While much of Hussein's writing was in agreement with Mapam's ideology and platform, he diverged significantly with the party through his public support for Egypt's pan-Arabist president, Gamal Abdel Nasser.[12] He accused the Voice of Israel radio's Arabic-language service of being strongly biased against Nasser, while positive towards Nasser's Arab rivals, including Abd al-Karim Qasim of Iraq, Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia and the Saudi royal family.[12] He asserted that while all of the latter opposed Zionism, only Nasser consistently developed his country, combated imperialism and made strides toward Arab unity.[12] As a Zionist party, Mapam opposed all of the aforementioned Arab figures.[12] In the 1959 Knesset election, the conflict between Nasser and Qasim was a major issue in Israel's Arab community, dividing Nasser's Arab nationalist supporters and Qasim's communist sympathizers.[13] Hussein's articles in Al Fajr at the time condemned Qasim and praised Nasser, so much so that one of his articles appeared in the Egyptian weekly Akher Sa'a.[13]