Egyptians seize Jewish documents (update)

 In Cairo's Jewish quarter


 Update: there are inconsistencies in the story since it first broke in the Egyptian press on 18 October. The French -Jewish woman was said to have been arrested, and the press photo showed many small bags, such as a woman might carry. An Al-Ahram article of 28 October said the French-Jewish lady had escaped: they seized large suitcases. Only two top Egyptian officials close to the Mubarak regime have been arrested to-date. The Lebanese businessman mentioned below is non-Jewish.

Levana Zamir of the Association of Jews from Egypt in Israel comments:
This is good news, because those 1,7 million documents belonging to the Jews from Egypt are the best proof that we left behind millions of our assets.
Since all those documents belong to us, and since there are no Jews left in Egypt - except for one man in Alexandria and one woman in Cairo - all this must be transmitted to one of the three Associations of Jews from Egypt: in the USA (HSJE), in Paris (Nebi Daniel) or in Israel.

Point of No Return has already mentioned the story about two tonnes of Jewish documents confiscated in Cairo ( Elder of Ziyon found a report in the Egyptian press). At the time, we said the story was probably leaked to deter any Jew contemplating a freelance operation to demand restitution, a prospect terrifying to Egypt now that Israel has launched an official campaign for refugee rights. According to this report in the Times of Israel, it now seems a means of embarrassing  members of the Mubarak regime, two of whom have been arrested - and accounts for why President Morsi is closely following the case.  (With thanks: Lily)

"Egyptian authorities confiscated some 1.7 million documents reportedly proving Jewish ownership of land and assets in Cairo. The documents were reportedly about to be shipped out of the country to Israel, in what the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram is calling “the most dangerous case of security breach in history.”

"The documents were found in 13 large cases, ready to be transported to Jordan and from there to Israel, Egyptian media reported Sunday.

"Elaph, a Saudi-owned news site, reported that Egyptian police received notice that the packages were being held at a shipping company in the Nasser City district of Cairo. Upon arriving at the scene, police found over 1.7 million documents dating back to the 19th century, dealing with Jewish ownership of assets in Cairo. The documents, according to the security source speaking to the Saudi site, weighed over two tons.

"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the documents were supposed to be used in an Israeli lawsuit involving Jewish property lost in Egypt’s 1952 revolution, the site reported. According to Elaph, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is personally following the case, which it said affects Egypt’s national security.

"The documents were reportedly stolen on December 16, 2011, from a Cairo research institution, the Institut d’Égypte, during public riots that erupted following president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.

According to Al-Ahram, an unnamed senior member of former Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) was involved in the efforts at smuggling the documents out of the country, in the service of a French-Jewish woman. Another man implicated by Al-Ahram is a Jewish Lebanese businessman named Robert Khalil Sarsaq, who also holds other nationalities. Elaph’s source claimed that the two are suspected of having ties with the Mossad.

"The source noted that some of the documents, containing Jewish ownership deeds for banks, companies and real estate, date back to 1863. The documents are now being held by Egypt’s general prosecution."

Read article in full 

Jewish Chronicle report 

The Jerusalem Post : Danny Ayalon denies  the story: "we have all the documentation we need."