The Jewish and Egyptian communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul joined together in a Ceremony of Thanksgiving to honor the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. More than 1500 people gathered last week at the College of St. Thomas to listen to the Aaron Kula Orchestra play Israeli music and to the Middle Eastern Ensemble playing the music of Egypt as well as their special arrangement of “Hava Nagila.” Taking part in the program which had been planned jointly by members of both communities were:
Msgr. Terrence J. Murphy, president of the College of St. Thomas, Rabbi Jerome Herzog, president of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association, and Dr. Guirguis Ibrahim, research associate of the University of Minnesota who lead the audience in a joint prayer for peace. Dr. Shukry Ibrahim, the Elder in the Twin Cities Christian Coptic community, read a Coptic prayer for the peace in both Arabic and English. Dr. Essam Awad, professor and faculty advisor to the Egyptian Student Organization and Dr. David Cooperman, professor at the University of Minnesota, gave the keynote addresses, and Adl Sokkari of the Twin Cities Islamic community recited an Islamic prayer in both Arabic and English.
Egyptian and Jewish American children recites poetry written by Arab and Israeli children expressing their hopes for peace. The program ended with the playing of the Egyptian national anthem, “My Country, My Country,” and “Hatikvah.” Presiding at the program was Michael Weinberg, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Anti-Defamation League of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Attending the program, which was covered by all four local television stations, were political, religious and labor leadership of Minnesota which included U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, U.S. Rep. Bruce Vento, and former U.S. Sen. Muriel Humphrey, all Minnesota Democrats.
Messages were received from Ashraf Ghorbal, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, Minnesota Governor Albert Quie, and President Carter who congratulated the communities for having worked on this program together and offered their hopes and support for the new treaty.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
