The Gaza War revives the stereotype of the “ugly American” in the Arab world

America’s relentless military support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which is frequently compared to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, has heightened anti-Americanism in Arab streets.

Sadly, the image of the “ugly American” has resurfaced in the minds of Arabs, with many describing Joe Biden as an “evil” president whose administration invaded Iraq He is being compared to W. Bush.

The phrase “ugly American” was borrowed from a 1968 novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. It refers to the failure of US efforts for Southeast Asian countries to oppose communism and instead adopt the US political model, or rather become like Americans. Since then, the phrase has been commonly used to describe Americans abroad who are too loud, ostentatious, and too arrogant.

The Biden administration’s support for the hardline government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which first came to power in 1996, has once again personified the “ugly American” for Arabs. Many Arabs believe that Netanyahu has since been trying to instill in the Western psyche that Arabs (and Muslims in general) are a rising enemy, an alternative to the Soviet Union after its collapse in 1991. I believed.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, American intervention in the Middle East has increased rapidly, and ugly American stereotypes that fuel anti-Americanism have increased.

To overcome the complex realities of American perception in the Arab world, it is necessary to consider past American intervention in the Middle East. In the 20 years I have lived in Egypt since returning from more than 10 years of working and studying in the United States in 2004, I have witnessed anti-American sentiment in the Arab world grow stronger and stronger.

Washington’s relentless support for Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people has led many Arabs today to view Washington as the greatest promoter and benefactor of those who commit vast human rights violations around the world.

Biden’s aggressive pro-Israel policies in the Middle East are damaging the image of the United States in Arab consciousness. If the young Bush reinstated the stereotype of the ugly American among Arabs, Biden (like his predecessor Donald Trump) has made the “ugly American” even uglier.

During a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel in October, Biden emphasized that he was a “Zionist.” He also reiterated that “if there was no Israel, we would have to invent one.” By declaring himself a “Zionist,” Biden is reproducing the ugly American archetype.

In this context, Arab media has described Biden’s America as a right-wing nation and a capitalist empire aimed at dominating other countries. As the regime continues to veto UN Security Council resolutions regarding Israel, it is common to see and hear young Egyptians deriding the United Nations as the “American UN.”

In the late 1980s, I lived and worked in four states in the United States for 13 years.

Unfortunately, when you chat with Egyptians on the street today about their views on America, the answer is almost always negative. This situation is likely to continue until positive and constructive efforts are made towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you mention the names Biden, Trump, and Bush to Arabs today, you will hear them condemning them as “ugly” Americans. Sadly, Biden has given new wings to the “ugly American” stereotype.

Many Arab intellectuals speak of the need for Arab countries to look to the East. They advocate the creation of a multipolar world in which the United States no longer dominates. But as China and Russia emerge as superpowers, the United States has worked hard to move the Middle East out of Asia’s orbit and further strengthen Israel’s military and economic power.

In other words, US foreign policy in the Middle East under the Biden administration suffers from the same shortcomings as previous US policy in Southeast Asia. The anger I see toward America today far exceeds the anger I felt in my youth during the Bush administration, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and after the American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Arabs today are more wary and suspicious of American interference in their internal affairs.

U.S. Middle East policymakers should not despair over this criticism. Rather, it should encourage the resolution of the Middle East conflict and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 boundaries.

Only then will the image of the “ugly American” begin to evaporate from the social fabric of Arab culture.

Mohamed El Bendaly is an independent researcher based in Cairo and the author of “The Ugly American” in the Arab Mind: Why Do Arabs Hate America? (University of Nebraska Press, 2011).