Over the past few months, “Taqasee” has been monitoring the movements of the Jewish community in Egypt over the preceding years. In this context, Taqasee identified a person named Boruch Moshe Shamailov, a Russian-born Israeli who recently visited Egypt.
In November 2021, Shamailov visited the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, which was the last functioning Jewish synagogue in Egypt until its closure in 2012. It is located on Al-Nabi Daniel Street in Alexandria, and he took several photos of the synagogue from the inside and outside. These were some of them:
Upon researching the last photo, it became clear that it does not belong to the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue but rather to the “Alexandria Jewish School Building,” also known as the “Israeli Community School of Alexandria.” Its name was changed after it became an experimental secondary school for girls, but the Hebrew writing on the exterior facade still exists.
This school building is located on Chakour Street in the Raml Station area of Alexandria. Its construction dates back to 1910, and it was exclusively for the Israeli community, with only those of the Jewish faith in Egypt allowed to enter.
Shamailov attached these photos with a comment he wrote, saying: “Happy Holiday! Second candle of Hanukkah 1552. Arrived at the synagogue with my brother for Shacharit prayer during our trip. The synagogue is simply stunning! At first, it was really painful because it’s empty and there’s no activity, but when you think again, you realize it’s very good that the Jews left Egypt, because the Torah itself tells us it is forbidden to return to live here. Also, the gentiles pagans (meaning Muslims) guard the synagogue well. And the main thing is that we will indeed be redeemed and see the light of true and complete redemption with the opening of the Third Supreme Court soon in our days, Amen!”
Egypt is not the only Arab country Shamailov visited
By tracking Shamailov’s digital footprint, we obtained a personal photo of him and found several photos he took from various Arab and foreign countries over several years, in addition to Israel, from which the largest number of photos originated.
Through research and investigation, we were able to find six destinations and countries Shamailov visited besides Israel in various locations, starting from Tel Aviv and reaching Jerusalem and the West Bank, which explains Shamailov’s sectarian-settler background, which we will address later in this investigation.
Iraq was among the countries Shamailov visited, where he visited the shrine of the Prophet Joshua (Nabi Allah Yusha’) in Baghdad. He also visited some Shiite archaeological landmarks in Babylon, which, upon reverse searching, turned out to be an ancient mosque containing the tomb of the Prophet Dhul-Kifl, considered a Torah shrine by Jews and known to them as the Tomb of Ezekiel (Yechezkel in Hebrew).
Besides Egypt and Iraq, Shamailov visited Moscow, Belarus, Romania, and Connecticut on the East Coast of the United States. The map illustrates the places where Shamailov took photos and the places he visited.
Shamailov’s relationship with the Chabad movement
By analyzing the photos taken from Israel, we were able to distinguish a picture of an elderly Jewish rabbi prevalent in one of the places Shamailov visited, which turned out to be a Talmudic school called (the Higher Talmud and Teaching Midrasha in the Negev).
The picture was widespread inside the premises and also on the exterior facade of the building. By using some facial recognition artificial intelligence tools, we were able to identify the rabbi as Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Besides this collection of photos, we found digital evidence of Shamailov’s presence at the Chabad movement headquarters in Tel Aviv, alongside the Beit Ra’anana Synagogue, which is also affiliated with the Chabad movement. As for the United States, we found that Connecticut has one of the largest centers for the Chabad movement and is adjacent to New York City, where Schneerson lived for a long period of his life, which supports the notion that Shamailov has a relationship with the Chabad movement or is a member of it.
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement and Menachem Schneerson
Menachem Schneerson (April 5, 1902 – June 12, 1994) was an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi of Russian origin from a city now located in Ukraine. He was the founder of one of the largest Torah movements worldwide, which has an international network of over 5,000 educational and social centers. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century and is known as a pioneer of Jewish outreach.
In 1978, the US Congress called on President Jimmy Carter to declare Schneerson’s birthday as a National Day of Education in the United States, thus making his birth date an official day of celebration in the United States for all Americans. We found the Congressional document that considers Schneerson’s birth date a National Day of Education and Outreach. Additionally, his followers consider him the Messiah, and his published teachings fill more than 400 volumes.
In 2009, a new settlement outpost was named after Menachem Schneerson, or the Lubavitcher Rebbe. A wooden structure was erected at the site, along with areas used by Orthodox Jewish youth for camping. Visitors are greeted by a large sign that reads “Kibbutz Givat Menachem.” This was a practical interpretation of Schneerson’s commandments, which he instilled in his followers that “no Jew will remain in exile.”
The presence of a fundamentally Israeli person in Egypt, especially one linked to an extremist Zionist Orthodox movement, is a highly dangerous matter and suggests the existence of suspicious activities surrounding the Jewish temple Shamailov visited. It turned out that he was not alone on that visit; his brother was with him, in addition to his repeated movements around landmarks and antiquities in Arab countries.
References:
Boruch Moshe Shamailov
Eliahu
Hanavi
Synagogue – الإسكندرية: Working
hours, Activities, Visitor
reviews
File:Jewish school building Alexandria
A Jewish Shrine inside a Mosque: the History of Ezekiel’s Tomb in Iraq
Annual International Conference of Chabad Shluchim Opens Today
Israeli-made military robot set to play diverse battlefield roles
Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 1.djvu/254
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