The latest rapprochement between Cairo and Moscow can be categorized as tactical rather than strategic; designed to pressure an old ally and enhance the legitimacy of the current regime. Friends like the US are necessary for a regime that appears to be preparing for a massive repressive campaign.
The Iron Wall of Jabotinsky has to be torn down, and it can only be torn down through long term civil and ideological struggles against this heritage of Zionism, with the Palestinians living inside the green line playing a crucial part.
It is essential for the revolutionary movement to create counter hegemony within the realm of civil society, where a competing narrative must be built to break the asphyxiating hold of elitism and orientalism prevalent amongst the Egyptian elites and middle classes.
Civil resistance is not sufficient to bring down a ruthless regime, as one can see in Bahrain or in Yemen. But dismantling the ideological base of the regime is an essential first step, whether violent or nonviolent.
The Egyptian military is not a force for secularism in Egyptian politics. On the contrary: it was the first to re-introduce religion into politics after the collapse of Arab nationalism, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. In the end, both factions are different shades of Islamis
In the face of disinformation, both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood need to redeem the 'Islamist' brand as a whole and re-establish the distinction between a radical and moderate Islamist.
