Emigration of Sephardic Jews from Egypt after the Arab-Israeli war

Emigration of Sephardic Jews from Egypt after the Arab-Israeli war

Before the onset of hostilities in 1948 between the Arab countries and the Jewish residents in what was soon to be the State of Israel, it is estimated that close to a million Jews lived in Arabic-speaking lands. The largest numbers lived in Morocco and Iraq: Algeria, Egypt, Syria, and Yemen had smaller numbers. This paper will deal with the experiences of Jews, prior to their exodus from Egypt, following the Arab-Israeli conflicts starting with the 1948 war with the greatest increase of immigration and deportation following strong demonstration of anti-Semitism during Nasser's presidency.

Jews have been living in Egypt since the destruction of the First Temple and developed a flourishing center of scholarship in Alexandria. In 113 - 117 C.E. the community came to an end after its revolt against the Roman rule. A slow revival took place under the Fatimides (964) until the Mamelukes (1171) took power. It was during those centuries that the Geniza documents accumulated in Cairo. In 1798 Egypt was conquered by Napoleon, and while the French occupation was short-lived (1798-1801), it left a strong inprint on the Westernization of the country. Later Mohamed Ali, a former Albanian officer in the service of the Turks, destroyed the remnants of the Mame¬lukes, ruled the country from 1805-1848 and established his own dynasty. King Farouk was his great-great grandson. Farouk was forced to abdicate in 1952 after a military coup under the leadership of Mohammed Naguib'am Gamal Abdel Nasser. Mohamed Ali's decision to modernize the country led to the influx of foreigners who provided the necessary training for his army. A greater influx took place when the Lesseps started to build the Suez Canal, opened in 1869. However, because of Khedive Ismail's excessive expenditures for modernization and his indebtedness to foreign powers, the country was occupied by the British in 1882, and the shares of the Suez Canal were used to pay the debts. This brought again greater prosperity for the Jews who were involved in commerce banking and railroads. Both cotton and sugarcane processing became the dominant exports of Egypt.

Egyptian Jews included the following: The indigenous Jews who spoke Arabic and a sizable number lived in a secluded area called Haret el Yahoud (the Jewish quarter) the European Jews of Sephardic origin (about 40.000) who were dominant, and conducted their business of banking manufacturing, and real estate and business in French, while many of them used the Ladino language which continued to be spoken after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. Jews also spoke the language of their country of origin. Greek, Italian, Iranian, etc...

A relatively small group of Ashkenazi Jews (6000) had fled the pogroms of Russia and had arrived poverty stricken but very shortly they were able to participate in the economy of the country. There was a fourth group called Karaites (3500), a sect established in the eighth century which accepted only the authenticity of the Bible and rejected Talmudic writings. By 1947 Jews in Egypt reached their highest number. It was estimated that the total was approximately 80.000. In spite of their low percentage in the total population (0.4%), their contribution to the economy of the country was considerable.

The French culture, which was introduced subsequent to Napoleon's conquest of Egypt, dominated the intellectual and social life of most Jews. Most of them attended either religious schools, particularly those run by the Catholic Brothers, or secular schools subsidized by the French government. There were a few schools under Jewish auspices.

In Egypt, prior to World War II, Jews and basically all Europeans prospered. However historical events took place, when Jews felt quite insecure about their status in the country. For a number of years there was a movement towards independence from the British occupation of Egypt. The arrival of European Jews in Palestine and the subsequent bloody riots of Arabs in 1921, 1929 and 1936 in Palestine encouraged by Hajj Amin el Hussein, the Mufti of Jerusalem, caused a great deal of concern to Jews living in the country. The conflict between Arabs and Jews started with the Balfour Declaration of 1917 made during World I. which promised the establishment of a National Home for Jews in Palestine. Other events gave the Jews a feeling of disquiet. The 1936 riots were more serious and continued well into the Second World War in 1939. Jewish immigration to Palestine was seriously curtailed by the British White Paper (1939). In 1936 the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was signed. It provided Egypt with some independence of its own diplomatic affairs, while Britain was able to maintain a garrison in the Suez Canal Zone. A year later another treaty was signed closing the mixed courts and ending what were called the Laws of Capitulations. These laws originated with the Ottoman Empire for the protection of foreigners. Egyptian politicians started to give support to the Arabs against the Jewish settlers in Palestine. This trend naturally made Jews from Egypt quite uneasy.

Prior to World War II in April 1938 there were anti-Zionist demonstra¬tions in Cairo and Alexandria, which were basically anti-Jewish. These were taking place following the long discussion on the partition of Palestine header by Lord Peel. During the war period while Rommel was in El Alamein there were Egyptian expressions in favour of the Germans. Berque (1967) pointed out that the majority of the population was in favour of Rommel. It was during this period that Jews feared serious retribution from the mobs if Rommel entered Alexandria and Cairo. During that period, the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist group under the leadership of Hassan al-Banna was fostering hatred of the Jews. During 2-3 November 1945 mobs of youths later joined by a large number of workers roamed the streets of Cairo, started to destroy Jewish property and looted on a wide scale.
The most significant event during that period was the burning of the Ashkenazi synagogue. The mob set on fire the prayers books and some Torahs. An old age home close by was also attacked. A number of the respondents in my study have vivid memories of this incident and stated that this unfortunate event influenced their decision to leave the country. There was an attempt by the mob to enter the Jewish quarter. The entrances were blocked and the attack was repulsed by young Jews who had already trained for self-defense. The Goshen (March 1987) a publication of Jews of Egypt in Israel indicates that 10 Jews were killed and about 350 were wounded during that period.

