| April 19, 2014
Comments Off on Egyptian authorities foil attempts at smuggling Jewish religious artifacts

Egyptian authorities foil attempts at smuggling Jewish religious artifacts

 

Egypt’s Antiquities Minister said the smugglers planned to send the Jewish religious artifacts to Belgium.

By

 

Authorities in Egypt say they have seized a cache of Jewish religious artifacts that smugglers wanted to ship to Belgium at one of the country’s main ports.

Crown seized by officials in Damietta, Egypt, April 18, 2014

Crown from a cache of Jewish religious artifacts seized by officials in Damietta, Egypt, April 18, 2014 – Photo: AP

Antiquities Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said in a statement Friday that officials found the artifacts while searching cargo Thursday at the coastal city of Damietta.

AP

Items from a cache of Jewish religious artifacts seized by officials in Damietta, Egypt, April 18, 2014 – Photo: AP

Among the artifacts are a cylindrical wooden box plated in silver, which would have held Torah scrolls. Officials also found a silver knife dating to roughly 1890 with inscriptions, and bells commonly hung in synagogues.

A committee will study and date the cache, which the statement says “embodies a period of religious tolerance in Egypt’s history.”

Egypt has experienced a security vacuum since its 2011 uprising. Thousands of artifacts have been stolen.

 

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.586252

Visitors: 14
Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,

Comments are closed.