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A Bitter Taste in Egypt

(Jerusalem Post) Zvi Mazel - The Rambam Synagogue in Cairo, on the site where Moses Maimonides, the Rambam, taught his disciples 800 years ago, has been restored by the Egyptian government. Specialists from the Department of Antiquities had worked long and hard to duplicate the site's original colors. The total cost of the project had reached $2 million and the result was spectacular. Maimonides had been the personal physician to Saladin, and for centuries Jews, Muslims and Copts had come to the site in search of healing. The Egyptian authorities permitted the small Jewish community of Cairo to organize a dedication ceremony on March 7, which was attended by the Israeli and U.S. ambassadors. However, the press in Cairo reacted angrily, bemoaning the amount of money squandered on restoring a Jewish site and declaring that it was a purely Egyptian monument. In response, Zaki Hawas, head of the Antiquities Department, cancelled an official grand opening planned for March 14. Thus did Egypt miss a perfect opportunity to show the world that it was an open and tolerant country. The writer is a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt and fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2010-03-26 09:40:26
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