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Frontrunner Moussa Would Honor Camp David

Also the lyrics to ‘I Hate Israel and I Love Amr Moussa’

by
Marc Tracy
March 09, 2011
Amr Moussa last October.(Henning Schacht-Pool/Getty Images)
Amr Moussa last October.(Henning Schacht-Pool/Getty Images)

Amr Moussa, 74, once Hosni Mubarak’s foreign minister and more recently the head of the Arab League, is the presumptive front-runner in Egypt’s nascent presidential campaign (election tentatively scheduled for August, though don’t hold your breath). “He’s popular,” Samer Shehata told me. “He was seen as an eloquent, articulate, forceful, independent foreign minister who held his own against international diplomats, including U.S. officials, and as a champion of Arab causes, including the Palestinian cause and Arab rights generally.” Remember how, in the early days of the protests, Mohammed ElBaradei was seen as the establishment leader who might gain the votes of the predominantly young protesters, but then it quickly became clear that ElBaradei has about half the charisma of a pencil? Well, Moussa actually is that guy (unless his association with the Mubarak regime is too much of a problem).

So what is Moussa’s take on the Camp David treaty? He says that if president he would keep it in place. Dealing with Israel, he told one (angry) town hall, is a just a fact.

Meanwhile, Moussa may not hate Israel, but one of the biggest Egyptian pop songs is actually titled, “I Hate Israel and I Love Amr Moussa.” The song was popularized a decade ago by Shaaban Abdel Rehim, the gorgeous Egyptian pop idol 300-pound Egyptian pop idol. Of course, while the song proclaims its love for Amr Moussa, it also does so for Hosni Mubarak. Dated! Translated lyrics, and fairly troubling YouTube, after the jump.

I hate Israel
And I’ll say it if I’m asked
Even if I get murdered
Or thrown in jail
I love Hosni Mubarak
Because his mind is broad
If he takes a step
He weighs it with his conscience
I hate Israel
Because it adores destruction
And hates development
I love Yasser Arafat
He’s very dear to me
The Egyptian people are mourning
The tears are running
I hate Israel
And Shimon and Sharon
I love Amr Moussa
Because his words are balanced
What’s the guilt of the children
Who die every day?
People carrying weapons
And people carrying sticks
I hate Israel
And all of us do
We’re all angry
It’s Jerusalem we care about
When Aldura died
The president was in mourning
And they said it in the newspaper:
Who’s consenting to this oppression?
I hate Israel
And I hate Ehud Barak
Because he’s a dullard
And the people all hate him
Egypt has always been rational
And can bear a lot
But when we became enraged
We withdrew our ambassador
I hate Israel
And ask the blood of the martyrs
And ask the ones who crossed
In that glorious October
I hate Israel
Because of South Lebanon
And Jerusalem and Iraq
And Syria and Golan

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.