Against the backdrop of reports about repeated violations of the Camp David Accords by the Egyptian army in Sinai, an army that is growing stronger and building troubling capabilities, alongside tensions between the countries over the Philadelphi Corridor and Egypt’s sweeping opposition to allowing Gazans to enter its territory, the study sought to examine how the Egyptian establishment shapes public consciousness regarding Israel and the Jews.
The study was conducted using advanced artificial-intelligence tools, through an analysis of keywords related to Israel and Zionism, in their various forms, as well as terms referring to the Jewish people.
Expert researchers from the Glazer Information Center at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) analyzed nearly 4,000 opinion columns and commentary pieces from Egypt’s two main state-aligned newspapers: Al-Ahram, the largest and most influential paper in Egypt, and Al-Gomhuria, which is closely associated with the authorities.
The columns were published over a period of 15 months, between January 2024 and March 2025.
The study found that references to Israel are extremely widespread: about 30% of all articles and columns included references to Israel and the examined keywords.
Among the articles that referenced Israel: about 70% carried a “very negative” sentiment; around 12.5% had a negative sentiment; and another roughly 4.5% were classified as “somewhat negative.” In total, about 87% of opinion and commentary pieces dealing with Israel were negative.
In some of these articles, Israel is portrayed as a “colonialist entity,” “the Zionist enemy,” a “cancerous tumor,” and is accused of seeking to expand, dominate the entire region, and expel Palestinians from their land.
It should be noted that only about 12.5% of the articles were classified as neutral, and less than 1% were classified as positive.
In the next stage, the researchers sought to distinguish between criticism of Israel or Zionism and manifestations of antisemitism, such as: denigrating the Jewish religion; using negative stereotypes about Jews (money-loving, treacherous, etc.); blaming Jews for the world’s problems; and similar themes.
Based on AI-assisted analysis and after filtering the results, approximately 180 articles (opinion and commentary columns) were identified as containing references to Jews. About 30% of these columns displayed antisemitic characteristics, using Jewish stereotypes such as greed for money, invoking the term “Elders of Zion,” portraying Jews as disloyal and as betrayers of Muhammad and God, and even engaging in Holocaust denial, claiming that the number of murdered Jews was far lower than six million.
The analysis shows that the Egyptian media, which is under government supervision, deals with Israel in a disproportionate manner and is, overall, highly hostile toward it, at times even crossing into outright antisemitism, with 29% of the articles that mention Jews containing antisemitic content.
Examples of antisemitic columns:
An article in Al-Gomhuria about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the supposed desire of Jews to control the world through money. The writer also ‘demonstrates’ how Jews allegedly ‘control’ global powers today using their wealth, and ultimately will cause a third world war.
https://www.gomhuriaonline.com/GomhuriaOnline-Articles/Articles/Articles/16865.html
An article published in Al-Ahram claiming that the Zionist entity seeks to implement what is written in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, aspires to establish a state from the Nile to the Euphrates, and represents Satan and evil. The author rejects the idea of reframing the conflict from an existential one to a dispute over borders, and refers to the State of Israel as an enemy and an illegitimate entity.
https://gate.ahram.org.eg/News/4999594.aspx
In conclusion, the analysis shows that the Egyptian media, which is under government supervision, deals with Israel in a disproportionate manner and is, overall, highly hostile toward it, at times even crossing into outright antisemitism, with 29% of the articles that mention Jews containing antisemitic content.
