Okay boys and girls, Ol' Uncle Hamzi is going to give you a lesson in propaganda. Pay attention there in the back row!

  There's an Egyptian singer by the name of Shaaban Abdel-Rehim. Mr. Shaaban wrote a song, Bakrah Israel (I Hate Israel), which became Egypt's most popular single of all time. Shaaban’s spokesman has declined to give a figure for sales, saying it is difficult to estimate because of pirating.

  I Hate Israel, in the shaabi style (sorta folk mixed with western hip hop), song hit the streets of Cairo and beyond, replacing the typical love songs that ordinarily occupy the Arabic music scene. Wouldn't ya' know it, the song is wildly popular among Palestinians as well.

  Most of you don't know Arabic so Uncle Hamzi translated the lyrics for you:

Ana Bakrah Israel - I hate Israel
I'll say it if asked
Even if I die or if I'm imprisoned
I hate Israel, I love Hosni Mubarak because of his big mind
and if he does everything he does it with conscious
I hate Israel, and I hate destruction, it (Israel) loves destruction
I love Yassir Arafat and he is very dear to me
Egyptians are sad
I hate Israel and I love Amr Mousa
I hate Israel and Shimon (Peres) and Sharon
Why should the children suffer why should they die everyday
People carrying weapons and others carrying slingshot
I hate Israel, and we all do
We are all mad, Al Quds matters to us
I hate Israel and Ehud Barak because no one can stand him
Egypt puts up and stands till the end but when it got mad it pulled back the ambassador
I hate Israel because of south Lebanon, Al Quds, Iraq, Syria and the Golan?
I hate Israel and I say it even if I will be arrested

  The song also has about 30 occurrences of "Habibti, ana bahabik" (Baby, I love you). Go figure!

  I know some of you Zionists thought Mr. Barak's plan to just about give the Palestinians everything they wanted was the answer to all your prayers. Maybe you should take another look at this line from the lyrics:

  Shaaban defends his song as an expression of how he feels. The lyrics were written by his long-time collaborator, songwriter Islam Khalil, an Arabic primary school teacher from Qanater, just outside Cairo. Mr. Shaaban's words are thought to perfectly reflect the mood of the Arab street. I Hate Israel is not only critical of the Jewish state, but sings the praises of then Foreign Minister Amr Moussa's diplomatic style. Only a few weeks later Moussa left the ministry to become Arab League Secretary General.

  Bakrah Israel is not some lyrical ode to Palestinian "martyrs". The song makes a direct attack; Israel has never been hated so bluntly and directly. Bakrah Israel is too simple a statement to misinterpret, especially if it persists throughout the song.

  Okay, that's the facts about the song. Now the part about propaganda.

  The head of Egypt’s arts censorship bureau said the song originally ran “I don’t like Israel”, but Shaaban spiced it up at the request of the censor. “Originally it was ‘I don’t like Israel’, but I made a recommendation that they choose another word equal to the state of people’s feelings,” said Madkour Thabet, whose office has the power to ban tapes deemed politically or morally offensive.

  It is always nice when the authorities help you craft your message

  Palestinian children, of course, are not born hating Jews. What is that old saying? - You must be carefully taught. Hatred must be acquired from parents, from education, from government authorities. Palestinians hatred for Jews results from a deliberate effort to demonize and dehumanize the "Zionist enemy." There is a direct connection between Palestinian terror and the growing use of anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi language in the Palestinian media. There is a direct connection between Palestinian terrorism and what is taught to Palestinian children in school. There is a direct connection between terror and the street theater in the West Bank that reenacts, and glorifies, the killing of Jews. And there is a direct line as well from the bombings and the murders to the number one song on the Egyptian/Palestinian hit parade - I Hate Israel.

  And you though propaganda was just some Nazi on the radio back in World War II. Propaganda, these days, is everywhere and much more sophisticated that it used to be. Music, and Bakrah Israel does have a catchy tune, can be a powerful tool for influencing what you think - otherwise advertisers would not make use of it. One of the basics principles of propaganda is to repeat the message several times. How often do you hear a popular tune on the radio? It gets in your head. How often do you see a commercial on TV? Why are there laugh tracks for sitcoms? To teach you what is funny. Think about it.

  Ana Bakrah Israel is not Mr. Shabaan's only hit song. He hates America as much as he does Israel. Click on the picture below to see one of his videos.

  Uncle Hamzi promised to say a bit more about Ehud Barak. Some of you Zionists think that it was the end of the world when Mr. Sharon replaced him. These are the same folks who believe that President Clinton was the best thing since electric Hanukkah menorahs, despite the fact that he tried to sacrifice Israel on the altar of a Nobel Prize. The Clinton/Barak deal offered far too much to the Arabs for too little return. Arafat refused the deal - anything short of Israel's disappearance is not enough for him. Well, take a look at these photos.

  The first shows Ehud Barak (his features are easily recognized) burned in effigy at a Palestinian demonstration. The other, which requires no explanation, was taken at the same place.