Egyptian counter-terrorism specialist argues that not selling weapons to Israel is antisemitic

• Published date: 06 April 2024
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Hassan in his Thursday post states that both the UK and US would have to stop "selling arms to every single military on Earth" if these countries stopped selling weapons to militaries who accidentally killed civilians. He further points out that if those countries were required to stop selling weapons to armies after such incidents, then they "would stop manufacturing or buying arms for OUR OWN military, which has repeatedly killed civilians by mistake in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and elsewhere."

In his post, Hassan says that this argument "has nothing to do with decency, justice or international law." He continues to state that when such incidents occur elsewhere, they are not as harshly condemned as they relate to Israel. Hassan then begins to list the "numerous examples of similar accidents in war zones," emphasizing that he also has knowledge of past similar incidents.

Calling out the confusion between real concerns and Islamophobia

In 2022 Hassan wrote an opinion piece on The Jerusalem Post website discussing a vote "to censure JNF UK over reported anti-Muslim remarks made by its senior leadership." In his article, Hassan explains that "whilst there are thousands of law-abiding British-Muslims who continue to enormously contribute to British society … our current immigration system is incapable of separating the wheat from the chaff, making immigration from countries where antisemitism is at the core of the collective identity a threat to British Jewry."

Hassan highlighted the case of Moataz Matar, a radical Islamist broadcaster with a history of antisemitism, who was allowed entry into the UK despite his public support for Hamas and its terrorist activities, which violate UK terrorism laws. He then expresses puzzlement over this decision, stating, "It is mystifying why our security and immigration officials granted entry to a prominent Islamist radical who promotes antisemitism."

Hassan further stressed his concerns about Matar's potential to fuel antisemitism in the UK, fearing that he may be present at antisemitic events, as...