US Congress intervenes

"In his letter to Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Berman wrote: "In light of the recent tensions between Egypt and Israel, there is a widespread perception that the reported ban on lulav exports was imposed for purely political reasons," he wrote. "I sincerely hope this is not the case."  But it's hard to account for this kind of behavior on Egypt's part in any other way. Only hatred and spite could move a government to act so irrationally and counterproductively."