Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, April 02, 2012

Egyptians have learned the wrong lessons from the revolution

After months of insisting that they will not field a presidential candidate, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood nominated their deputy supreme guide Khairat al-Shater to be Egypt's president.

Liberals who were trounced in the parliamentary elections are upset. So what are they doing?

Facebook.

The number fans of a Facebook page against the Muslim Brotherhood’s nomination of its former deputy supreme guide, Khairat al-Shater, surpassed that of Shater’s official fan page on Monday.

Shater’s official campaign page has attracted 62,300 fans, while the page against him, “I will not vote for Shater,” has gained 76,500.

The official page supporting Shater for president was first created on Saturday after the Brotherhood announced his nomination. Hours later, an opposing Facebook campaign also emerged.

“The number of our fans surpassed that of Khairat al-Shater’s official page in less than 24 hours,” the opposing campaign said in one of its posts on Monday. The response is considered a strong message of disapproval for the Brotherhood.

An even stronger message, the page’s organizers said, would be if the number of fans doubles that of Shater’s official page.

Hey, Egypt: Facebook isn't what brought down Mubarak. It was merely a tool to help organize rallies, and once the ball got rolling the newspapers and other media took over. Putting up a Facebook page against Shater is literally meaningless if you don't have an alternate candidate.

And you don't. There are hundreds of potential candidates for president. If all the MB supporters vote for Shater, and liberal votes get split among the remainder, then Shater wins. The only credible non-Islamist candidate seems to be Amr Moussa, and even if there was a runoff, the Islamists win anyway. (Before Shater entered the race, the Salafist candidate had a very good chance of at least making it to a runoff vote.)

Egyptian liberals seem to think that if they don't like the new leader, they just need another couple of big rallies in Tahrir Square and they can get another chance. They are not organized nearly as well as the Islamists.

Egypt is doomed to become an Islamist state. The liberals have learned nothing from their huge loss in the parliamentary elections. In the end, the liberals will flee to the West rather than fight for Egypt, where they can congratulate themselves on their ability to create Twitter trending topics and do absolutely nothing real.

Gaza fuel crisis update

Last week, Hamas, in reaction to its artificially created crisis where it refuses to accept fuel from Israel, started offering carpools for people to use Hamas state vehicles to get to work.

Now, Gazans are wondering - how do these Hamas vehicles have fuel themselves? Diesel is completely unavailable in Gaza, ambulances can no longer be used, but Hamas government officials still have fuel for their own cars! They are saying that Hamas confiscated the fuel it needed from petrol stations and are using it exclusively for their own purposes, and trying to pretend to be the "good guys" as they exploit the fake crisis.

Meanwhile, the three children who were killed yesterday in a Gaza house fire caused by candles igniting stored fuel were declared "martyrs" by Mahmoud Abbas, with the implication that they died as part of a war. It is unclear if he considers it as if they were killed by Hamas or Israel. Either way, he is using that status to pay the families martyr money, which of course comes from Western aid.

The PFLP called on both Hamas and Fatah to put aside their differences and find a solution to the crisis.

There are also shortages of cooking gas. Israel does transfer these through Kerem Shalom but it only ships what Gaza accepts, and Hamas has been limiting that amount as well. But that's not the only problem - now there are problems with transporting the gas that is being shipped inside Gaza because of the shortage of diesel for the distribution trucks.

Israel is shipping some 150,000 liters of diesel through Kerem Shalom today. The Red Cross is bringing it in and paying for it for Gaza hospitals to be able to use their generators.

Al Dameer, a pseudo-human rights body, called for both the PA and Hamas to work together to find a solution to the problem, but hinted that Hamas' refusal to accept fuel from Israel might be legitimate. It said "Al Dameer calls upon the Gaza Government to work immediately with all in order to develop plans that contribute in finding temporary solutions for this continual crisis until achieving the final solution. It should be taken into consideration, the economical and social conditions of Gaza Population before developing these plans." As if Gazans would riot if fuel came from Israel, so their sky-high black market prices are reduced to merely the going market rate after PA taxes. (As usual, they find a way to blame Israel as well, calling it the "occupying power" of Gaza.)

It has now been nearly two months since Egypt cracked down on illegal fuel smuggling to Gaza, the only method of obtaining power plant fuel that the far-thinking Gaza government allowed for over a year.

