Jewish & World News

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi said on Wednesday vitriolic remarks he made against Jews and Zionists in 2010 had been taken out of context and said he was not against the Jewish faith. "As I have said before the quotes were taken out of context... I am not against the Jewish faith, I am not against Jews who practice their religion," Morsi told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

In a talk last week with a visiting group of US senators, Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi reportedly suggested that the Jewish-controlled media in the United States had distorted his 2010 comments about Jews being “the descendants of apes and pigs” and “Zionist bloodsuckers”. The American magazine ‘Foreign Policy’ reported on Wednesday that the Egyptian leader had come under fire from the seven senators for his offensive remarks, which became known earlier this month. Morsi apparently denied harboring negative feelings about Jews but added, according to US Senator Chris Coons: “‘Well, I think we all know that the media in the United States has made a big deal of this and we know the media of the United States is controlled by certain forces and they don’t view me favorably.”

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy on Sunday night vowed revenge against the perpetrators of a raid on an Egyptian military base that killed 15 soldiers and wounded seven. The attackers also tried to strike Israeli targets in a cross-border raid, prompting Israeli officials to call for Egypt to restore order to the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula. "This cowardly attack will not go without a response," Morsy said according to AFP. "Those who committed this crime will pay it dearly." The Egyptian president called an urgent meeting of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces following the attack.

Egypt has denied reports saying President Mohamed Morsi sent his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres a letter in which he expressed his hope for regional peace. "There is no truth to these (reports). President Morsi did not send any letter to the Israeli president," Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said Tuesday evening. "Everything that was published by the Israeli media is unfounded fabrications."

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has sent a letter to President Shimon Peres, thanking him for his Ramadan greeting and expressing hope that the people of the region would return to coexist peacefully. Egypt's Islamist leader said he is "looking forward to exerting our best efforts to get the Middle East process back on its track in order to achieve security and stability." The surprising missive from Cairo may be interpreted as an attempt by the new regime to clarify that it supports peace, despite the harsh criticism against Israel and the close relations with Hamas in Gaza.