Israeli pilgrims leave Egypt under high security

Cairo: Hundreds of Israeli pilgrims left Egypt under high security on Wednesday after secretly completing a pilgrimage to the tomb of a Jewish holy figure, an airport source said. The 620 Israelis traveled from Cairo to Tel Aviv on three flights chartered by the Israeli carrier El Al. The visit was shrouded in secrecy, a reflection of its controversy within Egyptian society, where many politicians have called for the annual pilgrimage to be banned. Deep in Egypt s Delta, in the village of Damituh, near the town of Damanhur, lies the tomb of a 19th Morrocan rabbi and mystic Yacov Abu Hatzira, renowned for his miracles. Since the 1979 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, thousands of Sephardic Jews from Morocco, France and Israel have made the pilgrimage to the tomb every year on the saint s birthday. Abu Hatzira, who wrote Talmudic commentaries, originally hailed from southern Morocco before moving to Egypt and becoming the head of the local Jewish community.