"Moses led Muslims out of Egypt to liberate Palestine"

Lying as natural as breathing.

Interview with Dr. Omar Ja'ara, lecturer at Al-Najah University in Nablus, and specialist in Israeli affairs on PA TV:

"We must make clear to the world that David in the Hebrew Bible is not connected to David in the Quran, Solomon in the Hebrew Bible is not connected to Solomon in the Quran, and neither is Saul or Joshua son of Nun [of the Bible]. We have a great leader, Saul, [in the Quran] who defeated the nation of giants and killed Goliath. This is a great Muslim victory. The Muslims of the Children of Israel went out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, and unfortunately, many researchers deny the Exodus of those oppressed people who were liberated by a great leader, like Moses the Muslim, the believing leader, the great Muslim, who was succeeded by Saul, the leader of these Muslims in liberating Palestine. This was the first Palestinian liberation through armed struggle to liberate Palestine from the nation of giants led by Goliath. This is our logic and this is our culture."
[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 15, 2012]

Palestinian Media Watch finally put up the story on their main site.

(h/t Mike)

Hamas leader: "Half of Palestinians are Egyptian, the other half Saudi"

Oh, this is too good. From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an address by Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad, aired by Al-Hekma TV on March 23, 2012.

Fathi Hammad : Is Egypt incapable of supplying fuel for 1.5 to 2 million people in the Gaza Strip?
[...]
If you do not point your compass toward Palestine, Al-Aqsa, and Jerusalem, in order to uproot the Zionist enemy, the US will trample you underfoot. It will besiege you with its conspiracies and will finish you off. Therefore, you must hoist the banner of Jihad, the banner of "there is no god but Allah."
[...]
Brothers, there are 1.8 million of us in Gaza. In Egypt, there are about 90 million people. We equal merely two percent of the Egyptian population. [Supplying us with fuel] would not burden you at all.
[...]
At Al-Aqsa and on the land of Palestine, all the conspiracies, throughout history, have been shattered - the conspiracies of the Crusaders, and the conspiracies of the Tatars. At Al-Aqsa and on the land of Palestine, the Battle of Hattin was waged. The [West] does not want this noble history to repeat itself, because the Jews and their allies would be annihilated - the Zionists, the Americans, and the imperialists.

Thus, the conspiracy is very clear. Al-Aqsa and the land of Palestine represent the spearhead for Islam and for the Muslims. Therefore, when we seek the help of our Arab brothers, we are not seeking their help in order to eat, to live, to drink, to dress, or to live a life of luxury. No. When we seek their help, it is in order to continue to wage Jihad.
[...]
Allah be praised, we all have Arab roots, and every Palestinian, in Gaza and throughout Palestine, can prove his Arab roots - whether from Saudi Arabia, from Yemen, or anywhere. We have blood ties. So where is your affection and mercy?
[...]
Personally, half my family is Egyptian. We are all like that. More than 30 families in the Gaza Strip are called Al-Masri ["Egyptian"]. Brothers, half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis.

Who are the Palestinians? We have many families called Al-Masri, whose roots are Egyptian. Egyptian! They may be from Alexandria, from Cairo, from Dumietta, from the North, from Aswan, from Upper Egypt. We are Egyptians. We are Arabs. We are Muslims. We are a part of you.

Allah Akbar. All praise to Allah. Allah Akbar. How can you keep silent, oh Muslims, when the people of Gaza are dying? You watch from the sidelines without providing them with the simplest thing, which you give to the West for the most meager price.
[...]

Ah, but when it comes to becoming citizens of those Arab countries that they came from, then they are all "Palestinian" and must be treated like lepers - in order to protect their own nation, of course.

Palestinian Arab nationalism does not reflect any inherent peoplehood but rather it is a political fiction created only in the twentieth century, and only to destroy Zionism. And Fathi Hammad knows the truth, as do many other Arabs. They just won't be caught dead saying it to Westerners.

The logical conclusion from Hammad's statements is that Palestinian Arabs should be allowed, if they want to, to become citizens of any Arab country they desire - just as other Arabs can. Human rights groups should be in the forefront of that movement. The Arab nations who refuse to do so are engaging in worse discrimination against Palestinian Arabs than anyone else.

