Between 1948 and 1966, the number of Jews who fled Egypt totaled 63,000. By the early 1970s, Jewish life in Egypt had virtually disappeared. Today, only two Jews live in Egypt, the remnants of what was once a proud heritage.
By Rachel Avraham
Although many people may not know it, “The Israeli nation was born in Egypt,” Levana Zamir, who heads the International Association of Jews from Egypt, told Israel Today in an exclusive interview: “Jacob our ancestor went to Egypt with 60 people, and we returned with 600,000. In the Haggadah of Passover, it is written that we were transformed into a nation there. G-d turned a family into a nation. We are all the sons of Jacob; therefore, the Israeli nation was born in Egypt.”
Despite the Exodus out of Egypt, there has always been a Jewish community in the North African country: “Never was there a situation where there was not a community of Jews in Egypt. It was sometimes small and other times big, but for thousands of years there has always been a Jewish community.”
Despite the fact that these events have not been corroborated scientifically, ancient Egyptian texts do mention the “Habiru,” which some have understood as referring to the Hebrews, and the famous Merneptah Stele from the 13th century BCE appears to mention the name “Israel,” the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, documented history of a Jewish community in Egypt goes back to the end of the First Temple/beginning of the Second Temple period, followed by a vast presence in what was known as the “Land of Onias,” where a fully functioning Jewish temple stood during the Hasmonean era. Likewise, the Jewish community in Alexandria took part in the 2nd century “Diaspora Revolt” against the Romans.
Zamir noted to Israel Today that according to Josephus Flavius’ writings, a million Jews used to live in Alexandria, Egypt in Hellenistic times: “Under the Greeks, there was tolerance for their faith. The Egyptian Jewish community had many important figures in the Hellenistic period. For example, Yedida Ha-Alexandroni was a great philosopher.”
Yaakov Ibn Khillis, a Jew from Egypt, was a vizier, or high-ranking official. However, he fell out of favor with the king and had to flee for his life to Fatimid lands. According to Zamir’s interview with Israel Today, he helped the Fatimids to invade Egypt: “He helped the Fatimids also to establish Al Azhar University, the center of Sunni Islam.”
According to Zamir’s interview with Israel Today, another prominent figure in the Egyptian Jewish community was Maimonides, one of Judaism’s most prominent Torah scholars: “He fled Spain to Morocco and after they wanted to kill him, he went to Egypt. He was the doctor of the sultan. He prayed at El Ezra Synagogue. He wrote in Judeo-Arabic. He wrote a letter to the Jews of Yemen, arguing that it was religiously permissible to feign conversion to Islam to save one’s life. The Cairo Genizah contained many holy documents. All of the history of the Jews of Egypt is here. They wrote in both Arabic and Hebrew. It shows how Egyptian we Jews were.”
“Egypt has held a unique and significant place in the history of the Jewish people,” Sylvain Abitbol, co-president of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC), stated in a recent press release. Abitbol spoke about the Jewish connection to Egypt in the context of the new report released by Jews for Justice from Arab Countries, which illuminates the history and persecution of this community…and its abrupt end, resulting in the loss of $59 billion in individual and communal losses.
According to the press release put out by Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, Egypt denies these facts. Egyptian President Abdul Fatah El-Sissi, in a 2023 meeting with then-US Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin, claimed that Jews always lived peacefully in Egypt. “It has never been the case that Jews were targeted in their old or modern history,” said Sissi. This is untrue.
From personal experience, Zamir knows otherwise. “The Egyptians told us you are Zionists, you are enemies of this country, so we will confiscate all your assets. And they did,” asserted Zamir in the recent press release. In her interview with Israel Today, she stated: “The Arabs did not want there to be a Jewish state. So, they took away the business of my father and imprisoned my uncle for the crime of being a Zionist, for a year and a half. Many Jews were imprisoned for a year and a half. I was 10 years old. They knocked on the door and stole many things, and they arrested my uncle. They tried to auction off my piano, but failed thanks to the intervention of an Arab friend. I did not know about my uncle’s imprisonment. I went to school and my teacher told me that they took my uncle to jail. I thought he killed someone. I was only 10. I cried and went to my mother and asked what he did. She said, ‘They took him because we are Jewish.’”
“It was a trauma for me to see him go to jail for being Jewish,” she explained. “I had nightmares at night over this. I dreamed for thirty years that I was at our home. A Muslim friend of mine was there, and all of the Arabs heard me speak Hebrew to her. I wanted in the dream to speak French or Arabic, but it came out in Hebrew. I then became scared that I would also go to jail for I am Jewish. We waited a year and a half until they freed my uncle from prison. They sent him directly from the prison to a boat. We then were expelled and could only depart with one suitcase. We went in the middle of the night.”
According to Zamir, the situation further deteriorated in the 1950’s, after her mother had already left:” They imprisoned the remaining Jews and used to torture them daily. There were three waves of imprisonment followed by expulsion, one after 1938, one in the 1950’s during the Suez Crisis and one around the Six Day War in 1967. There was no one left in school. Everyone went to jail. The Consul of Spain rescued many of the Sephardic Jews, claiming that they were Spanish citizens. However, those who did not have a consul to claim them remained in jail for a year and a half. This is the story of the ethnic cleansing of the Jews from Egypt.”
