(Ynet News) Zvi Mazel - Egyptian media reported on July 9 that the head of the small Jewish community of Cairo, Carmen Weinstein, 79, had been sentenced to three years in jail for having defrauded an Egyptian businessman. The court had found her guilty of selling Nabil Badia a piece of real estate belonging to the community on which stands a synagogue for the sum of three million pounds, and refusing either to put the place in his name or to return the money. The news came as a surprise to Mrs. Weinstein since she had not been informed of the trial, although as the president of the community she has an office in town and it would not have been difficult to notify her and to call her to testify. The media in Egypt and in other Arab countries seized on the occasion to launch a vicious attack against Jews in general and Israel more specifically. There have been a number of attempts to sell properties belonging to the Jewish community, with the help of forged documents, involving Egyptian members of parliament from the ruling party, the Egyptian daily Al Shuruk reported on April 2, 2010. One such case involves the same synagogue that is at the core of the case against Weinstein and the basis of her sentence. The writer is a former Ambassador of Israel in Egypt and a Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2010-07-20 07:49:26Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive