Revelations of a secret meeting between a leading Egyptian Salafist and former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni have set Egyptian media ablaze.
Egyptian tabloid Youm7 reported over the weekend that Nader Bakkar, the deputy chairman of Egypt’s Salafist Nour Party, met with the high-ranking Israeli politician in April at Harvard university at Bakkar’s request.
Bakkar graduated on Friday from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government with an MPA in public administration.
A few months before his graduation, however, Livni visited Harvard on 16 April to give a lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Sources reportedly told the Eygtian newsaper that after finding out that Livni was coming to speak, Bakkar contacted the society to arrange a closed meeting with Livni. She agreed and the meeting took place inside the university after her lecture.
Youm7 reported: “Nader Bakkar’s meeting with Tzipi Livini lasted around 40 minutes, in which Bakkar talked about the strength of the Nour Party and its popularity, that he was the main reason for the (Muslim) Brotherhood’s success after the 25 January revolution...”
No comment
Livni did not reveal the meeting, but sources close to Livni confirmed to the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that the meeting took place.
Sources close to Livni told the IPB that they believed news of the meeting was leaked from factions in Egypt opposed to the normalisation of relations with Israel.
News of the meeting comes after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry's controversial visit to Israel on Sunday evening.
Livni held a string of ministerial posts between 2001 and 2014, and was foreign minister between 2006 and 2009.
British police attempted to question her earlier this month over alleged war crimes committed against Palestinians during the 2008-09 conflict with Gaza, known in Israel as Operation Cast Lead.
She is currently a leading figure in the centre-left, opposition Zionist Union.
Bakkar, for his part, is one of Egypt’s most prominent Salafists, an ultraorthodox brand of Islam.
The Nour Party, the political arm of Egypt’s Salafist Call movement, were vociferous advocates of the military coup that ousted Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president who hailed from the rival Muslim Brotherhood.
Despite President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s unrelenting crackdown on Islamist groups inside Egypt, the Nour Party have remained steadfast allies of the authoritarian Egyptian leader.
Like Livni, Bakkar has refused to comment on the secret meeting, instead posting a celebratory tweet about his graduation.
Fallout
Pro-government MP Mostafa Bakry, known for his flamboyant and controversial outbursts, told Egyptian media: “This is a scandal that Nader Bakkar is asking for, and places him among the ranks of those who want normalisation with the Israeli enemy.”
He also linked the secret meeting “with his (Bakkar’s) suspicious studies at the American Harvard University.”
Mazhar Shaheen, one of Egypt’s most prominent pro-government clerics, posted a sarcastic comment on Facebook: "Guys don’t make a big deal of this and don’t be unjust to the man.. I mean why would he meet Tzipi Livni, the Zionist minister? I mean he was either convincing her to wear the niqab.. or he thought the way to the Ittihadiya (Egyptian presidential palace) was through Tel Aviv."
