FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE JEWS FROM EGYPT

Preparatory Committee Meeting ( Finalized Minutes No. 1 )

The first preparatory meeting concerning the forthcoming ”First World Congress of Jews from Egypt,” took place in Haifa, on July 27th 2004. The two initiators of the Congress: Ada Aharoni and Jacques Perez, met to discuss and lay down the initial guidelines for the forthcoming Congress.

A comprehensive and valuable discussion took place exploring the feasibility of setting up the first World Congress of Jews from Egypt in Haifa, in May 2006. The following recommendations were proposed and decided upon:

1. Title of the Congress: JEWS FROM EGYPT AND PEACE IN ISRAEL

2. Main Goal of the Congress

The principal objective of this Congress is to enable and encourage the Jews from Egypt to utilize their multicultural experience, as well as their intrinsic cultural values and their rich harmonious traditions - to promote peace in Israel and especially between Israel and her Arab neighbors.

3. International Advisory Board

We invite the Presidents and Chairpersons of the various associations of Jews from Egypt worldwide, to be Members of the International Board and Co-Organizers to help in the planning and organization of the Congress and to contribute toward its success. The Congress will be federative in spirit and content, and it will be open to every organization or individual interested in getting involved either fully or in part, in Israel and/or in the Diaspora.

4. Members of the ICJE Organizing Committee in Israel

Prof. Ada Aharoni - President of the World Congress

Mr.Jacques Perez - Director

Mrs. Andree Habif - Secretary

Marlene Perez - Public Relations

Prof. Chaim Aharoni – Adviser

Mr. Avraham Peron - Treasurer

5. Suggested Members of the International Advisory Board

Mr. Desire Sakal - President of HSJE, New York, NY, USA. (Confirmed)

Mr. Israel Bonan - Director of the WCJE Congress in Boston (Confirmed)

Mr. Maurice Maleh - Chairman AJE – London, UK. (Confirmed)

Mrs.Sara Perez-Kemp - Vice Chairperson AJE –London, UK. (Confirmed)

Mr. Yves Fedida - Secretary, Nebi Daniel Association, France. (Confirmed)

Mr. Avner Assael - President “Hitahdut - Goshen”, Haifa (Confirmed)

Members of the WCJE Organizing Committee in Israel (Confirmed)

Mrs.Simone Diday - Chair AJOE, Paris

Mr. Joe Diday - President AJOE, Paris

Mrs. Irene Buenavida - President - AJOE, Montreal, Canada

Mr. Joe Barda - HSJE , Australia.

Prof. Arie Schlossberg , Director, CERPJE - Tel Aviv

6. Venue: The University of Haifa, with the collaboration of the Department of Middle East Studies, and the Department of Oriental Studies (A major part of the Congress will take place at the Hecht Museum Conference Hall, and the “Celebrations” will take place at the Dan Hotel.

7. Duration of the Conference: 5 days- from Sunday to Thursday.

8. Accommodation: Participants from abroad will have the option to be accommodated at the Dan Hotel or the Dan Panorama Hotel in Haifa, with facility of transportation to Haifa University.

9.Subscription fee for the Congress - $200. Donations toward the organization of the

Congress will be welcome.

10. Call for Papers: There will be a 'Call for Papers' via the Internet in January 2005.

11.Special Guests: We expect to invite to the Congress: Ministers, Mayors, the Egyptian Consul in Israel, and the Egyptian Ambassador to Washington.

12. Display: There will be a display in the lobby of the Dan Hotel and in the Hecht Museum Congress Hall, at Haifa University, of the outstanding works by authors, poets, artists and photographers, originating from Egypt - including books, paintings, photography, sculptures and jewelers’ designing.

13. Memorial Forest – During the Congress, we will plant a forest in memory of the Jewish Community of Egypt, which unfortunately, does not exist anymore. We will apply to the KKL (Keren Kayemet Le Israel), to make it possible for us to plant this Memorial Forest on Mount Carmel in the surroundings of Haifa.

14. Communications: We will prepare and post over the Internet a list of the email addresses and the websites of organizations of Jews from Egypt worldwide, and active members involved with the ICJE.

15. Websites: We thank IFLAC: The International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace, for allowing us to use its websites: www.iflac.com and www.iflac.com/jac (JAC: Research on Jews from Egypt and Arab Countries), for the ICJE, until we can financially afford to set up a

WCJE website of its own.. The non-for-profit IFLAC organization and its sites were founded by Prof. Ada Aharoni, and are directed by her. The progress of the conference will be publicized on these sites, to enable all interested parties to get involved.

The meeting opened at 18.00 and closed at 20.30.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday 12.08.04 at 18.00 at the home of Prof.Ada .Aharoni at 57, Horev Street , Third floor, Haifa.

Shalom,

The ICJE Committee

Tel: +972-4-8243230, Fax: +972-4-8261288, E-Mail: ada@iflac.com

  Tel / Fax: +972-4-9890531, E-Mail: : jacquesperez@013.net