I landed in Paris early this morning to meet Rachel and Francois with the purpose of visiting a private gallery, which was showing six show-stopping paintings by Alphonse Étienne Dinet.
Dinet, who was born on 28th March 1861, was a French Orientalist painter and a major founder of the Society of French Painters.
I was first enchanted by Orientalist paintings when I saw a painting through the window of a gallery in Paris in 1992 which reminded me of Old Cairo. It was so real, so detailed and so extremely precise that I walked into the gallery and asked the gallery director there to tell me about the painting.
I was shocked when he explained that the painting was over 100 years old. It looked as though it had been painted two weeks ago by a disciplined artist who revealed every detail, to such an extent that the painting truly spoke to you with light and clarity.
Up until that episode, I had never had an inclination towards paintings.
After that visit, I walked into every gallery and museum that I came across and spent three years studying Orientalism. After three years of researching, meeting experts, visiting museums and learning about the paintings, I bought my first painting in 1995 and since then, I have never looked back.
As a matter of fact, I funded and shared in the research of a book all about the lives of the Orientalist painters who themselves traveled – not to be confused with the armchair painters who painted exotic paintings while never visiting the region – to Jerusalem, Damascus, Afghanistan, Cairo, Luxor, Tunis, Algeria, Morocco and many more.
“Orientalism Lives”, a book about Orientalist traveler painters, inspired me to launch via my foundation, the East-West: The Art Of Dialogue initiative, bringing together young American professionals who have never traveled to the East, with young professional Egyptians who have never traveled to the West.
Building bridges of understanding has always been an objective of mine, truly a mission I deeply believe in is that all problems and conflicts can be solved by personal engagement, except for issues of serious disease and death.
Today, according to the Stockholm Peace Institute, 51 nations are experiencing military conflicts, costing death and devastation: 51 nations out of 194 on Earth is a horrifying number that humanity is ignoring to its own peril.
Edward Said, the famous Columbia University professor, disparaged Orientalism as he linked it to colonialism and imperialism. He was correct in regards to politics, however as a close person to the late Edward Said had agreed with me, Said’s negativity on Orientalism was in the political sphere and did not extend to the art and cultural world.
On the contrary, the art of the Orientalist traveler painters brought cultures closer and found common ground that did not exist in the political realm. Inspired by the Orientalist traveler painters, the East-West: The Art of Dialogue initiative was born and today has touched and continues to touch the lives of young professionals in Egypt and the US, as well as giving birth to projects in multiple sectors, including health, medicine, sports and more.
Now, it took an hour from Le Bourget airport to my favorite cafe, Brasserie Fouquet’s at the crossroads of the Champs-Élysées and Avenue Georges V. The atmosphere was truly breathtaking with the decorations for Christmas and New Year on display.
Stephan, the manager, met me at the entrance and led me to my usual table. I ordered a double espresso and a croissant.
Though it was early, Fouquet’s was already busy with many guests enjoying the iconic, stylish and sophisticated brasserie.
As I was absorbing the beautifully adorned Christmas tree and enjoying a nice view of the Champs-Elysee, Rachel walked in and we hugged.
Rachel was tall, with the body of a model, a sharp nose, brunette hair past her shoulders and dressed to kill with a black coat resting on her shoulders and a crimson skirt matching her briefcase and belt.
As we sat down, Rachel ordered an English Breakfast tea, a Saveur du Verger, scrambled eggs and avocado toast. I wondered where she put all of that in order to keep her slim shape.
Suddenly, out of nowhere I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned and surprise was all over my face as I recognized Lachlan Brown. Lachlan, a friend from Down Under, was an Australian, six foot two, in his mid-fifties but looking about thirty and athletic.
Lachlan was a founder, majority owner and CEO of a global fund. I introduced Lachlan to Rachel and invited him to sit with us which he gladly accepted, ordering a latte.
After nice pleasantries all around, we had some discussion amongst ourselves about Rachel’s background as an art historian and Orientalist expert, as well as Lachlan’s investment background and his living between Sydney, London and New York. Lachlan also explained to us that the purpose of his visit was that he was considering adding an office in Paris, through creating a subsidiary or purchasing an investment advisory firm.
I presented my sincere condolences to Lachlan about the horrific terrorist mass shooting on December 14 which occurred at Bondi Beach in Sydney, in the middle of the afternoon during a Hanukkah celebration.
Lachlan explained that it had deeply shaken the Australian government and society and that the two gunmen had killed fifteen people. Rachel noted that the Australian Prime Minister had called it a deliberate attack on Jewish people. She added that the Australian Intelligence had declared it an Islamic State terrorism incident. Lachlan nodded as he sipped his latte.
