History of the Jews in Egypt

The history of the Jews in Egypt has more than 3,300 years and is inextricably linked with the formation of the Israeli people and their religious beliefs.

The oldest (biblical) history of the Jews in Egypt

Joseph was actually the ruler of Egypt.

Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. One of the main pages of the history of the Jewish people .

According to the Bible and religious writings, the patriarch Abraham , the ancestor of the Jews, spent some time in Egypt, his great-grandson Joseph was sold by the Ishmaelians into slavery in Egypt, but due to his wisdom and prudence he became a powerful governor of the pharaoh and in fact became a ruler. During the famine, the father of Joseph Jacob with all his sons, arrived in Egypt, where Joseph opened up to them, forgave his brothers and offered to settle in Egypt. At the request of Joseph, Pharaoh took to his family a rich district of Goshen [Heb. גושן (Gōšen); Greek γεσαν [ˈɡesan] ]. Jacob and his 12 sons are considered the progenitors of the 12 tribes of Israel , the tribes that formed the people of Israel.

After several generations, Pharaoh doubted their loyalty and ordered the expulsion of Jews from Egypt. According to the Bible , the prophet Moses from the tribe of Levi decided to liberate his people from Egyptian slavery and received permission from Pharaoh to leave Egypt (Exodus) . After 7 weeks of wandering in the Sinai desert, the Israelites approached Mount Sinai , where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

According to Jewish tradition, the Exodus from Egypt and the adoption of the laws of the Torah became the cornerstone in the history of the formation of the Jewish people and the most important stage in the formation of the self-consciousness of the Jewish people as a whole. An alternative biblical version of this story is cited in the work of Egypt, the Alexandrian historian Manetho .

Jews in Ancient Egypt

According to legend, based on biblical sources, King Solomon ended the half-thousand-year enmity of Jews and Egyptians in the X century BC. er , taking as the first wife, Judaism, the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh ; in Egypt, Jeroboam , who rebelled against Solomon, found refuge. After the death of Solomon, during the reign of his son Rehobam , Jeroboam (probably the appointee of Pharaoh Sheshonok ) became the first king of the separated ten tribes, or the northern kingdom of Israel . On the permanent settlement of the Jews in Egypt at that time is not known for certain, but after the defeat of Judea in the war with Babylon and the destruction of the Temple of Solomon in 597 BC. er , a part of the Jews took refuge in Egypt. After an unsuccessful rebellion, during which the Babylonian governor Gedaliah was killed, the prophet Jeremiah was led away by the rebels to Egypt.

Jews in Hellenistic Egypt

After the formation of Egypt, the Ptolemies in 301 BC. er began a massive migration of Jews to Egypt, mainly in prosperous Alexandria . The rulers attracted Jews to the country, providing them with favorable conditions for practicing handicrafts, agriculture and trade, and also hired them for state and military service. ^[4] In Hellenistic Egypt ( 332 BC - 30 BC ) Alexandria was the largest Hellenistic city and the most important center of handicrafts, trade, culture, education, the city had the largest Alexandrian library in the ancient world. .

Alexandrian Jews constituted a significant part of the city’s population and played a large role in its social and economic life. Alexandrian Jews also had greater political freedom than anywhere else. ^{[6] [7]} The ethnarch (head of the people) stood at the head of the Jewish community, who "ruled the people, created the court, took care of the fulfillment of obligations and instructions as the head of an independent city." ^[eight]

The Jews of Alexandria made a significant contribution to ancient philosophy and theology, many of them were representatives of the famous Alexandrian school . Philo of Alexandria (Philo of Judea) (ca. 25 BC - ca. 50 CE) was one of the prominent representatives of the Alexandrian Theological School , as well as the founder of Jewish Hellenism, whose center was Alexandria, theologian, apologist of Judaism and religious thinker who had a great influence on the subsequent theological teachings. A feature of Philo's philosophy was that he linked the dogmas of the Jewish religion with Greek philosophy.

