By SAMI ALRABAA
It is not enough to have peace between Mubarak and Olmert. Amr Waked and Yigal Naor must also be allowed to meet and work together.
Amr Waked is one of Egypt's brightest young film stars. He recently played the son-in-law of Saddam Hussein in a British mini-series filmed in Tunisia. But, because he acted opposite an Israeli - Yigal Naor, who played Saddam in the drama - the Egyptian Actors Union expelled Waked and, although he did not break any formal law, the Egyptian Ministry of the Interior took measures against him.
Waked, who performed alongside Hollywood star George Clooney in the 2005 political thriller "Syriana," was flabbergasted. He told several newspapers, "I thought we had peace with Israel." He also said that the series was pro-Arab and criticized US Middle East policies.
Joint ventures and economic ties between poor Egypt and affluent Israel would create numerous job opportunities for both Egyptians and Israelis. Jamal, an American-Egyptian who used to work in the US and is now working in Israel for a German TV network, says "I've got a great job here in Israel, a far better one than the one I had in the States. Unlike my brother, who works in Saudi Arabia where he is subject to daily humiliation and earns little money, I earn good money and people respect me." Peace is only sustainable and viable when people feel its benefits. A formal peace treaty without public participation is just a useless piece of paper. It is not enough to preach peace, it is necessary to practice it.
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