Zamir is a Vice President of Jews for Justice from Arab Countries, an advocacy and historical preservation group, which released its report on Egyptian Jewry as part of its ambitious and far-ranging project on the expulsion of nearly 1 million Jews from ten Arab countries and Iran. According to the recent press release, the Egypt report is the product of six years of intricate research, and the third in the series, following reports on Syria and Iraq. The report painstakingly details the rich life and culture that flourished in Egypt beginning in Biblical times and ended in the early 1970’s.
According to the report, the report delves into property, businesses, assets and other holdings that were seized from Egyptian Jews as they were persecuted, imprisoned and forced to flee. The report noted that the total amount of assets that were seized over the years is equivalent to more than $59 billion by today’s valuations, stated Dr. Stanley Urman, executive director of JJAC.
“Though many try to deny it, Jews are an indigenous people of the Middle East, having lived in Egypt and elsewhere in the region continuously for millennia, fully one thousand five hundred years before the advent of Islam,” said Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, MD, who is Justice for Jews from Arab Countries co-president. “The truth about the uprooting of Jews from the Arab totalitarian regimes, dictatorships and monarchies has been denied for over 75 years. This important project endeavors to set the record straight,” Abadie added.
“The contribution of Egyptian Jews to the country’s development was particularly impressive,” stated Urman. “They played a crucial role in establishing the foundations of the modern economy across all sectors: agriculture, industry, commerce, and finance. Specifically, they were instrumental in the financial and economic mechanisms that developed Egypt’s infrastructure and enhanced its productive capabilities,” he said.
According to the press release put out by the Justice for Jews from Arab Countries organization, in the 19th and 20th centuries, prominent Egyptian Jews include Moreno Cicurel, who founded a series of stores in Cairo; the Mosseri family, renowned for their influential Bank of Mosseri; and Joseph Smouha, the visionary behind the construction of Smouha City. According to the report, the Jewish contribution to Egypt was not confined to financial matters alone. One of the greatest musicians of modern Egypt was the composer Daoud Khidr Levi, better known as Dawood Hosni (1870-1937). According to Israel Hayom, Dawood Husni, one of Egypt’s foremost composers, composed eleven songs for Om Kalthum, mentored Asmahan, and introduced the first operetta in the Arabic language, Cleopatra.
Jews also made significant contributions to the development of cinema and theater in Egypt. Among them, Yaqub Sanu (1839-1912) was the most influential figure in modern Egyptian theater. However, Israel Hayom reported that Laila Murad, Rakia Ibrahim (Rachel Avraham), and Sylvia Sidney, were Jewish Egyptian actresses who gained fame both locally and internationally. There was also Camilia (Lilian Levi Cohen), a famous Jewish Egyptian actress who was murdered under mysterious circumstances.
According to Israel Hayom, Jews also contributed significantly to Egyptian literature and journalism. According to the report, Murad Bey Farag Lichaa, a lawyer for Egypt’s Khedive, was a prolific author and poet in Hebrew and Arabic, whose writing Ahmed Shawqi, the prince of Arab poets, showered with praise. Noteworthy: Israel Hayom claimed that Farag’s writing indicates that he was both an Egyptian patriot and a passionate Zionist, proving that the two are not mutually exclusive. Also, Victor Nahmias, one of Egypt’s foremost journalists, had a significant role in the Egyptian press. And Maurice Antoine Samuel, a Jewish poet and writer, left a lasting mark on modern Egyptian literature.
The Justice for Jews from Arab Countries press release reported that nearly two decades into the 20th century, the Jewish population of Egypt was nearly 60,000 strong. The local Jewish community was enhanced by refugees arriving from Europe and other places affected by persecution and rising antisemitism. In Egypt at this time, Jews integrated well into local and foreign commercial enterprises, consular offices, government positions, and financial systems.
However, according to the press release, for Egyptian Jews the 1930s marked a turning point. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood injected a more religious and militaristic element into Egyptian nationalism. The ongoing conflict in Palestine further fueled this shift, as the “Palestine problem” became intertwined with nationalist fervor, xenophobia, and rising anti-Zionist sentiments. From this point on, things began spiraling downward for Egyptian Jews. Violence, arrests, bombings, blood libels and the virus of Jew-hatred had spread like a Biblical plague throughout Egypt. According to the report, the establishment of the Jewish State provided Egyptian authorities with an excuse to terrorize local Jews. Between 1948 and 1966, the number of Jews who fled Egypt totaled 63,000. By the early 1970s, Jewish life in Egypt had virtually disappeared. Today, only two Jews live in Egypt, the remnants of what was once a proud heritage.
“Unlike its ancient counterpart, the modern-day uprooting of Egyptian Jewry is not a tale of triumph but of tragedy, bringing to a grinding halt millennium of vibrant history and heritage,” the Justice for Jews from Arab Countries organization told the Jerusalem Post.
Photo from Nebi Daniel Association: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Egypt#/media/File:Egyptian_Alexandria_Jewish_girls_during_BatMitzva.jpg