Rachel spoke again and said, “Why when Jews massacre Muslims is it never described by the governments and media as an act by Jewish terrorists?”
Before Lachlan could intervene, Rachel continued, “Do you remember February 25, 1994 when Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli, carried out a mass shooting of Palestinians who were praying in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron? Baruch killed 29 people, including children, and wounded 125 others.” This occurred, Rachel added, during the holy month of Ramadan. In the aftermath, Rachel clarified, the Palestinians started mass protests which ended with the Israeli Defense Forces killing an additional 25 Palestinians and injuring an additional 120.
Rachel then asked us both, “Why was Baruch described as insane with not a word about Jewish Terrorism emanating from the far right ultra-Zionist Kach movement, of which Baruch was a prominent member?”
Lachlan’s smile disappeared as he said, “Australia has taken many steps to deal with this atrocity.” He counted on the fingers of his left hand and listed, “A gun buyback proposal with citizens, tightening our gun laws, providing extra mental health support, cracking down on hate speech and protests.”
Lachlan added that Australia was currently discussing a potential permanent memorial on the Bondi Pavilion.
Rachel smiled cynically, and before she responded, I interfered.
I said, “Rachel and Lachlan, what happened at Bondi Beach was a massacre, what happened on 11th September was horrific, what occurred on 7th October was ugly terrorism and from October 8th onwards has been genocide. No measures, be it what Australia may do, or Guantánamo or the IDF killing 63,000 Palestinians, wounding and maiming over 150,000 individuals including medical professionals and journalists, will resolve this series of human catastrophes. All that is taking place,” I continued explaining, “is nothing more than political spinning, a display of dealing with the symptoms. No one is daring to approach the disease itself to be able to end the ongoing series of human disasters which will only increase with the advancement of AGI and viral biodiversity.”
Lachlan placed his latte on the table after taking his last sip and nodded his head in agreement. “Yes,” He said quietly, “We continue with patching up the critical problems, rather than solving them.” I responded then that the sad news is that political leaders don’t spend the time, focus or effort to solve critical problems. In fact, the continuation of particular problems provides serious benefits to certain parties. Rachel was nodding, saying, “Yes, defense companies cannot survive without conflicts appearing everywhere.”
I reminded both Rachel and Lachlan about the Camp David meeting hosted by Jimmy Carter, which produced results after 13 days of serious and relentless negotiation. “No other leader has come close to what Carter has accomplished. Carter spent political and personal capital. Today, political leaders don’t want to do that. Any thoughts of Trump locking away Putin and Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago?” I suggested.
Both Rachel and Lachlan smiled.
Just as I said that, Francois walked in, shivering. It was cold and he was not wearing a coat. After introductions all around, I paid the bill, told Lachlan I was heading to London this evening and was hoping we could catch up in Davos.
Francois, Rachel and I got in my car with Vincent driving. Francois was speaking but I was not listening. My mind was pondering what the Middle East would look like if a two-state solution were to permanently resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that has been persisting and has now become a human catastrophe, lasting since 1947.
As we were approaching the gallery, I was convinced that the leadership of Israel and Palestine were failures, even worse, they were – and are until today – the primary reason for the suffering of their people and the destruction of their safety, security and prosperity.
Author’s biography
M. Shafik Gabr is a renowned leader in international business, innovation, investment and one of the world’s premier collectors of Orientalist art, and an accomplished philanthropist.
During his career, Gabr established over 25 companies plus three investment holding companies including ARTOC Group for Investment and Development which, established in 1971, is a multi-disciplined investment holding company with businesses in infrastructure, automotive, engineering, construction and real estate, over the past three years focusing on investment in technology and artificial intelligence.
Gabr is the Chairman and a founding member of Egypt’s International Economic Forum, a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, a Board Member of Stanhope Capital, an International Chairman of the Sadat Congressional Gold Medal Committee, and a Member of the Parliamentary Intelligence Security Forum.
Gabr is a Member of the Metropolitan Museum’s International Council and serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Financial Stability, the Advisory Board of The Middle East Institute, and the Global Advisory Council of the Mayo Clinic.
Through the Shafik Gabr Social Development Foundation, Gabr is helping to improve elementary-school education in Egypt, introducing students to arts and culture and promoting sports and physical fitness for youth. The Foundation has its first Medical and Social Development Center in Mokattam, Cairo, offering free medical and health services.
In 2012 Gabr established in the US the Shafik Gabr Foundation which supports educational and medical initiatives plus launched in November 2012 the ‘East-West: The Art of Dialogue initiative promoting exchanges between the US and Egypt with the purpose of cultural dialogue and bridge-building.
Gabr holds a BA in Economics and Management from the American University in Cairo and an MA in Economics from the University of London.
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