Thousands of Jews flock every year to the final resting place of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, a famous Moroccan Rabbi of the 19th century who fell ill and died in the village as he was travelling with his family back to the holy land. For years the locals have been trying to ban the commemoration and evict the body. In post-revolution Egypt they may get their wish of keeping their village Judenrein
The village of Damatiuh in the Nile Delta near Alexandria is the scene of the annual “Hilula” commemorating the revered rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, which has been marked every year after Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel. The event takes place on the 19th day of Tevet (Hebrew calendar) – usually the last week of December – and draws a few thousand Jewish participants who visit the tomb.
Following his death Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira’s grandson, Israel, completed his father’s journey to the Jewish homeland and became a famous religious leader and Kabbalist there known as the Baba Sali. His own tomb in the Israeli town of Netivot is the scene of massive annual remembrance festivities, mostly by Jewish Israeli families with North African roots.
Back in Damatiuh, the local inhabitants are very unhappy about this yearly Jewish pilgrimage to their village, and they have been vocally demanding that the authorities cancel the festival. Moreover, villagers also demand that the remains of the Jewish holy man be transferred to Israel, and the tomb demolished.
Native lawyer Mustafa Rasslan has been campaigning since the mid 1990s to have the celebration banned. In 2001, following the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada, he obtained an Administrative Court ruling ordering the Culture Ministry not to carry out the celebration. However, this ruling was put aside by the government, and the annual pilgrimage continued.
In 2008, during the time of the Gaza Conflict, Egyptian authorities stepped in and canceled the festival, citing security concerns. The following year they also banned the event, but a personal appeal made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to him lead Egyptian President Husni Mubarak to authorize the ceremonies.
The recent downfall of President Mubarak has given the villagers renewed hope of finally putting an end to the Jewish pilgrimage to their village. They have appealed to Egypt’s new rulers, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, demanding that the commemoration be forbidden and the Rabbi’s body removed from their village and sent to Israel. They have also threatened to prevent the Jewish pilgrimage by force.
In the complex situation in Egypt today, there is a good chance that at least some of their demands will be met. The current regime seems eager to distance itself from the Israeli policy of Mubarak, seen as traitorous by many, and there are popular cries in the street for a revocation of the peace treaty with Israel.
At least one Egyptian expert opposes the villagers’ demands, although for an unexpected reason. In 2001 Abdel-Wahab El-Messiri, author of the Encyclopedia on Jews, Judaism and Zionism, told the Al Ahram Weekly: "Asking Israel to take back his remains implies that it is in charge of all Jews and that Palestine is their homeland, which is wrong."