Yet Human Rights Watch is against this simple human right, and for that reason alone it deserves to be exposed as a hypocritical sham. Not to mention the Arab states who self-righteously pretend to support Palestinian Arab while they are in the forefront of keeping them stateless and miserable.

Freedom of the press, PA-style: Insult Fatah and get arrested

If you are a member of Fatah, and someone says something that offends you, you can make a quick call to PA security and demand that person be arrested. They'll be happy to do it for you. After all, what are friends for?

From Ma'an:

The recent detention of three Palestinian journalists in the West Bank are not based on security complaints but legal charges filed by individuals, the spokesman on the West Bank security services said Sunday.

Reporter Yousef al-Shayeb was detained a week ago, and on Wednesday a Palestinian court extended his remand for 15 days. He is being held while under investigation for "libel" and "defamation" over Jordanian newspaper article in January.

Ismat Abdul Khaliq was also detained this week after posting a number of comments on Facebook, and Tareq Khamis of Zaman press was briefly held on Sunday.

"The Palestinian Authority’s security services have no security-related problem with any journalist," Adnan Dmeiri told Ma’an.

Abdul Khaliq and al-Shayeb were detained "upon orders by the Attorney General and judiciary over legal charges filed by other people," Dmeiri said. He said three charges have been filed against Abdul Khaliq, without elaborating on the petitioners.

Earlier on Sunday, Palestinian Attorney General Ahmad al-Maghni said the preventive security had filed a complaint against Ismat Abdul Khaliq.

She posted a number of insulting comments which accused President Mahmoud Abbas of betrayal and called for disbanding the Palestinian Authority. The exact charges were not clear.

Meanwhile Tariq Khamis was interrogated over "something related to Ismat Abdul-Khaliq," Dmeiri said, also without providing details. Khamis was detained Sunday from offices of Arab Cultural Forum in Al-Bireh near Ramallah, and later released.

Al-Shayeb was jailed after a complaint filed by Foreign Minister Riyad Malki and Hael al-Fahoum, the envoy in Paris. His report in Al-Ghad newspaper documented corruption allegations against the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in France, the Palestinian National Fund and the foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki on Thursday defended his role in the reporter's arrest, after the Palestinian journalists union held protests and called for members to boycott a press freedom prize announced by the PA days earlier.

"I'm surprised some journalists reacted emotionally on behalf of their colleague without hearing the other side's case, or considering for a moment if Yousef al-Shayeb is the oppressor or the oppressed," Al-Malki told Ma'an.

PA politicians are notoriously thin-skinned.

In the end, this shows that despite all the talk of democracy and liberalism and reform in the PA, it remains a Fatah terror gang who use the government to do what they please.

Hijacking Holocaust Remembrance at Northeastern University (video)

Must see:

Background here.

Some commenters urged me to make a poster after that article, but I was reluctant because I thought it might accidentally offend gays. But when I sent it to a prominent gay Zionist activist for comment the response was "I f***ing love it."

PLO mission in US honors Helen Thomas

From Palestine Press Agency:

The High Commission for the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington honored the American journalist and writer of Lebanese descent, Helen Thomas.

The award ceremony was held at the home of President of the Commission General of the PLO in Washington, Ambassador Maen Rashid Ereikat, in recognition of the long path of Thomas in the field of journalism and writing, which has long defended the Palestinian cause.

The ceremony was attended by a group of ambassadors, diplomats and representatives of the Arab embassies, journalists and human rights associations and American Arab leaders in the United States, with the participation of a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hanan Ashrawi.

Ashrawi gave Thomas a medal on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, and forwarded her greetings and appreciation of the president and the Palestinian leadership, for all she did to help the Palestinian cause in the West.

Ambassador Ereikat gave a certificate of appreciation to Thomas on behalf of the Commissioner General of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, praised her achievements that she always talked about our people's right to liberty and self-determination.

He also expressed his thanks to Thomas on behalf of all Palestinians in the homeland and diaspora, emphasizing the importance of all that put forward for the rights of our people deprived of the American political landscape.

Hey, the PLO honors terrorists, child killers and someone who helped the Nazis with their genocide against Jews.

What's wrong with honoring a mere anti-semite as well?

(h/t @ChallahHuAkbar)

Gazans continue to suffer from Hamas' fuel crisis

Three children died in a house fire in Gaza when their portable heater exploded. A fourth is in critical condition.

