Dozens of Israelis making pilgrimage to tomb of revered rabbi in Egypt’s Nile Delta

Israelis to visit revered rabbi’s tomb in Egypt

CAIRO — Hundreds of Israelis are making an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of a 19th-century Jewish holy man in Egypt’s Nile Delta.

Egypt has in years past limited the number of pilgrims. Israeli newspapers reported, however, that President Hosni Mubarak accepted a request from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited Egypt last week to allow unlimited numbers.

Cairo airport officials say some 290 Israelis arrived Sunday on their way to the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira near the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. The commemoration of the anniversary of his death will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The elderly rabbi was making his way from his native Morocco to the Holy Land in 1879 when he fell ill and died in the Egyptian city of Damanhour.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects dates of commemoration)