Egyptian Jews built a magnificent synagogue in Alexandria, references to which are found in Hagadic literature . Egypt flourished, and the Jews lived in it rather prosperous. ^[6]

Jews in the Roman rule of Egypt

In 30 BC. er After the capture of Egypt by Rome , the social and economic structure of Egypt changed dramatically, the Jews were assigned to the lower class and were removed from state and military service , which led to the loss of the main sources of income . Instead of Jews, Rome put the Greeks on , which became the beginning of antagonism between Jews and Greeks, over time these social contradictions intensified, and led to outbursts of violence. In the year 38 n. er , during the reign of the Roman emperor Caligula , the Alexandrian Greeks desecrated the synagogues and installed the statues of the emperor, the Jews were locked up in Jewish quarters, and their houses were looted. The Jewish community of Alexandria was almost completely destroyed by the army of Trajan during the Jewish uprising 115 AD E. 117 year n. er yo

Jews at the birth of Christianity in Egypt

In the I century AD er Christianity quickly spread throughout the Roman Empire , including in Egypt. Alexandria became one of the main centers of Christianity, where Jews constituted the majority of the population. city. In the course of the spread of Christianity, the contradictions between Christianity and Judaism intensified, and in 415 , after a series of pogroms swept through, the Alexandrian patriarch, Kirill, expelled the Jews from the city. This was the first expulsion of Jews from Christian countries in Jewish history. ^{[9] [ clarify ]}

Jews after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs (640–1250)

Egyptian Jews, along with the Copts and other Monophysite Christians oppressed by Patriarch Cyrus , welcomed the invasion of the Arabs in Egypt in 640. When the transfer of Alexandria on November 8, 641 , the Arabs allowed 40,000 Alexandrian Jews to remain in the city.

In the next few hundred years, under the Arab Muslim rule in Egypt, there was a rapid growth of the Jewish community, replenished by Jews from Syria and Iraq, their own communities of immigrants from different countries were formed with their synagogues and courts. Egyptian Jews also establish their own independent bodies of communal authority: the official head of the Jewish community, the nagid and his deputy, the messengers . When nagid acts Jewish religious court ( beit din ), which sit from three to seven members. Nagid was given broad powers, he could make decisions on civil and criminal affairs of the community, appointed rabbis , was responsible for collecting taxes, punished and imprisoned the guilty. ^[10] However, Egyptian Jews, as in all Muslim countries, receive the status of dimmi (“treaty people”).

From VIII - IX centuries , a high level of Jewish education in Egypt. For example, the Jewish philosopher, linguist and poet Saadia Gaon ( 882-942 ) was born and received a deep and diverse education in Egypt. ^{[11] [12] The} Muslim rulers of Egypt provided Egyptian Jews with the opportunity to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem , which lasted until the first crusade in 1096–97 . ^[13] , after which part of Palestinian Jews found refuge in Egypt.

Under the rule of the Caliph al-Aziz (975–996), the largest traders in Alexandria were Jews, they controlled trade in the Indian Ocean. Usury was one of the areas of activity that almost completely belonged to the Alexandrian Jewish bankers, they even lent to caliphs and viziers, and the loan rate sometimes reached 30%. ^[14]

The rule of Caliph al-Hakim (996-1020) in Egypt was ambiguous for the Jewish community. Shlomo Goytein , a researcher of the life of Jews in Islamic countries in the Middle Ages , wrote that at the beginning of his reign, Egyptian Jews glorified al-Hakim as a "prince of justice and wisdom." In his honor was even written "Megila" ( Scroll ) or a laudatory ode, extolling the Caliph "to the skies." In "Megil" it was noted that at the very beginning of January 1012 the Caliph personally saved two hundred Jews from the hands of fanatics. ^[15] However, from 1012 everything changed, the caliph began to oppress the Jews: “... Not only in Old Cairo and Alexandria, but in all parts of the empire, in Palestine and Syria as well as in Tripoli, in the Mediterranean ports in northern Syrian the coast, the synagogues, new and old, were destroyed. In the new part of Cairo on Easter night, on the orders of the Caliph, the Jewish quarter with all its inhabitants was burned to the ground. ” ^[15] As a result, many Jews were forced to emigrate to other countries. When after 7 years Christians and Jews were suddenly allowed to return, many years passed until everything was restored. Goyteyn called the rule of al-Hakim one of "the blackest pages of medieval history" ^[15] .

In 1141, Jewish poet and philosopher Yehuda Halevi visited Alexandria, and Rabbi Benjamin of Tudeli circa 1160 visited . As follows from the description of his travels left by Benjamin, on the way he stopped in the Jewish communities of Egypt, found out their numbers, wrote down the names of the rabbis. At that time, only 3,000 Jews remained in Alexandria, 2,000 in Cairo (where the head of the community was R. Pinchas ben Meshulam from France), 700 in Damir , 300 in Bilbeis , 200 in Damietta and 20 families in Fayoum .

