In response to the announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,[1] journalist Ashraf Sadeq wrote an article in the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram in which he called upon all terror organizations, including ISIS and the Houthis, who "bomb women, children and unarmed people around the world" to stop playing in the "local court" and move up to "the professionals' court" by directing their terror at Israeli and American targets. In the column, which is sarcastic in tone and titled "Extremist Crack Team – Jerusalem Awaits You," he advised the terrorists to carry out bombings on the Jewish holidays and kill "thousands and millions," rather than only dozens or hundreds. He promised them that, this time, everyone will support their actions, because "there is no argument that Israel and America are the enemies."
Addressing Arab politicians, he urged them to expel the American ambassadors from the Arab states and recall the Arab ambassadors from the U.S., stating that such firm action will restore Jerusalem and Palestinian to the Arabs.
In a post on his Facebook page, Sadeq linked and referred to this article, writing: "After Trump's decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem, there is no doubt as to who our enemy is, and therefore each and every one of us must oppose [his move]. That is why I demanded, in an article I published in Al-Ahram on Wednesday, December 13, to form a crack team of extremists that will carry out attacks over there instead of [engaging in] the easy game of carrying out suicide bombings in mosques and churches.[2]
Sadeq's Facebook post
The following are excerpts from Sadeq's article.
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"Following the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognize it as the capital of Israel, we must seek out-of-the-box solutions to deter the U.S. and Israel, setting aside our intra-Arab disagreements and working as one to liberate Jerusalem.
"First of all, I call to establish a crack team of extremists that will include ISIS, Hamas, the Hazemoun [movement],[3] [Ansar] Beit Al-Maqdis, the Takfir Wal-Hijra [organization],[4] if it still exists, [the Malian jihad group] Nusrat Al-Islam, the Houthis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and others who believe in violence and [know how to] convince ignorant people to blow up mosques, churches and anything else they can get their hands on, including military and police checkpoints, Christian workers in Libya, Yazidi women in Syria, peaceful Bahais in Egypt, and the like. Let us urge them all to embark on jihad, which they love so much and regard as the only religious duty in life as they sacrifice their souls perpetrating bombings.
"This time it is simple and easy, for there is no argument that Israel and America are the enemies and that the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem is the target. All of us, myself first and foremost, will support them. I urge [even] our sister Qatar to support them with all its might, as well as Erdogan's Turkey, and all the supporters of terror and terrorists in the world. I call on them to make their blows powerful and painful, killing thousands and millions, not [just] dozens or hundreds as happened in the Al-Arish mosque [in Sinai on November 24, 2017], the Al-Butrousiyya church [in Cairo on December 12, 2016] and in the Al-Qadisin church [in Alexandria on January 1, 2011], and in the streets of Paris, Germany, Belgium, etc. They should time their bombings wisely, as they usually do. After all, the dates of the Jewish holidays are known and can be found on the internet...
"I beseech each and every extremist and say to him: 'Jerusalem is calling you, take care of it wisely and professionally. We are all awaiting your victories. We will applaud you with cries of 'Allah Akbar,' which you like to cry out as you bomb women, children and unarmed people around the world. Oh crack team of extremists, [it's time to] stop playing on the local court and carrying out wretched bombings against civilians, which cause millions to curse you and call you traitors and cowards. Go play in the professionals' court, against strong rivals that have carried out thousands of attacks on your brethren in Palestine, Syria and Egypt and against anyone who has challenged their aggression. Will you do that? Or do you prefer the easy game, with a certain [victory], against women, children and unarmed people?
"As for the know-it-all politicians, we ask them to drop the discourse of rejection, harsh condemnation and protest [of Trump's decision] and take action, for instance by recalling the ambassadors of all Arab states from America and expelling all of its ambassadors from the Arab states, boycotting all American products, closing accounts in American banks, halting all Arab and Muslim investments in the U.S., and stopping the supply of oil to America, Europe and Israel.
"Believe me, if we do this, America will not only help us by restoring Jerusalem [to the Palestinians] and declaring it the capital of Palestine, but will declare its firm intention to remove the state of Israel from the Arab region and transfer it to North Korea."
[1] For other Arab responses to the announcement, see MEMRI 2017 Special Dispatch No.7217, Reactions To U.S. President Trump's Jerusalem Announcement: Hamas, Resistance Axis Call For Violence, Attacks On U.S. Interests; Palestinian Authority, Moderate Arab Countries Express Restrained Condemnation, Hope For Retraction, December 10, 2017; Special Dispatch No.7223, Senior Egyptian Journalist Calls For Jihad Against Israel In Response To Trump's Recognition Of Jerusalem As Its Capital, December 12, 2017; Special Dispatch No.7220, Jordanian Writers Try To Quell Anger At U.S., Warn Against Targeting Americans, December 11, 2017.
[2] Facebook.com/ashraf.sadek.754, December 13, 2017.
[3] An Egyptian Islamist movement founded following the January 2011 revolution, which was responsible for many violent actions. See islamist-movements.com, May 25, 2015.
[4] An Islamist organization founded in Egypt's prisons in the early 1970s.
