$60 Billion Down the Nile: Funding Egypt’s Pivot to China & Institutional Jew-Hatred
Khaled Hassan | The Grand Strategy | Jul 10, 2025
Screengrab via Youtube
For decades, American policymakers have treated Egypt as a linchpin of Middle Eastern stability, funnelling over $60 billion in military aid since the 1979 Camp David Accords. This largesse—averaging $1.3 billion annually—was predicated on Cairo’s role as a moderating force and guardian of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Yet beneath the diplomatic facade lies a strategic catastrophe: the United States is bankrolling a regime whose military and national security apparatus are institutionally antisemitic, actively undermine Israeli security, US interests in the region and fuel regional instability—and, most recently, while pivoting to America’s adversaries.
I. The Illusion of Partnership: Aid Without Influence
The cornerstone of US policy—military aid as a tool for influence—has collapsed under Cairo’s hostility:
- Conditionality Farce: In 2022, the Biden administration withheld a token $130 million over human rights concerns while approving a $2.5 billion arms sale days later. Egypt’s response? Accelerated diversification to Russian and Chinese suppliers.
- Gas and Geopolitics: Though Egypt imports 60% of its gas from Israel, its state media blamed the 2025 export pause during the Iran war on a “Zionist-American conspiracy.” While seeking alternatives from Qatar and reportedly Iran, Cairo explicitly rejected the idea that trade implies normalised relations with Israel. Prominent commentators, including those closes to President Sisi, blatantly claimed that Egypt merely exploits Israel.
II. Institutional Antisemitism: Doctrine and Indoctrination
Antisemitism is embedded in Egypt’s military and security infrastructure:
- State-Sanctioned Antisemitism in Military Education: The fabricated Protocols of the Elders of Zion—a century-old antisemitic forgery thoroughly debunked by scholars—is institutionalised within Egypt’s Military curriculum. A senior general gifted me a copy, boasting he personally funded mass reprinting projects to distribute it widely. His sneering dismissal of U.S. relations—”You speak of closer ties with the US? Study this”—reveals how the text fuels state-sponsored anti-Western and anti-Israel radicalisation among Egypt’s military elite, who virtually run all aspects of government, including the intelligence community.
- State-Sanctioned Incitement: Military academies frame the 1948–1973 wars as “battles against Zionist usurpers,” while state-funded films depict Israelis as bloodthirsty colonisers and refer to Israel as the “Zionist entity”.
III. Active Hostility: Sabotaging Israeli and US Interests
Cairo systematically undermines regional security:
- Hamas Enabler: Senior commentators and those closest to President Sisi often argue that Hamas represents a form of “strategic depth” for Egypt’s national security, asserting that Hamas is what stands between Israel and a Jewish “greater Israel” conspiracy theory, preventing the IDF from invading Sinai.
- Pro-Iranian Gambits: During Israel’s 2025 war with Iran, the overwhelming majority of Egyptian commentators sided with Iran amidst seemingly warming ties as the Iranian foreign minister visited Cairo days before Israel launched its military campaign on June 13th.
- Al-Azhar’s Jihadist Blessing: On 7 October 2023, Al Azhar, Egypt and the Sunni world’s leading religious authority issued a statement where they “salute the resistance [Hamas]”. At a time when the US and the Sunni moderate coalition, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, who increasingly utilise religious diplomacy to promote peace and co-existence, were seeking de-escalation, Egypt’s state clergy promoted and legitimised terrorism, adding fuel to the fire.
What should Israel do now, that Israel fully understands Egypt’s duplicity and outright hatred of Israel?
Should Israel be planning for eventual kinetic conflict with Egypt, either pre-emptive on Israel’s part or as a defensive war once Israel is attacked?
Not discussed in this article but in others, given that Israel knows the use the CCP has made of Egypt and how Egypt is beholden to China, should Israel be considering her relationship with China in the light of China’s Middle East ambitions? If so, what should Israel strive for in her relationship with the CCP and with the CCP/Egypt situation?
Is Israel going to be forced by a ceasefire deal to give up political control of Gaza to a group of Arab states? Can Israel afford that, given that Qatar will likely be involved?
Given that Egypt, which had a “peace deal” with Israel acts as a complete enemy, does this imply that no peace deals with Muslim countries are worth the paper they are written on? If so what are the Abraham Accords? Are they similar to the “peace deal” with Egypt, in that Muslims need not abide by anything they promise to the infidel? If the Abraham Accords are, indeed, different from the “peace deal” with Egypt, how are these accords different and what enforcement actions can be taken if the accords are broken? This is especially important in the light of an attempt to negotiate Syria’s entrance into the Abraham Accords.
