At a time when the United States is looking to Egypt to play a critical role in bringing about a new era of reconciliation and partnership between the Muslim world and the West, an attitude of "business as usual" persists among Egyptian leaders toward the incessant drumbeat of anti-Semitism in the media and society, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

In a report on Anti-Semitism in the Egyptian Media [PDF], issued today, the League cites a "culture of permissiveness" that enables anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment to flourish in Egyptian society "without a single word of condemnation or criticism from political or civic leaders."

The ADL report was delivered last week to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and copies are being shared on Capitol Hill with members of the Obama administration and key congressional leaders.

"President Mubarak's government continues to engage in business as usual when it comes to blatant expressions of anti-Semitism in the media, which seep into Egyptian society," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "These alarming manifestations of anti-Jewish attitudes undermine the attempts by the U.S. administration to deliver on the promise of better relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds in President Obama's Cairo address, and present a major obstacle to his vision of truly normalized relations between Israel and Egypt, and Israel and the other Arab countries."

Daily newspapers and television shows in Egypt routinely propagate age-old anti-Semitic themes, with Jews portrayed as stooped, hook-nosed and money hungry, fighting for world domination...