The wars of Saladin and the Crusaders (1169-93) did not affect the Egyptian Jews. Some Jews held important positions at the court of Saladin , for example, among the healers of Saladin was Karai Abu al-Bayan al-Mudawar and Abu al-Maali (Maimonides' brother-in-law). The middle of the XII century was marked by the beginning of a new wave of persecution in Europe , being expelled, many Jewish refugees from Europe find refuge in Egypt. Among them was the prominent Jewish philosopher, rabbi and physician Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) ( 1135-1204 ), who in 1168 with his family settled in Fustate , ^[16] where he soon became the head of the Jewish community of Egypt ( nagidom ), and along with the family healer Saladin and his vizier.

The second half of the XII - the beginning of the XIII centuries is considered the heyday of the "Jewish Renaissance" in the East, especially in Egypt. ^[17] In this era, the main texts of Jewish philosophy were created. For example, in Egyptian Fustat Maimonides creates his main works, “ Mishne Torah ” ^{[18] [19]} and “ Sea Nevuhim ” ^[20] Although Maimonides lived in Egypt for a long time, he still believed that the Torah forbids Jews to live in Egypt, and being there justifies only the need. Maimonides corresponded with the Jews of North Africa, Yemen, and other countries, indicating a close relationship between the Jewish communities in various Muslim countries. ^{[21] The} works of Maimonides, like the works of other Egyptian Jews, had an enormous influence on Jewish philosophy and theology in the medieval world.

The Jews of Egypt under the Mamluks (1250–1517)

During the rule of the Fatimids (969–1170), and later under the Ayyubids (1171–1250), the position of the Jews was relatively good. ^{[10] [22]} However, with the arrival of the Mamluks in Egypt in 1250, the situation of the Jews began to deteriorate. In 1301, the Mamluks ordered the Jews to wear yellow turbans , Christians - blue, and Samaritans - red. ^[23] There have been an increase in attacks on non-Muslims on the streets of Cairo. The economy fell into decay, which negatively affected the Jewish community. Although the relative autonomy of the Jewish community continued to exist, for example, the nagid continued to lead the life of the community. ^[ten]

The Jews of Egypt during the Ottoman rule (1517-1914)

In 1517, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I captured Cairo, marking the beginning of the 400-year rule of the Turks in Egypt. With the coming to power, Selim I removed restrictions on the Jews imposed on them by the Mamluks and allowed them the free practice of a religious cult. ^[24] Such a policy of religious tolerance opened up wide economic opportunities for Jews and allowed them to occupy key positions in the financial administration of Egypt. ^[four]

However, sometimes, Egyptian Jews became participants and victims of palace intrigues. In 1523, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I appointed Ahmad Pasha of the Mamluks as his representative in Egypt. However, the odious Pasha, soon staged a coup and proclaimed himself the Sultan of Egypt. On the occasion of this event, Ahmad Pasha ordered the mint's tenant Jew Abraham de Castro to mint new coins with his name. But de Castro secretly escapes to Istanbul and reports everything to Suleiman I. Upon learning of treason, Ahmed Pasha put out his anger on the fugitive's relatives, taking them hostage and throwing them into prison, he demanded a tremendous ransom from the Jews. The community did not have such money, but to their happiness, Ahmed Pasha was soon overthrown by his own people, and the hostages were released. ^{[25] The} day of the “miraculous salvation” of Cairo Jews on March 6, 1524 was celebrated for many years by the Jewish community as “ Cairo Purim ” (Purim Mizraim). ^[26]

In Egypt, as in Asia Minor, numerous Sephardic Jews , expelled from Spain and Portugal , took refuge. They had an enormous influence on the cultural and religious life of the Jewish communities of the entire region that adopted them, most of which fully adopted the Sephardic customs. Italian Jews, whose ancestors were also mainly Sephardic, began to arrive en masse in Egypt in the XVIII — XIX centuries. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Syrian Jews from Aleppo joined them.

At the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries, about 100,000 Jews (including several thousand Karaites ) lived in Egypt. Most of them spoke the Hebrew-Egyptian dialect of Arabic , but some Sephardic and Spanish Karaites also continued to speak Ladino . The educated sections of society also spoke English and French. Despite religious differences and the prohibition of mixed marriages, relations between Jews and Karaites were good-neighborly: unlike their Crimean and Eastern European co-religionists, Egyptian Karaites continued to consider themselves part of the Jewish people.

