Gamal Saber said TV presenter Azza Mustafa was famous because she was Jewish
Gamal Saber said TV presenter Azza Mustafa was famous because she was Jewish http://www.memritv.org/

An Egyptian political manager was asked to leave a TV show after he accused the presenter of being famous because she was Jewish and sparked an on-air row.

Gamal Saber, campaign manager for disqualified Salafi presidential candidate Sheikh Hazem Abu Ismail, told Azza Mustafa that her fame rested on her "Jewish origins".

Saber said: "You are a prominent media personality, and you are famous worldwide because you are talented and smart, and you moderate the dialogue very well.

"But there is another reason why you are so famous. Do you know what it is? Azza is of Jewish origin. Here are the documents. You may have a look," Al Arabiya quoted Saber as saying on air.

Mustafa took the documents but they contained pictures of her co-host, Dina Ramez. Saber dismissed her remark, cranking up her anger.

"Even if you apologise, I do not allow you to accuse me of being Jewish," she said before saying that he had to leave the studio.

"I'm asking you to leave because you made this comparison and told me I am Jewish," she said.

Ismail, the would-be candidate Saber was representing, holds strict views on implementing Islamic Sharia and the role of women in society. He was disqualified by the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC) after they discovered his mother has American citizenship.

He failed to disprove the allegation and said he was the victim of a plot to stop him taking part in the elections.

Ten out of the 23 presidential candidates have been disqualified by the PEC, including Egypt's former vice-president, Omar Suleiman, and the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party candidate, Khairat al-Shater.

Hundreds of protesters have continued to hold protests in front of the PEC offices in Cairo following its decision to bar the candidates.

Elections Egypt