Qatar is said to be shipping 25,000 tons of diesel for Gaza's power plant; the fuel is on its way to El Arish and is expected to arrive in a couple of days. No word on how Egypt would transfer it to Gaza, however.

Otherwise, nothing's changed. Hamas has clamped down on any complaints about the crisis so no one is blaming Hamas. Even AFP has gone back to reporting on the crisis without mentioning its origins in Hamas' political decisions.

Ambulances have no fuel.

Hamas is playing a waiting game with its citizens, and so far, it is winning - because no one in the Arab world has the guts to publicly castigate them for their role in this crisis.

Israel, Greece in joint naval drill

Found on Hezbollah's Al Manar website:

Israel, the United States and Greece are in the midst of a naval exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, in what Greek media outlets are saying is a message to Turkey following frayed ties with both the Zionist entity and Greece, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The exercise, called "Noble Dina," involves simulations of combat against submarines, air battles and protection of offshore natural gas platforms. The U.S. Sixth Fleet is also participating in the exercise, which the Greek media, which first reported on it, has described as being meant to send a message to Turkey.

Israeli occupation military sources confirmed that the exercise was taking place, but refused to convey additional details.

The exercise began on March 26 and is scheduled to end on April 5. According to reports in the Greek media, the exercise began at an American military base in Crete. Reportedly participating in the exercise are a Greek navy destroyer and submarine, an Israeli Navy sailing vessel and several U.S. Sixth Fleet battleships, along with Israeli, Greek and American fighter jets and helicopters.

According to a report published on the Greek website Defencenet.gr, part of the exercise will take place off the coast of Turkey, near the Greek island Mais. The exercise will continue off the southern coast of Cyprus before concluding in Haifa port.

Ha'aretz adds some detail:

Until 2009, Israel's Navy and the U.S. Sixth Fleet conducted a large yearly exercise with the Turkish navy called "Reliant Mermaid." Following the deterioration in Israel-Turkey relations in recent years and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decisionto freeze military cooperation with Israel, the exercise was cancelled.

Last April, Israel and the U.S. decided to renew the exercise, but changed its name to Noble Dina. Greece, which was invited to participate instead of Turkey, jumped at the offer, which it saw as a political achievement vis-à-vis Turkey. Relations between the two countries are currently tense due to Turkish threats to act against Cyprus' natural gas platforms, in which Greece has interests.

Al Manar clearly got the story from Ha'aretz, but it is always fun to see what they keep and what they take out.

Israel, High Tech Superpower (video)

Nice to see this making it to the mainstream media.

(h/t Yoel)

Sky News: "Advanced" Iranian plans to attack Jewish, Western targets in Turkey

From Sky News:

Intelligence agencies are searching for members of a secret Iranian network of assassins under orders to attack Jewish, Israeli and Western targets in Turkey.

According to intelligence sources, the organisation behind the attack is known as Unit 400, a secret part of the al Quds Brigade, which falls under the direct command of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader.

"Unit 400 of the Qods Force has been developing in the last few months a standing operating procedure for carrying out an attack in Turkey against western targets as well as Israeli and Jewish. It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon," an intelligence source told Sky News.

There is also evidence that Unit 400 has been given instructions to carry out more frequent and more daring 'terror' attacks around the world as a demonstration of 'Iran's asymmetric power' - in the face of the growing threat of Israeli or American air strikes on its alleged nuclear weapons programme, the sources said.

The sources named a senior officer in Unit 400 as being a key Iranian agent who "has been working up plans for potential attacks in European countries".

"Unit 400 is a top-secret "special ops" unit within the elite overseas wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF). It plans and carries out terror attacks on external targets, and provides material support to foreign militia groups, at the direct behest of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This is in accordance with the regime's core strategic considerations about how best to challenge perceived enemies in Israel and the west - through asymmetric warfare - and to cope with mounting international pressure over its nuclear programme," a secret study by a foreign intelligence agency said.

Several international intelligence sources confirmed that Ali Khamenei controlled the Quds Force through his close ally Qassem Suleiman.

"He runs the whole thing - directly. [Mahmoud] Ahmedinajad [the Iranian president] makes all the noise and gets the attention but it's the Supreme Leader who is in charge of what is going on especially when it comes to international operations," said a senior intelligence official.

