JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

egypt
Karā Ahmad Pasha. At times scholars and authors came to
Egypt from other countries and acted as dayyanim and rabbis
for a number of years. Such was the case of David *Conforte,
author of Kore ha-Dorot who came in 1671.
The transition from an Ottoman province to a virtually
independent unity was accompanied by a difficult struggle
during which Jews also suffered considerably. In 1768 when
Turkey became embroiled in war with Russia, Ali Bey, the governor
of Cairo, proclaimed himself the independent governor
of Egypt. He also made an effort to impose his authority on
Palestine, Syria, and the Arabian Peninsula. In order to provide
for the tremendous expenses of his wars, he levied a heavy
contribution on the Jews, which they were compelled to pay
within a short period (see Ben-Ze’ev in Zion (1939), 237–49).
The reforms of *Muhammad (Mehmet) Ali (1805–1848) and
later the opening of the Suez Canal (1863) brought a new prosperity
to commerce and the other branches of the Egyptian
economy. As a result of the changes in all spheres of life, the
Jewish population grew. Jews from European countries settled
in Egypt and schools where education was dispensed along
modern lines were introduced. Alexandria again became a
commercial center and its Jewish community expanded until
it was equal to that of Cairo. The census of 1897 showed that
there were 25,200 Jews in the country. Of these, 8,819 (including
approximately 1,000 Karaites) lived in Cairo, 9,831
in Alexandria, 2,883 in *Tanta, 400 in Port Said, and 508 in
al-*Manṣūra. There were also small communities in other
provincial towns, numbering a total of 4,600 Jews. The immigrants
from European countries founded their own communities,
even though they recognized the authority of the
rabbis of the existing ones. Thus, in the middle of the 19th century
there were communities of Italian and Eastern European
Jews in Alexandria, while in Cairo the immigrants from Italy
and Turkey united in one community. The relations between
Muslims and Jews were normal and there were only rare cases
of disturbances resulting from religious hate. In 1844 there was
a blood libel against the Jews of Cairo and this was repeated
in 1881 and in 1901–1902. In 1840, after the blood libel of *Damascus,
Moses *Montefiore and Adolphe *Crémieux came to
Egypt and established Jewish schools in cooperation with R.
Moses *Algazi. In Alexandria, rabbis who distinguished themselves
by their western education were appointed, and social
activities were encouraged in the community. The numerical
increase, the improvement of cultural standards, and the development
of social activities continued throughout the first
half of the 20th century.
After World War I Sephardi Jews from *Salonika and
other Ottoman towns, as well as Jews from other countries,
settled in Egypt. According to the census of 1917 there were
59,581 Jews in Egypt, of which 29,207 lived in Cairo, and in
1937 their numbers reached 63,550, of which 34,103 lived in
greater Cairo and 24,829 in Greater Alexandria. With the improvements
in the economic and intellectual standards, the
Jews took an active part in public life. Some financiers were
appointed as members of Parliament and ministers. Joseph
*Cattaui was a member of parliament in 1915 and minister of
finances and communications in 1923 (the year Egypt became
officially independent), and Aslan Cattaui was a member of
the Senate during the 1930s. Some, such as Yaʿqūb (James)
*Ṣanūʿ, had even been associated with the Egyptian nationalist
movement. On the other hand, Zionist organizations were
created at the end of the 19th century in the larger towns such
as Cairo, Alexandria, Manṣūra, *Suez, *Damanhūr, and al-
Maḥalla al-Kubrā. As a result of the expulsion of large numbers
of Palestinian Jews to Egypt during World War I, the
attachment of Egyptian Jewry to the Palestinian population
and to the national movement strengthened. The reinforcement
of Jewish consciousness found expression in the publication
of Jewish newspapers in various languages. In 1880, a
Jewish weekly in Arabic, al-Ḥaqīqa (“The Truth”), began to
appear in Alexandria. In 1903, a weekly in Ladino, Miẓrayim,
was founded in Cairo. From 1908 to 1941 a French weekly,
L’Aurore, appeared in Cairo, and in 1919 another weekly, Israël,
was founded in Cairo. This newspaper was amalgamated in
1939 with the Alexandria weekly La Tribune Juive, which was
first published in 1936. It appeared until 1948, as did the Arabic
weekly al-Shams (“The Sun”), founded in 1934.
[Eliyahu Ashtor]
Contemporary Period
According to the Egyptian census of 1947, 65,600 Jews lived
in Egypt, 64% of them in Cairo, 32% in Alexandria, and the
rest in other towns. Egyptian Jewry was thus among the most
urban of the Jewish communities of Asia and Africa. In 1947
most Egyptian Jews (59%) were merchants, and the rest were
employed in industry (18%), administration, and public services
(11%). The economic situation of Egyptian Jewry was
relatively good; there were several multi-millionaires, a phenomenon
unusual in other Jewish communities of the Middle
East.
Most Egyptian Jews received some form of education,
and there were fewer illiterates among them than in any other
Oriental community in Egypt then. This was due to the fact
that Jews were concentrated in the two great cities with all
kinds of educational facilities. There were no restrictions on
accepting Jews in government or foreign schools. In November
1945 riots, organized by the “Young Egypt” group led by
Aḥmad Ḥusayn, ended in attacks on the Cairo Jewish quarter.
A synagogue, a Jewish quarter hospital, and an old-age
home were burned down and many Jews injured or killed.
This was the first disturbance of its kind in the history of independent
Egypt.
The year 1947 was the beginning of the end of the Egyptian
Jewish community, for in that year the Companies’ Law
was instituted, which required that not less than 75% of employees
of companies in Egypt must be Egyptian citizens. The
law affected Jews most of all, since only about 20% of them
were Egyptian citizens. The rest, although in many cases born
in Egypt and living there for generations, were aliens or stateless
persons. After the State of Israel was established, perse-
234 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6