Due to an ongoing uproar from Arabs and, especially Egyptians, following her interview with a researcher at the Israeli “Institute for National Security Studies,” Dalia Ziada, the director of the Egyptian “Liberal Democracy Institute,” has recently left the country.
Her decision to depart Egypt came after a major controversy surrounding her stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, where she condemned Hamas and repeatedly called Israel and all Jews God’s chosen people.
Attorney Amr Abdel-Salam filed a complaint against Ziada earlier this month, alleging that she was trying to covertly communicate with a foreign nation or someone acting on its behalf, in addition to disseminating misleading information.
In his case, Abdel-Salam claimed that Ziada had spoken via podcast broadcast from Israel to an employee of the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, which is connected to the Israeli Mossad, without receiving authorization from the intelligence and security services.
He charged Ziada with spreading and airing fake news reports that would facilitate Israel’s plan to drive out the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants and relocate them to Sinai, endangering the nation’s independence, unity, and territorial integrity.
After fleeing the country, Ziada tweeted: Egypt will remain dear to me no matter what happens and no matter what I see of it… Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafists, and all sects of Islamists will remain for me extremists and terrorist organizations, and I will continue to fight them and their ideas and those who stand behind them.
Regarding her opinion on Israel, she revealed that, in her view, Israel will remain a very important neighbor, friend, and partner of Egypt.
She posted: Yes, we had a war one day, but we also have peace that is more than 40 years old, and this is the most important point.
Ziada added: I will not forget the brave Egyptians and Arab friends who stood beside me and defended me and my name without even asking them, against some media figures and journalists who decided to fish in troubled waters and distort my name.
