Jewish Woman, 70, is First Egyptian Tourist to Israel

A 70-year-old Egyptian-born Jewish woman, wearing a housecoat and carrying a small bundle of belongings but no passport, became the first Egyptian “tourist” to visit Israel since Premier Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat declared the Israeli-Egyptian borders open last Sunday. Leah Mandelbaum, who made her way across Sinai to the El Arish checkpoint without permission from either Egyptian or Israeli authorities, said, in fact, that she might remain in the country where she has relatives she has not seen in more than 40 years.

She is presently staying with a niece, Zehava Barzel, in Ramat Gan, where she told her story to reporters today. She was born in Alexandria into a wealthy Jewish family. Her father, a merchant dealing in cooking oils, fell on hard times after the Israeli-Egyptian war in 1948. The family was forced to give up their home and move into a flat Mrs. Mandelbaum said that during all of those years she had hoped to visit her relatives in Israel. One of them is Dr. Moshe Mandelbaum, a former director general of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. When the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty was signed, he asked Defense Minister Ezer Weizman to help locate his relatives in Egypt. Weizman found Mrs. Mandelbaum when he visited the synagogue in Alexandria and told her she was invited to come to Israel at any time.

The elderly woman immediately wrote to President Sadat for permission to cross Sinai. Her letter was never answered. She wrote to other Egyptian officials who told her she would have to wait until relations were normalized.

Unfazed, she decided to try on her own. With the help of an American she reached El Arish. Thursday evening. On Friday morning she approached the Egyptian checkpoint but was told to return to the El Arish police station. There, she said, she found a sympathetic Egyptian colonel who helped her reach the Israeli checkpoint. The Israelis were surprised to see her. When they asked for her passport, she replied, “Egypt is my land and Israel is my people, so why do I need a passport?”

The Israeli soldiers contacted their superiors who in turn reached Weizman by telephone at his home Friday night. He confirmed the woman’s identify. She was given a ride to Ramat Gan by a reserve soldier with a car.