All Israelis presently in Cairo were reported Wednesday to be safe and in no immediate danger despite the tenuous situation in the Egyptian capital, where hundreds of paramilitary police went on a rampage. A general curfew went into effect Wednesday afternoon.
More than 2,000 paramilitary police rampaged Tuesday through four hotels near the Pyramids and fought gun battles with military units called in to quell the disturbance. The paramilitary officers were apparently enraged over a rumored extension of their tour of duty. Since last October’s massacre of Israeli tourists by an enraged Egyptian soldier at Ras Burka in the Sinai, the number of Israelis visiting Egypt has declined considerably. Their number was estimated at several dozen.
Prof. Gary Warburg, head of the Israeli Academic Center in Cairo, said in a telephone interview with Voice of Israel Radio that all Israelis there were well.
He said that early Wednesday morning everything seemed “usual,” including the area near the Embassy. However, later in the day he said loud speakers mounted on cars announced the beginning of the curfew. He said he then witnessed thousands of persons rushing home on foot and in vehicles.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
