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Last update - 14:21 25/05/2008
Egyptian-born Jews cancel trip to Egypt amid media frenzy
By The Associated Press
Tags: Egypt, EgyptIsrael, Israel

The Israeli Embassy in Cairo said on Sunday that a delegation of elderly Egyptian-born Jews was forced to cancel a visit to Egypt because they were unable to find accommodation following a local media storm over their trip.

Israeli press attache Shani Cooper-Zubida says that the group had just come to visit Jewish sites in Egypt and hear a lecture by the Israeli ambassador.

"Unfortunately they had to cancel the visit two days ago because they had a lot of difficulties arranging their stay here," she told The Associated Press Sunday. "After the negative publicity in the Egyptian media, they just couldn't."
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The visit was described in the Egyptian press as a conference with an agenda that included demanding the return of properties once owned by Jews in Egypt, a charge denied by the delegation.

Dr. Gabriel Rosenbaum, director of the Israeli Academic Center in Cairo who was scheduled to give a lecture to the delegation, said the whole event was grossly mispresented in the Egyptian media as a conference rather than just a visit.

"The average age of these people was between 70 and 80, not all of them in good health condition," he said. "Before they die, they just wanted to come see Egypt, to see the synagogues, to see maybe the tombs of their fathers and then go away."

He said that plenty of tourists, students and other delegations from Israel have visited Egypt and his center in the past without any incident.

Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement in 1979, but a steady campaign
against the normalization of cultural and social relations by many
intellectuals, journalists and others has prevented relations from warming.

The relationship's constant ups and downs are mainly just in the press and sometimes with the authorities, said Rosenbaum, describing the current time as a low point with the press.

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      1.   Understandable reaction by Egypt 14:42  |  Rachel Stevens 25/05/08
      2.   Shame on Egypt 14:43  |  Hannah 25/05/08
      3.   Shame on Rachel Stevens 14:54  |  dave 25/05/08
      4.   Sounds Like the Egyptions have a Guilty Secret 14:56  |  A. J. Myers 25/05/08
      5.   # 1 Rachel Stevens...feeling guilty? 15:04  |  Lynn 25/05/08
      6.   #1 Wake up and smell your delusion! 15:20  |  Dani 25/05/08
      7.   Completely understand the Egyptians 15:20  |  Diplomat 25/05/08
      8.   We aren`t Germans 15:46  |  Egyptian citizen 25/05/08
      9.   Diplomat should brush up on history 16:08  |  dave 25/05/08
      10.   Why don`t they just go individually as tourists 16:23  |  Chris Linthwaite 25/05/08
      11.   Compensating the Arab Jews 16:24  |  Abraham 25/05/08
      12.   jews don`t feel guilt because their all heartless 16:28  |  MD 25/05/08
      13.   Why would they want to visit a country that brutalized them? 16:45  |  Conroy 25/05/08
      14.   The Arabs will never be in peace at heart 16:49  |  ottomatik 25/05/08
      15.   Typical anti-Jew anti-Israel comments 17:01  |  Arie 25/05/08
      16.   EGYPTIAN Who actually was asking for anyhting? 17:03  |  PETER SM 25/05/08
      17.   LINTHWAITE Because old people travel ingroups with guides&escorts 17:10  |  PETER SM 25/05/08
      18.   Steal Land 17:22  |  Naftali 25/05/08
      19.   The soloution 17:54  |  Egyptian 25/05/08
      20.   I am egyptian born...Ms Rachel Stevens 17:58  |  Salomon Mizrahi 25/05/08
      21.   #19 Some solution, Egyptian 18:07  |  Conroy 25/05/08
      22.   To "Egyptian citizen", from a Jew born in Egypt 18:14  |  Salomon Mizrahi 25/05/08
      23.   Jewish Arabs like Palestinians must be allowed to return if they 18:15  |  anti-racist 25/05/08
      24.   I ran into Israelis while in Egypt, such as in the Cairo Museum 18:17  |  anti-racist 25/05/08
      25.   compensations 18:22  |  maher 25/05/08
      26.   #17 Peter SM 18:22  |  Chris Linthwaite 25/05/08
      27.   #1 18:23  |  Londoner 25/05/08
      28.   Jews got expelled by egyptians or invited by the jewish agency? 18:29  |  FalluJah 25/05/08
      29.   Same old trick 18:45  |  FalluJah 25/05/08
      30.   Shame on politics 19:22  |  hala 25/05/08
      31.   Disgusting anti-semitism - Haaretz 19:50  |  JR 25/05/08
      32.   Government In Exile 17:05  |  David Cohen 31/05/08
      33.   Confiscation of Egyptian jews` assets 21:21  |  David Cohen 25/08/08
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