Hebrews of Egypt (1914-1948)

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, at the beginning of the 20th century, Jews in Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, and Syria rushed to Egypt in search of asylum and jobs. Among them were the "new emigrants", Ashkenazi , who emigrated to Egypt as a result of the frequent pogroms in the territory of the Russian Empire. Some of them failed to settle in Palestine , for others Egypt was a stop on the way there. They settled mainly in the Cairo quarter of Darb al-Barabir . Another factor attracting Jewish immigrants was the increase in trade opportunities that emerged with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 .

The king of Egypt, Fuad I (1868-1936), defended the Jewish community in Egypt. It allowed the activities of Zionist organizations, Jewish youth sports groups, Jewish schools to function freely. His son, King Farouk I (1936-1952) continued the policy of his father. However, Jews were not allowed to participate in elections and serve in government bodies. The Jews born in Egypt did not automatically receive Egyptian citizenship, they were instructed to obtain the citizenship of one of the parents. ^[27]

Since the XIX century, many Egyptian Jews sought to obtain citizenship of a European country, because in this case they enjoyed extraterritoriality under the terms of the Ottoman capitulation regime: they were not subject to jurisdiction of the local authorities; the latter could not confiscate their property or impose duties. In 1897 , according to one source, 12,507 of the 25,200 Egyptian Jews were considered foreign nationals. In 1917, 34,601 people out of 59,581 were registered as foreign nationals in the Jewish community of Egypt, and 31,230 out of 63,550 in 1927. ^[28] In 1937, the Egyptian government annulled Ottoman capitulations, which had a very negative effect on all non-citizens, especially Jews. ^[29]

According to the law adopted in 1947 , at least 75% of the employees of companies were Egyptian citizens. This law especially hurt Jews, as only 20% owned citizenship. ^[2] The same law prohibited non-citizens from owning a controlling stake.

In the mid-1940s, at the height of its heyday, the Jewish community in Egypt reached 100,000. ^[27]

The Jews of Egypt during the British Protectorate (1914–1922)

Great Britain and France established control over Egypt during the hostilities in 1882 , undertaken to prevent the nationalization of the Suez Canal. ^[30] The British protectorate was officially recognized in 1914 . During World War I, Jewish refugees from Europe continue to arrive in Egypt, for many of which it is a transit point on the way to Palestine. Their number increased after the introduction by the British authorities of quotas for Jewish immigration to Palestine in 1922 , the so-called. White book .

The Jews of Egypt after the proclamation of independence (1922-1948)

In the same 1922, Egypt achieved independence from Great Britain . Egyptian Jews took an active part in the independence movement. Their role in the country's economy was still great. However, 90% of Jews did not receive Egyptian citizenship, regardless of the number of generations of their ancestors who lived in the country.

Despite the discrimination among the Jews there were many patriots of Egypt. In 1935, Rene Katawi , leader of the Cairo Sephardic community and an opponent of Zionism, welcomed the creation of an "Association of Egyptian Jewish Youth" under the slogan "Egypt is our homeland, Arabic is our language." In 1943, Katawi sent a report to the World Jewish Congress on Palestine ’s inability to accommodate Jewish refugees from Europe. ^[31] Even among pro-Zionist-minded Jews, support for Egypt’s independence was high. Karaite scholar Murad bin Farag (1866-1956), one of the co-authors of the Egyptian constitution of 1923 , defended the right of Jews to their state in the book "al-Qudsiyat" published in the same year in Arabic. ^[32] .

Henry Curiel , an Egyptian Jew, founded the Egyptian Liberation Movement ('The Egyptian Movement for National Liberation') in 1943 , and in 1947 headed the Communist Party of Egypt . ^[31] He also played an important role in establishing early contacts between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). ^[33] Among the leaders of the national movement who fought the British occupation was also Yakub Sanou . In exile, he edited one of the first Arabic-language magazines, Abu Nadar Azra.

Clashes between Jews and Arabs in Palestine in 1936-1939 , simultaneously with the strengthening of Nazi Germany, led to the growth of anti-Semitism in Egyptian society. Pogroms have become frequent since 1942 . Passions also escalated in connection with the upcoming partition of Palestine and incitement in the press.