Turkey has been the scene of at least two attempts against Israeli targets in recent years - in 2009, 2010, and in 2011 when six Turkish civilians were injured during an attack blamed on Unit 400 on the Israeli consul in Istanbul.

Unit 400 is also identified in the document as being behind the failed plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to Washington using Mexican drug mafia last year.

The commanders of Unit 400 have been identified as Hamed Abdellahi and Majid Alavi who is a former deputy minister in Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

"[The] Supreme Leader makes a decision to conduct an attack, the Unit activates a cell to perform it and recruits foreign agents as required… Training is sometimes given in Iran, as was the case prior to an attempted attack on the Israeli consul in Istanbul in 2011, and additional countries in the Middle East and Europe are used in order to blur Iran's connection to the attack," an intelligence document obtained by Sky says.

"The overall picture is one of an organisation which reaches out across the globe to commit carefully planned terror attacks of its own accord, as well as to arm proxy groups that will do so on its behest."

Hamas celebrates anniversary of Haifa restaurant bombing

Hamas newspaper Palestine Times has a featured article celebrating the ten year anniversary of the bombing of the Arab-owned Matza restaurant in Haifa, that killed 16 Israeli civilians. The article includes photos of the bomber as well as of the devastation to the restaurant, whose roof collapsed from the force of the explosion.

The article claims that the bomber intended to blow himself up in the nearby Grand Canyon shopping center but the security there made him change his plans to the nearby restaurant filled with Israeli families enjoying their Passover vacation.

From the New York Times:

The Matza restaurant was one of those rare places in Israel where Jews felt they could find refuge in the company of Arabs.

But it turned out, none of them were safe. Although the restaurant's proprietors and many of its staff members are Arabs, a suicide bomber from the Islamic group Hamas walked through the door today and detonated his charge in the middle of the room, blasting screws and other shrapnel into people eating a late lunch.

He killed himself and 14 others, blowing the roof off the restaurant and spraying blood against the chrome table legs and glass out into the parking lot.

Witnesses described a wreckage of burning bodies and jumbled furniture, in which one woman bent over a wounded son, beside the bodies of her husband and another child. The dead included Israeli Arabs, the police said, but the authorities were still trying to identify some of the remains tonight.

The attack shocked both Arabs and Jews, who felt that the restaurant was a haven. ''Everyone knew this was an Arab restaurant, and we were not afraid,'' said Zeghain Amar, an Israeli Arab whose father, the Matza's cashier, was wounded. ''We had excellent relations between Arabs and Jews -- regular customers. I'm very, very upset.''

The victims:

Ron family
Aviel Ron, 54, of Haifa
Anat Ron, 21, of Haifa
Ofer Ron, 18, of Haifa

Koren family
Shimon Koren, 55, of Haifa
Ran Koren, 18, of Haifa
Gal Koren, 15, of Haifa

Shiran family
Adi Shiran, 17, of Haifa
Shimon Shiran, 57, of Haifa – died of his injuries on April 11, 2009 after remaining hospitalized for seven years.

Additional victims
Suheil Adawi, 32, of Turan
Dov Chernobroda, 67, of Haifa
Moshe Levin, 52, of Haifa
Danielle Menchel, 22, of Haifa
Orly Ofir, 16, of Haifa
Ya'akov Shani, 53, of Haifa
Daniel Carlos Wegman, 50, of Haifa
Carlos Yerushalmi, 52, of Karkur – died of his injuries on April 1, 2002

Interestingly, this happened right at the beginning of Israel's Operation Defensive Shield that was meant to stop such attacks. The New York Times quoted Israeli "experts" as to how it is impossible to stop suicide bombings:

Many Israeli commentators are wondering how it will stop suicide attackers, who are now striking almost anywhere, among religious Jews, secular Jews and now even Israeli Arabs. The attackers have been men and women, young and old, Palestinian and even, in one case, an Israeli Arab.

Nahum Barnea, the respected columnist for the newspaper Yediot Ahronot, wrote today that Palestinian terrorism was becoming ''a popular sport, the grand aspiration of thousands of young Palestinian girls and boys.

''You can kill, deport and deter professionals,'' he added. ''There is no military way to fight suicide bombers.''

