its officials. On the other hand, the political positions espoused by Hala Mustapha are known by the Egyptian political elite, and her meeting with the Israeli ambassador was not surprising. But it seemed obvious that this incident was exploited by various sides to achieve political or factional victories. Every similar incident in the future will continue to be exploited until the Egyptian Press Syndicate settles the issue of normalization with Israel. The General Assembly of the journalists had previously taken a decision that prohibits any normalization steps with the "Zionist entity" until peace is achieved in the Middle East and the Palestinian State is established. Many journalists have openly embarked on normalization steps with Israel and remained unpunished for various reasons. Others attended parties organized by subsequent Israeli ambassadors to Cairo, and their pictures were published in newspapers and magazines. However, they were not exposed to any of the regulations and decisions that ban normalization. The journalists were thus confused and confused others in their interpretation of some of the activities carried out by some of their colleagues, and whether these activities are considered as normalization steps or enter within the framework of career requirements. These activities include traveling to Israel to cover events or escort Egyptian officials. So would these visits be considered as normalization steps or not? Also, what about meeting with Israeli journalists or educated figures in political or cultural events inside Egypt? It is true that the issue goes beyond a mere visit carried out by an Israeli ambassador to an Egyptian press institution – considering that every governmental decision or measure related to Israel is interpreted as a normalization step – just as in the case when the Opera House received an Israeli musician, which entailed a huge campaign against the Cultural Minister Farouq Housni. But it is clear that the entire Egyptian society has not settled a specific definition for normalization. It is no secret that the various social components have started to interpret the world according to their interests or to what harms their opponents. Besides, some government-affiliated bodies resort at times to threatening those who displease them of exposing them publicly by accusing them of dealing with Israel or normalizing their relations with it, knowing that the government itself is normalizing its ties with Israel as it wants, without being questioned by anyone about it. If it were questioned, it does not hesitate to pinpoint the peace treaty that binds Egypt with the Hebew State, and say that the government-affiliated bodies are dealing with Israel, based on the fact that Israel is a country that maintains diplomatic relations with Egypt and the issue is normal. However, the normalization – which is allowed for the government and prohibited for other forces – has become a card raised in the face of some people and used to threaten others, while the relationship with Israel remained unsettled among the Egyptian elite groups. These groups have found themselves sometimes required to overlook the implementation of decisions and regulations on those who practice normalization – who are at the same time the stars of reform programs and human rights organizations and who call for democracy, combat torture in prisons, oppose power inheritance, and support the protestors and demonstrators in front of the syndicates' doors. As for the simple Egyptian citizen, who has figured out that some politicians are manipulating the issue of normalization, he is indifferent towards everyone, in the hope that someone will normalize his life with the difficult and terrible living conditions.