About 90% of Egyptian government officials and intellectuals sympathized with Germany during World War II . It was the result of anti-British sentiment, massive Nazi propaganda, the activities of German agents, and the close economic partnership of Egypt with Germany in the 30s - early 40s. ^[34]

After the end of World War II, Egypt provided asylum to thousands of wanted Nazi criminals. ^{[2] [34] [35] [36]} Jerusalem Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini and the legendary saboteur of the Third Reich, Otto Skorzeny, who lived in Cairo, actively assisted in their transfer to the Middle East. In 1952-53, he himself participated in the creation of Egyptian special services and trained commandos of army intelligence, operating on the Sinai Peninsula and in the Gaza Strip.

On December 2, 1947 , immediately after the UN adopted a decision on the partition of Palestine , the Ulem , a leading scholar of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo (possibly the most authoritative Sunni Muslim in the world), declared “world jihad in defense of Arab Palestine”. Goals began pogroms in Aden ( South Yemen ), Aleppo ( Syria ), a series of attacks on Jews took place in Cairo and Damascus . The rioters chanted "Death to the Jews!" In most cases, the authorities could not curb them, as a result, dozens of Jews were killed and hundreds of houses were burned. ^[37]

According to the Egyptian census of 1947, about 65,600 Jews lived in Egypt, 64% in Cairo and 32% in Alexandria, 4% lived in small towns. Thus, the Egyptian Jewish community was the most urbanized among all the countries of Africa and Asia. In 1947, 59% of Jews were merchants, the rest worked in industry (18%), and in state administration and public services (11%). ^[38]

Among the Egyptian Jews there were several multimillionaires, which was a phenomenon among any other Eastern Jewish communities in the Middle East.

The Jews of Egypt after the War of Independence of Israel (1948-1956)

It should be noted that the evaluation of the history of the Jews in Egypt after 1948 is rather contradictory.

On May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence . The next day, simultaneously with the entry of Egypt and six other Arab countries into the war against Israel , a royal decree against the Jews was issued forbidding them to leave the country without special permission. ^[40]

After the July revolution in Egypt , which overthrew the monarchy, Egyptian Jews continued to live without any particular difficulties and without interference from the authorities. The military government, under the leadership of Naguib, reaffirmed its policy to protect the lives and property of all citizens, including minorities, regardless of religious affiliation. ^{[38] [41]}

In 1953, Sheikh El-Bakri, the minister of religious affairs, publicly called the Jews "pigs." President Nagugh, ordered him to apologize to the Chief Rabbi of Egypt, Chaim Nahum Effendi . The minister intended to do this by telephone, but Naguib insisted that apologies be made publicly and personally. ^[41] In November 1954, Nahum Chaim declared that Egyptian Jews were not discriminated: “In my authority as the spiritual leader of the Jewish community, and in full agreement with the members of the community council, it is my duty to declare that there is no discrimination against our communities ” ^{[41] [42]} . At the same time, a number of sources believe that in the conditions when, after the UN’s decision to divide Palestine into Arab and Jewish states in 1947 and over the following years, many Egyptian Jews were arrested and interned on charges of Zionist activity, Jewish enterprises were requisitioned, banking accounts were frozen, and exit visas could only be obtained with the permission of the special state agency for Jewish affairs ^[38] , Rabbi Nahum Haim tried to minimize the damage to his community. He was very careful in his statements, so as not to voice opposition to the authorities, fearing that the whole community might suffer because of his words or actions. On several occasions, he satisfied the authorities' request to make a statement condemning the Zionists, but he tried to make them as short and foggy as possible. But when during the Israeli war for independence he was asked to ensure that prayers for the victory of the Egyptian troops were read in all the synagogues of Egypt, he refused to do so ^[43] .

