Egyptian diplomats complained to the Israeli ambassador on Monday about an Israeli television program that made fun of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said reports.
Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister Mohamed Al Orabi said he had passed a formal protest to Israel's Ambassador to Egypt Zvi Mazel about the matter, according to Reuters.
While neither Egyptian nor Israeli officials would say what the funny business was, an Israeli embassy spokeswoman told Reuters that Mubarak had been the butt of jokes by Israeli comedian Eli Yatzpan on his show on Israel's cable Channel Three.
"It does not reflect anything official...For us, there are no limits to the objects that you can laugh at," she said, adding it was not clear what Yatzpan had said about Mubarak on the show.
She said the comic focus on Mubarak was the result of an "anti-Israel attitude on the streets and in the press" in Egypt, especially after eight months of the Intifada.
"The program insulted Egypt," Orabi said. "(Egypt) rejects such vituperations."
In response, Yatzpan told Haaretz newspaper that "there is a place for satire in a democratic state and what I do is satire. Just as I satirize [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and [Foreign Minister Shimon] Peres, so I satirize [Palestinian President Yasser] Arafat, Mubarak, and all who live in this region." – Albawaba.com
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