Egyptian security forces arrested an Israeli citizen in Taba after he illegally
crossed the border without a passport. The man told Egyptian interrogators that
he crossed over from Eilat and was looking for the tomb of a rabbi in the town
of Damanhour, according to a report by Maan News Agency on
Sunday.
According to Egyptian security forces, the infiltrator is a drug
addict.
The famous rabbi Ya’acov Abuhatzeira is said to be buried in the
town of Damanhour and is an important pilgrimage site for North African Jews.
Many Jews used to visit his grave until the Egyptian government put a stop to
the visits in 2012.
Abuhatzeira left his home in Morocco in 1879 on a
trip to Israel, but died on the way in Egypt the next year. He is the
grandfather of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, also known as the Baba Sali, whose
grave in Netivot is also a major pilgrimage site.
The incident follows
the illegal infiltration into Egypt by another Israeli citizen, Andre
Pshenichnikov, who was sentenced last month to two years in prison.
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