Pogroms and attacks on Jews have become a daily occurrence in most Arab countries, including Egypt. The bombings in the Jewish areas only between June and November 1948 killed 70 Jews, and about 200 were injured. ^{[2] [44]} Much more were killed in riots and street riots. ^[45]

As the German newspaper Die Welt noted on December 28, 1958, "Cairo gained the glory of Eldorado for fugitive Nazis." They acted as advisers on the reorganization of the secret special services, the air force, tank forces, and army commandos. Some Nazis, by adopting Islam and taking themselves Arabic names, held senior positions in intelligence and counterintelligence, specializing in Israel. ^[36] For example, the saboteurs against Israel for the Egyptian army were prepared by Oscar Dirlewanger, whose sledder squad participated in suppressing the Polish uprising in Warsaw in the summer of 1944, and the former Gestapo chief in Warsaw was created by Leopold Glaim (Naem al-Nahher). ^{[35] [46] [47] [48] [49]} Many of these Nazi criminals took part in the mass destruction of the Jewish population, prisoners of war and partisans in the occupied territory of the USSR. Thus, Eugen Eichenberger, Erich Alten, Willy Berner commanded SS units in the occupied territories of Russia and Ukraine, and in Egypt they worked as trainers for the training of detachments of Palestinian saboteurs. ^[47]

Hussa Nalisman, former Obergruppenführer SS Moser, supervised the State Security Service Propaganda Department. The secret state police of Egypt was headed by Hamid Suleiman, the former Gestapo chief in Ulm, SS gruppführer Heinrich Zelman. Former SS officer Tiefenbacher engaged in the preparation of the Cairo police. The coordinator of all Egyptian propaganda against Israel was the former associate of Goebbels, who had moved to Egypt from Argentina, Johann von Leers, a pathological antiphobia, editor of the Nazi journal and author of the book “Jews Among Us” (1935). For the sake of continuing the war with the Jews, Leers accepted Islam (1956). As an adviser to the ministry of national leadership of Egypt, he worked extensively to implant the ideas of Nazism in the Arab East. The closest colleague of Leers was the secretary of the Islamic Congress, Salab Gafa, a former member of the NSDAP, Hans Appler. The New York Times Magazine reported on July 27, 1958: "Egyptian propagandists, with the help of several German specialists who survived the collapse of Nazism, turned Cairo radio into an unusually powerful tool of Nazi propaganda directed against Israel." ^{[46] [47] [48]}

Meanwhile, tensions between Egypt and Israel grew. On September 1, 1951, the UN Security Council ordered Egypt to open the Suez Canal for Israeli shipping. Egypt refused to comply with this instruction. The secret negotiations that were conducted by King Farouk before his overthrow in 1952, like the peace plan developed by Britain and the United States in 1955, were not crowned with success.

After the failure of Israeli agents during Operation Susanna in 1954, distrust of the Jews who remained in Egypt increased. The purpose of the operation was to use an underground network consisting of Israeli-recruited Egyptian Jews ^[50] to arrange a series of terrorist attacks against American and British institutions in Cairo and Alexandria , in such a way that the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group would suspect Communists or other nationalist groups. ^{[51] [52]} By this, Israel hoped to thwart Egypt’s negotiations with Great Britain about the withdrawal of British troops from the Suez Canal zone. The departure of the British from the strategic zone, ^[53] was not in the interests of the military security of Israel, since it put Israel under direct threat from Egypt.

The operation was stopped by the Egyptian secret services, the organizers of the terrorist act were arrested, put on trial to the Egyptian court and convicted. German advisers, including the already mentioned Leopold Gleim, participated in interrogations and torture of prisoners. ^[54] The court hearings were opened on December 11, 1954 and continued until January 3, 1955. Despite the fact that not a single person was hurt by the attacks, two of the underground fighters (Dr. Moussa Marzouk and Shmuel Azzar) were sentenced to be hanged. Two more committed suicide. ^[49] The rest, having spent many years in an Egyptian prison, were exchanged for Egyptian prisoners of war in 1968 and moved to Israel. ^[52] In his closing speech, Egyptian prosecutor Fouad al-Digvi said: “Egyptian Jews live among us and are sons of Egypt. Egypt makes no distinction between its sons, be they Muslims, Christians or Jews. It so happened that the accused are Jews living in Egypt, but we judge them because they committed a crime against Egypt, although they are sons of Egypt. ” ^[31]

The Jews of Egypt after the Suez Crisis (1956)

In July 1956, Egyptian President Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal for the needs of the national economy. At a secret meeting held between Britain, France and Israel, in Sevres , in the suburbs of Paris, in October 1956, a plan of attack on Egypt was developed. It was decided that Israel would be the first to launch military operations against Egypt, which would serve as a formal reason for Great Britain and France to enter the war. ^[55] On October 29, 1956, as part of Operation Kadesh, Israeli troops invaded the Gaza Strip (under Egypt’s control since 1949) and the Sinai Peninsula . The next day, British and French carrier-based aviation destroyed a large part of Egyptian aircraft on the ground and paralyzed the actions of the Egyptian Air Force and its navy. However, under the strongest pressure from the UN and the USSR, the attacking countries were forced to withdraw their troops from Egypt. ^[56]

