Egyptian Jewry and Zionism

Prof. Yedid-Halevi was a member of the Executive Committee of the Zionist Federation in Alexandria. He was born in Beirut to a Zionist family until his father was arrested and fatally tortured by the Turks. The family left for Alexandria in 1920. He finished school at the Lycee Francaise, then studied law, and joined the Zionist Federation in 1930. He was in touch with the central institutions in Palestine, worked for Aliyat Noar and assisted the shlichim Moshe Ben Asher and Rafael Reccanati. He describes the activities of Ben Asher, the first to send youths to Palestine in 1938; Victor Turiel; Albert Antebi in Jerusalem and his contacts with the Turkish authorities; his cousin Eli Antebi of Alexandria who was also active in the Free Masons' movement; Alfred Cohen; the Italian Emilio Levi; Eli Politi, president of Bnei Brith in Egypt; Palestinian Jews who came to Egypt during World War I, such as Yaakov and Yehuda Weissman, Avinoam Hurwitz and Leon Castro. ; The Jews of Egypt were involved mainly in community projects: Jewish schools, hospitals; homes for the elderly; clinics for babies; several social institutions; scouts and youth clubs; rabbinical courts; yeshivot and synagogues. The Egyptian authorities objected to these activities only after the rise of the Egyptian National Movement. Many Jews were advocates and appeared in the "Mixed Courts", less in the "Egyptian Courts" which were held in Arabic and where advocates had to be of Egyptian nationality. None of the Jewish advocates ever became judges. Prof. Yedid-Halevi mentions the names of some advocates. In 1915 the 27,000 Jews of Alexandria, mostly Sephardic, absorbed 10,000 Jews of Russian origin whom the Turks had expelled from Palestine. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, 15,000 Egyptian Jews (mainly poor or workers) immigrated to Eretz Israel, leaving 73,000 behind. They were supported by the community. Prof. Yedid-Halevi came to Palestine in 1942, together with adv. Yosef Lotan. Between 1948 and 1956, 10,000 Egyptian Jews came to Israel. 25,000 Jews, expelled from Egypt during the Sinai Campaign moved to France. In 1957 the Jewish Agency sent him and an Egyptian journalist Yaakov Rabin to Europe, to convince the Egyptian refugees in France, Italy and England to make aliyah. 16,000 Jews immigrated. At the time of the interview, there were about 50,000 Egyptian Jews in Israel, many having reached high positions in Government, Army, the Judiciary, etc. ; History of the Jewish community in Egypt: Jewish presence since Biblical times. Ancient Jewish culture known thanks to the Cairo Geniza; there are no archaeological excavations of the Jewish community. Only after World War I the Society for Research of the History of Egyptian Jewry, founded by Yosef Kattawi Pecha and the Chief Rabbi Nachum Effendi, collected documents and published articles, but it did not last because of financial difficulties. Jews and Judaism in the Arab countries greatly influenced Muslim faith. Jews are mentioned in the Kor'an, the Hadith and in poetry. One of the greatest challenges, Israel faces today is to find the right framework for future activities. Prof. Yedid-Halevi believes that, in spite of the current situation in Arab countries, there is great interest in what happens in Israel, and there are opportunities for cooperation in the future. He talks about the prophet Jeremiah who went to Egypt and found there a strong Jewish community enlarged by refugees from Yehuda, and the foundation of autonomous Jewish Elephantine. During the Hasmonaean war and during Hellenistic rule, the situation of Jews, especially in Alexandria, was good. ; At this time the Bible was translated into Greek. With the Roman occupation of Egypt and the growing influence of Christianity, Jewish life became endangered, and in 415 the Bishop of Alexandria was responsible for the murder of more than 100,000 Jews. When the Ottomans conquered Egypt and during their rule of 500 years, the caliphs maintained friendly relations with the Jewish community which produced well-known physicians and great philosophers such as Sa'adia, who translated the Torah into Arabic and wrote his works in Arabic. The Jews were given a monopoly for making coins. The Rambam was a physician to the court and advisor of the king, and he greatly raised the cultural level of the Jewish community. This "golden" period lasted during Turkish rule. As a result of the Inquisition many refugees from Spain and other European countries reached Egypt. This was the time of the "nagidim" such as Rabbi Yitzhaq Hacohen Ben Sulel. After him came Rabbi David Ben Zimra, a great "posek" whose decisions were liberal. Under British rule the situation of Egyptian Jews was good, and many Jews from Europe and North Africa settled in Egypt. The Jewish community at the beginning of World War I numbered 70,000 and was boosted by Jews from Eretz Yisrael who were sent there by the Turks. The communities then founded their own institutions, such as schools, hospitals, Rabbinical courts, research institutes. ; They joined the Zionist Movement and took part in the boycot of Nazi Germany and raising funds for the support of refugees, among them the "Teheran children". When Egypt attained independence, the attitude towards the Jews became hostile. When, in 1948, their army was defeated, they arrested and tortured Egyptian Jews, as a result of which many left Egypt. In 1956 there was a real exodus and the Israel authorities started evacuating Jewish refugees from the camps in France, Italy and England. 16,000 out of 25,000 were transferred to Israel, the others emigrating to Brasil, Canada, USA. Prof. Yedid-Halevi then describes the absorption of Egyptian Jews in Israel society, their contribution to the economic and cultural scene.