CAIRO: Activists and residents of Damietta are demanding that the Egyptian government execute a court order banning the Abu-Hasira Jewish festival from being held. Visitors, who in some years come in the thousands, make the trip to the holy Jewish shrine between late December and February. But as the death toll in Gaza climbs over 1,100, approximately half of which are civilians, rage has again been sparked against anything Israeli in Egypt. Local newspapers reported that seven Israelis recently attempted to visit the shrine, but were turned away by state security forces due to public furry at the Gaza assault. In August 2001, the Higher Administrative Court passed a ruling to cancel the moulid (festival), invalidating the Ministry of Culture's decision to enlist the shrine as a religious monument. The rituals [practiced] by Jewish visitors contradict with the sacredness of religious rituals as well as Islamic traditions and local customs ... at a time when Islamic and Christian sacred sites are violated in Jerusalem, the court ruling said. The people of Damietta accuse the religious crowd of breaking Egyptian moral codes, with one activist telling Daily News Egypt that "they drink alcoholic beverages, spill it over themselves and lick it and engage in immoral behavior due to drinking. Stories differ on the history of Abu-Hasira. According to the more popular version, Abu-Hasira was a Moroccan Jew who stopped in Egypt on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem and died in the village in 1880. Mahmoud, who preferred not to use his last name, lived near the village and describes the security measures during the festival as "hellish. Curfews are imposed, the locals are not allowed to interact with the visitors, everyone is subject to a search, and the media is banned, he said. The shrine has undergone a number of renovations and expansions over the years. Some locals claim that Israel has financed the building of a bridge that connects the village to the main city, a claim that has been denied by some officials. The people's protests have reached the internet with blogs and Facebook groups calling on authorities to cancel the event, including the No Abu-Hasira blog and groups called "They Will Not Step Foot on My Land and "The Campaign Against Abu-Hasira. They are calling on the government to "respect judicial decisions, saying that its refusal to implement the court ruling is a politically-driven move. "They want to please Israel at any cost. Just look at Gaza now, Mahmoud added. Following the peace treaty in 1978, Jewish crowds started visiting the holy site and their numbers are increasing annually.