The Suez Conflict instantly reflected on the position of the Jews in Egypt. After the outbreak of the conflict, the Egyptian government declared all Egyptian Jews "Zionists" and "enemies of the state" and promised to expel them soon. About half of the remaining 50,000 Jews left Egypt, their property was confiscated. About a thousand Jews were arrested. ^{[2] [57]}

The Jews of Egypt after the Six Day War (1967)

The confiscation of property continued after the Six Day War of 1967 . ^[2] All Jewish men between the ages of 17 and 60 were immediately expelled or interned for three years. ^[58]

According to the census of 1947, 65,000 Jews lived in Egypt (64% of them in Cairo and 32% in Alexandria). In the next few decades, most Jews left for Israel (35 thousand), Brazil (15 thousand), France (10 thousand), the United States (9 thousand) and Argentina (9 thousand). In 2000, the Jewish population of Egypt was about a hundred people, including fifteen Karaites. All members of the community are very elderly. The last Jewish wedding in Egypt took place in 1984 .

As of April 2013, there are 199 Jews living in Egypt ^[59] .

After 2000, anti-Semitic tendencies intensified in Egypt. In particular, materials are published that prove the veracity of the blood libels , devoted to denial of the Holocaust, and others. Since 2002, the Egyptian television series “Horseman without a horse”, created on the basis of the “ Protocols of the Elders of Zion ” , has been popular. ^[40]

On June 5, 2010, the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt confirmed a court decision depriving Egyptian citizenship of persons married to citizens of Israel. ^[60]

By early 2014, the Egyptian Jewish community has about 40 people ^{[61] [62]} .

In the III — II centuries BC. er in Alexandria , the Septuagint is being created - a collection of translations of the Torah, one fourth of the Old Testament into the ancient Greek language which is an indirect source of knowledge about the original content of the Torah.

The Jewish cemetery “ Bassatin ” is the second oldest Jewish cemetery in the world after the cemetery on the Mount of Olives (Mount of Olives) in Jerusalem . "Bassatin" was founded in 868-884. by order of Sultan Ahmed Ibn Tulun, the founder of the Tulun dynasty in Egypt. ^{[63] [64]} At present, the efforts of the Jewish diasporas in Morocco and the United States, in collaboration with the Egyptian authorities, are reconstructing the cemetery.

On May 13, 1896, explorer Solomon Schechter, in the genesis (repository) of the world's oldest synagogue, Ben Ezra (350 BC), ^[65] located in Fustate, discovers the largest archive of medieval Jewry. The found manuscripts cover more than a thousand years (from the end of the 9th to the end of the 19th century). The letters are written in Hebrew, Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish and some other languages. This archive, called the Cairo Geniza , is a cultural asset and a valuable archive of Jewish history. ^[66] The study of the “Cairo Geniza” became the “work of life” of the orientalist Shlomo Goyteyn ^[67] .

On April 27, 1925, in Cairo, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the Jewish hospital, which was built with the money of the King of Egypt, Musa Chat Pasha, and donations from charitable Jewish organizations. ^[68]

According to Egyptian Jews, the educational policy of the Egyptian government has always left Jewish historical, cultural and religious values ​​under the control of the Jewish community, which influenced the fact that many objects of Jewish heritage have survived to this day. ^[69] In 2007, the Egyptian government announced that it would continue to preserve the Jewish heritage in Egypt, in particular, provides for the restoration of the Yeshiva and the synagogue of Maimonides. ^[70]

• From 1948 to 1970: From Michael to Laskier, Journal of Israeli History: Society, Culture, 1744-0548, Volume 7, Issue 1, 1986, Pages 111—147.
• Arab-Jewish Refugees problem, Egypt and the Middle Eastern Refugee // Egypt, by Joseph E. Katz
  Source: "From the Time of the Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine" by Joan Peters, 601 pages, Harper & Row, 1984 , ISBN 0-06-015265-6 , ISBN 978-0-06-015265-9 ( JKAP Publications, 1985, ISBN 0-9636242-0-2, ISBN 978-0-9636242-0-8 )