I would answer yes to all of those questions. Sorry, I mispoke. No, I would say, Israel cannot afford it. No more concessions. No more land for peace. Peace for peace. And land taken in war must never ever be relinquished unless forced to do so on the battlefield which has yet to happen. Now there’s a miracle, come to think of it.
The expression: “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” comes to mind.
We’ve all heard, “God helps those who help themselves” (and recently somebody said that about Trump) but, in the case of Israel and the Jewish people in diaspora, should we add, “God helps those who continuallly shoot themselves in the foot?” (collectively speaking, that is.) 😀
(not to belittle the magnificent achievements of the IDF, IAF, and Mossad agaist Iran and its proxies and Bibi’s skillful leadership in this area.)
But, with regard to Yesha and Gaza? Man. I’m reminded of an idea I came up with for a tee-shirt for public school music teachers.
On one side it would read, “Sisyphus Rocks”
And on the other, “Rock on Sisyphus.”
“AI Overview
+6
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and king of Corinth who was infamous for his trickery and defiance of the gods. His punishment, devised by Zeus and carried out in the underworld, was to eternally roll a massive boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down each time he neared the top. ”
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Man, apropos of nothing, I’m such a member of the television-baby generation that “Corinth” vividly evokes this sound and imagery for me: 😀
“AI Overview
+1
The connection between Fernando Lamas and Corinthian cigars appears to be rooted in a common association with the phrase “Corinthian,” according to a Facebook post.
Fernando Lamas is more famously remembered for his rivalry with Ricardo Montalbán, who was known for his Chrysler Cordoba commercials that featured the phrase “rich Corinthian leather”. Lamas was also an actor who starred in numerous films and TV shows, notes IMDb.
Corinthian cigars: Research indicates that the term “Corinthian” has been used in relation to cigar brands, particularly Corina cigars. These cigars were once produced by the Jose Escalante & Co. and had a pre-formed hole in the cap.
Therefore, while there may not be a direct link between Fernando Lamas and “Corinthian cigars” as a specific brand he endorsed or was directly associated with, the term “Corinthian” itself evokes a sense of quality and luxury that might be linked to both Lamas’ persona and cigar advertising.”
And whom Billy Chrystal famously lampooned.
“AI Overview
Billy Crystal’s “Fernando” character on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1980s is widely remembered for the catchphrase “You look marvelous!”. While the character didn’t directly reference or promote a product called “Corinthian cigars”, Fernando was often depicted in a suave, debonair, and somewhat exaggerated manner, frequently enjoying a cigar as part of his portrayal of a “Latin lover” type figure. This character was a parody of actor Fernando Lamas.
Therefore, while there’s no direct connection to a specific brand like “Corinthian cigars,” the image of Fernando, as played by Billy Crystal, is associated with a cigar-smoking, suave persona.”
Corina cigars or Corona? I remembering smoking Corona cigars as a teenager.
Israel should have kept the Sinai.
I’ll go further. Israel should never have agreed to abide by UN Resolution 242.
” Biden administration withheld a token $130 million over human rights concerns while approving a $2.5 billion arms sale days later.”
Biden should have been hung for his duplicity.
It seems almost inevitable that a military conflict between Israel and Egypt will come quite soon. The impression is that Egypt is hoping for Israel to exhaust itself dealing with the situation in Gaza and other skirmishes such as Iran, Judea and Samaria, the Houthis, terror organizations in Lebanon and Syria and so on.
In the meantime, Egypt has amassed almost all of its military in the Sinai Peninsula, fully expecting that no-one is paying attention.
The idea that only Hamas in the Gaza Strip is their protection against Israel taking over the Sinai Peninsula once again is an excuse to prepare for war while profiting from their own blockage of travel into and out of the Gaza Strip. It is such a nice game to play: The Israelis are blocking all aid into the Gaza Strip while they themselves were doing exactly that except for the heavy duty tunnels under their border with the Strip where they were cashing in on every truck.
I keep asking myself about all the aid entering the Strip through the Ashdod port and the Kerem Shalom crossing. The UNSC keep counting the number of fully loaded trucks but never mention how many trucks were actually entering the Strip before Oct 7, 2023. I have the impression that the intention is to so overload the inspections of this material that they can include all the stuff Israel has forbidden, which, by the way, can no longer enter the Strip from Egypt.
Hard to take any moolsim army seriously as one only has to wait out one of their 5 times a day head bang on the carpet.
Or better yet, wait til Ramadamadingong.