Abstract

Documenting the 20th century evolution of Jewish life in Egypt
Mohamed Aboulghar, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Jews lived in Egypt for several centuries before Christ. Later, Jews emigrated to Egypt from Spain in the 15th Century, from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century and from Eastern Europe in the 20th Century. Therefore, Egyptian Jews are from various ethnic, cultural, economic and social backgrounds and they spoke different languages. Generalization is impossible in description of the life of Egyptian Jews. Jewish life in Egypt in the 20th century passed through roughly three phases, a golden period (turn of century to 1935/1937), a period of prosperity and worry (1937-1948) and a critical period followed by dispersion (1948-1967). Details of Jewish Egyptian’s life will be discussed in each of these phases, covering culture, social life, political involvement and business. Special attention will be given to the relationship between Jews and the rest of the Egyptian population in each phase, covering the evolution of the Jewish attitude towards the Arabic Language and the Egyptian Nationality. Different factors that negatively affected the life of Egyptian Jews will be discussed, including the establishment of the State of Israel, the Moslem Brotherhood, and Masr Al Fatah. Deterioration of the condition of Egyptian Jews will be examined, with special emphasis on the evolution of Zionist activities in Egypt throughout the 20th Century, until the free officers seized power and the King was exiled in 1952. The conditions of the Jews after the 1952 revolution will be examined until the exodus starting 1956.