AJC Outraged by Assault on Israeli Embassy in Cairo

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Sep 10, 2011, 11:19 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC is outraged by the attack last night on Israel's embassy in Cairo. "Thankfully, Ambassador Levanon, his family and the embassy staff were able to leave Cairo and return safely to Israel," said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

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"This mob attack was an ugly display of the hatred of Israelis long tolerated, and even nurtured, by Arab governments, an attitude that new powers emerging across the region must confront and reverse," said Harris.

Thousands of Egyptians who gathered outside the embassy destroyed a concrete wall protecting the building, and then entered and ransacked offices. Egyptian police were slow to respond.

"It is both unfortunate and telling that Israel has become a target in the struggle to build a new Egypt following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak," said Harris.

The assault on Israel's embassy is the latest in a series of incidents, including repeated attacks on the Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline and lawlessness in Sinai, that have led to increasing concern since the fall of the Mubarak government seven months ago.

"For regional stability and security, it is essential to preserve, and strengthen, the Egyptian-Israeli relationship, founded on trust, goodwill and, of course, mutual self-interest that was the basis for the historic peace treaty signed in 1979," said Harris.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee