A local Orthodox rabbi will lead a group of about 30 Jews and Christians from this area to Egypt on a peace mission. Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, spiritual leader of Congregation Agudath Sholom, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency his group hopes to meet Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and tell him that “Americans, Jews and non-Jews, support the avenue of peace and not of war.”
Ehrenkranz said the mission was suggested to him by Ahmed Esmat Meguid, Egypt’s Ambassador to the United Nations, when he met with him at the Egyptian UN Mission in New York. Meguid invited him to New York after he called the Ambassador to praise him for Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem and for his attitude at the UN while under attack from other Arab delegates.
The rabbi said the group will spend four days in Cairo and then go to Jerusalem for five days. The delegation hopes to meet with governmental leaders in both places. Ehrenkranz told the JTA he has not yet formulated all he plans to say to Sadat. He refused to reveal the exact date of his departure for “security” reasons.
Several American and Canadian rabbis who normally lead tours to Israel have announced plans of adding Egypt to the itinerary. But Ehrenkranz said his mission is not a tour in that sense although there will, of course, be some sightseeing.
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.
