President Anwar Sadat of Egypt has given permission for Egypt’s most precious Jewish manuscript, the Ben Asher Codex, to leave Egypt temporarily to be restored, according to MP Greville Janner, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who has just returned from Cairo.
The Codex, a Bible written in the 9th Century of the current era, is one of more than 20 valuable books stored in Cairo’s Karaite Synagogue. It is badly in need of repair and until now the Egyptian authorities have insisted on its staying where it is. However, Sadat reversed this ruling when he received Janner at his home in the village of Mit Abue al Kom. The only other person present during the 2 1/2 hour talk in Sadat’s garden was Janner’s 20-year-old daughter Marion.
The President also assured Janner that a number of Jews in Alexandria could visit Israel. They had been invited there some time ago by Premier Menachem Begin of Israel but so far they have been obstructed by Egyptian officialdom.
Janner, who spent 10 days in Egypt, also met Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Butros Ghali, as well as the Minister of Justice, Trade and Overseas Cooperation, and the editor of Al-Abram. He also met leaders of the Jewish communities of Cairo and Alexandria and the American and British Ambassadors.
Summarizing his impressions, Janner said he saw no possibility of renewed hostilities between Egypt and Israel and believed that Sadat and his team were devoted to peaceful methods. Sadat felt that he enjoyed on “almost mystical relationship” with Begin and was confident about the next stage of negotiations, Janner said.
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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.
