A spokesman for President Hosni Mubarak told an international Jewish audience here that the new Egyptian leader fully shared the commitment to peace with Israel of his late predecessor, Anwar Sadat.
Osama El Baz, President Mubarak’s Cabinet Secretary, was addressing the 40th anniversary dinner of the Institute of Jewish Affairs, research arm of the World Jewish Congress.
“Despite the gap that still exists between ourselves and the Israeli government over Palestinian autonomy, peace has become a fact of life,” he said to loud applause. “Very few Egyptians are questioning the wisdom of pioneering this historic reconciliation between Arabs and Israelis.”
El Baz, who accompanied Sadat on his momentous visit to Jerusalem, said that the views of Sadat and Mubarak on major issues were the same — and the commitments are the same. Peace, he said, was the only road to a happy and secure future for all the inhabitants of the region. Hence there is no basis whatsoever to fear any change of Egyptian policy after Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai next April.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Sir Immanuel Jakobovits, hailed the presence at the dinner of El Baz as a symbol
of peace. Sadat, the rabbi stated, would always have a place in the affections of Jews and in the annals of history.
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.
