Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Pyramid Closed to Foil ‘Jewish Plot’ in Egypt?

Did Egypt close its Great Pyramid last week over fears of a “Jewish” plot?

That’s one of the rumors circulating in Cairo after the country’s antiquities authority cut off access to the Cheops pyramid Friday. Local media had put out “unconfirmed reports” that unnamed groups planned to perform “Jewish” or “Masonic” rites at the pyramid that day.

The Shmooze can’t speak for the Masons, but the theory about Jewish misuse of the pyramids strikes us as dubious. First of all: there are barely any Jews left in Egypt. Second of all: the inspiration for the would-be ceremonies — Friday’s date of 11/11/11 — wouldn’t have had any significance for religious Jews, since the date comes from the Christian calendar.

Whatever the true reason, the antiquities authority denied that Jews or Masons had anything to do with its decision. A last-minute press release issued Friday cited “necessary maintenance” as the purpose of the closure.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.