We know now that Israel did stop the suicide bombings, with a combination of offensive thrusts into terrorist enclaves, a huge push to improve intelligence, and the building of the security fence.

The "experts" were wrong, which is a good thing to keep in mind when you read analyses today about how other things are supposedly impossible as well.

Official Malaysian sermon: Jews are a "brutal race" and Muslims' main enemy

From the Malaysian Insider:

The Federal Territories’ official sermon today [March 30] told Muslims Jews are their main enemy as proven by their ego and murderous acts.

The Friday sermon, delivered at lunchtime in mosques across the capital city, said Muslims must “free your brethren in Palestine from the grasp of Zionist rule and economic siege by donating money, food, medicine and whatever is suitable.”

“Firstly, Muslims must understand Jews are the main enemy to Muslims as proven by their egotistical behaviour and murders performed by them,” said the sermon prepared by the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (JAWI).

It called on “community leaders and NGOs to intensify activities that increase awareness and understanding to the public about the importance of al-Quds (Jerusalem),” referring to the city that is sacred to Jews, Muslims and also Christians.

“The honour of al-Quds and the al-Aqsa mosque must be defended by all Muslims as it is holy land that is blessed,” the sermon added.

The sermon is online. (PDF) Besides quoting the famous Hadith on how the rocks and trees will help Muslims slaughter Jews, it says:

The Jews are a brutal race continually developing series of violence in this holy land....Why we have never felt challenged by the arrogance and Jewish ego against this blessed land? Did not our heart break out in anger against those who insult Islam? Have we forgotten, with Quranic verses above that curse the Jewish people as hostile, who torture and kill Muslims then, now and forever? Why we still do not realize the above atrocities committed by the Jewish people?

Muslims must first understand that the Jews are the main enemy of Muslims as proven by their egoistic attitude and murders committed by them.

Time for the mandatory apologetic section:

Of course, you must understand, this isn't anti-semitism. Of course not. No way. There is no reason for Muslim leaders to denounce this sermon because it is so self-evidently true and only against Zionists. Jews are well-respected in Islam. In fact, labeling this anti-semitic is a form of Islamophobia, which is a huge problem worldwide that must be fought tirelessly. There is no connection between sermons like this and attacks on Jews which never happen and are exaggerated. Muslims are the victims when Jews are attacked by supposed Muslims. And Jews aren't ever attacked by real Muslims anyway. Every attack on Jews is really orchestrated by Israel in order to make people hate Muslims. It's a well-documented plot. Oh, look, Jews are building apartments!

(h/t Ian)

Springtime: Muslims take full control of Alexandria's Jewish community

An important exclusive at Point of No Return:

The Jewish community in Alexandria no longer runs its own affairs, a member of a prominent Jewish family has discovered on a visit to Egypt in March.

Point of No Return has learnt that the Muslim former doorman of the Nebi Daniel synagogue has taken over the leadership of the community from Yousef Gaon. Abdel Nabi collects the community's rents, has a new car and is living well.

A visitor from England who is related to the family which financed the building of the Nebi Daniel synagogue wrote to associations of Jews from Egypt to describe an episode at the synagogue which left him 'shaking with rage'.

The visitor needed the original death certificate of one of his uncles. He had always obtained these certificates without a problem. On this occasion, Abdel Nabi, who initially had greeted the visitor warmly on account of the 'bakshish' he had habitually given him, intruded into the visitor's conversation with Gaon and asked to see a document which proved his relationship with his relative.

"My temperature was rising but I said nothing since I had the copy of a Elam Warassa, a successoral document of my family," the visitor wrote in his letter." Seeing that Gaon had no reaction and gritting my teeth, I showed the document to Abdel Nabi."

- Ah ! he said without even reading the document, this is a copy, I need the original.

The visitor confronted Gaon for an explanation: "Ah!" the erstwhile leader said, "I am nothing now in this office. Abdel Nabi is the government’s eyes and ears. He directs everything and I can’t say anything. I have resigned but the powers that be don’t accept my resignation. I’m sorry, I cannot help you."

Yousef Gaon, a Jewish convert to Islam, had himself caused controversy when he became head of the community. The Nebi Daniel synagogue is the flagship of the Jewish community of Egypt. The affairs of the Jewish community in Cairo are managed by Mrs Carmen Weinstein, who is in her eighties.

The Alexandria community: 20 women and three men