CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has canceled the inauguration of a restored synagogue citing the Israeli oppression of Muslims in the occupied territories as well as excesses by Jews during an earlier ceremony at the synagogue.
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities restored the ruined Ben Maimon synagogue in Cairo’s ancient Jewish quarter and was set to unveil it to the press Sunday following its rededication a week earlier in a private ceremony.
SCA chief Zahi Hawass said in a statement that the cancellation of ceremony comes following “provocative” activities by Jews at rededication, including drinking alcoholic beverages, as well as “aggression by Israeli authorities” against Muslim sanctuaries.
