This year, the Brotherhood is no longer ruling. So will the pilgrimage resume?
According to this Egyptian paper, Israel formally requested that 150 Israeli Jews along with 17 rabbis be allowed to visit the tomb this year. The date would be around December 22.
Initial reaction in Egypt has been very negative.
The "Coalition of Young Journalists" issued a statement denouncing the idea, and they said that they would organize human shields to prevent any Israelis from coming near the shrine. Their spokesman, Mohamed Allam, described the visits as a "desecration" of the land of Egypt, "contrary to the teachings of religion and morals" which "violate sanctities in broad daylight."
What exactly do the Jews do at this ceremony? Glad you asked.
According to Allam, the Jewish men and women dance together while listening to jazz music.
Afterwards, the groups said, the tourists make lots of noise and would bring sheep and goats. They slaughter them from the top of the neck, "contrary to Islamic law." (Kosher slaughter is not done that way.)
But that's not all.
The meat is eaten together with "all kinds of imported wines next to a cocktail of cigarettes stuffed full of drugs."
The, naturally, the Jews turn off the lights and have an orgy, with sex and homosexuality being freely practiced in the tomb itself.
Wow. That could attract a whole new crowd!
Allam also said that Abuhatzeira wasn't even a religious figure, just an ordinary Egyptian man. So there is no reason to have the ceremony anyway, and the Egyptian government should stop entertaining the idea that this pilgrimage has any religious significance. He helpfully adds that when Jews were in Egypt in Pharaonic times, they really didn't add anything to Egyptian culture, just living in tents and herding sheep. I'm not sure if they listened to jazz.
I did a little searching and see that the same accusations, almost word for word, were used two years ago by this same spokesman but he didn't have a group to represent at the time. Good to know that the "Coalition of Young Journalists" in Egypt found Mohamed Allam to be worthy of speaking on their behalf.
The story has been reported in at least four Egyptian news outlets.
As always, a search to find if anyone in Egypt is making fun of Allam, or even disagreeing with his accusations, comes up empty. There are no consequences in the Arab world to spouting the most outrageous and insane stories about Jews, so they naturally get more lurid.
It will be interesting to see whether Egypt will allow the pilgrims, and, if so, what the Egyptian army does in December to protect the wild partying Jews.