On November 29 1947, a vote was taken at the United Nations establishing a Jewish and a Moslem state. From that time on there was a decided increase of tension and firing' of Jewish employees who were either stateless or of a foreign nationality. In July 1947 a new law was enacted that required all companies to include in their office staff 75% Egyptians and 90% in their factories.

Thus many Jews lost their means of support since a relatively small percentage of employees had Egyptian citizenship. When on May 14 1948, Ben Gurion declared the establishment of Israel as a new state, martial law was declared in Egypt and within a short time (the exact number is not known) approximately 2000 young men were placed in concentration camps, one at Huckstep previously an air base of the American army outside Cairo and some in Athoukic close to Alexandria. Women were interned in the prison of foreigners in Cairo. While most of them had participated in Zionist and Communist activities and lists were available to the secret police, a few were arrested who had no political history. While Laskier (1922. p. 126) provides the figure of 2000 I obtained from my respondents a wide range of estimates of the individuals who were imprisoned. During the hostilities between the Arabs and the Jews a large number of Jewish businesses were sequestered.

Jews living in sensitive areas such as communication centers, the Palace of the King, the Headquarters of the Arab League etc. were evicted from their homes. Huckstep also became the home to large numbers of members of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as Egyptians communists since the latter were considered as a threat to the State. A general finding in my interviews is that the internees in 1948 did not suffer as much as those of 1956 when Nasser was President.

On June 20 1948 homes in the Je¬wish quarter owned by Karailcs were bombed and about 20 Jews were killed and 41 wounded. On September 22 1948 several buil¬dings and homes in the Jewish quarter were likewise bombed and another 19 Jews died and 62 were wounded. It is reported that the police tended to be somewhat passive and allowed the mob to take over the streets of Cairo. There was some censorship of the news of these events as well as complete censorship of the defeats of the Arab armies at the front. Subsequent events that led to the disappearance of the vibrant Jewish community in Egypt include the following. In 1956 approximately 4000 Jews were expelled from the country, some barely with one suitcase and a very small amount of money. They had to renounce their rights to their property. In I960, several synagogues, orphanages, rest homes, and schools were forced to close. The Jewish hospital was taken over by Egyptian authorities and the medical staff arrested. In May and June of 1967 all Jews occupying official positions were fired. 500 of them including rabbis were arrested and some even tortured: and again some were expelled with few personal belongings.

The entire history of these unfortunate events has not been judiciously documented. The present paper is a meager attempt to reflect this unhappy episode of Egyptian Jewry which unfortunately is rarely mentioned in current events while the problems of the Arab refugees from former Palestine remain a sore spot in international politics. While claims are continually made on the property left by the Arabs there is no such discussion of the quite extensive property left by Egyptian Jews. The value of which cannot be estimated. The same applies to the Jews from other Arab countries.

An effort has been made in this research study lo get a collective impression about the unpleasant experiences endured by Egyptian Jews during their critical periods which .started at the end of World War II. Approximately 50 individual interviews were conducted in Israel and France with the help of a questionnaire. The same question¬naire was sent or given to interested individuals in both countries and were returned to the United States. Approximately 75 questionnaires were returned. All the names of the Egyptians Jews were obtained by asking personal friends residing in those countries to provide names of other friends. Many of these personal interviews were tape recorded and in some cases videos were taken. All interviews were conducted in French. I shall discuss two major areas which were sources of anxieties: one has to do with the internment of about 2000 mostly young men and the hardships incurred at the customs in Alexandria prior to boarding the ships taking Egyptian Jews to other countries.

Internment of Jews in Egypt
Many Zionist activities were going on among Egyptian Jews particularly with the young. This was fostered during World War II when Palestinian Jewish soldiers joined the British Force as a Jewish brigade to fight the Italians and the Germans on the Western front. Since many of these Jewish soldiers were invited in Jewish homes of local Jews they were able to influence the young with Zionist ideology. However it must be stated that Zionist thinking could be traced to a regular newspaper called Israel edited by the two Mosseri brothers which was started in 1920. After 1945, when the war was over, a number of shlichim were sent to Egypt from Palestine to help in the organisation of these Zionist activities. In the past the Egyptian government allowed such activities as they were perfectly legal. Their legality made it possible for the authorities to obtain the lists of the memberships. In view of the impending conflicts between the Arab States and the possibility of the establishment of the State of Israel, members of the Zionist clubs were aware that in case of war, they would be jailed. Many had already prepared small suitcases. One respondent indicated while he and other leaders knew that they would be arrested, the eliminated from the list the second echelon of leaders and included a large number of youngsters who would be too young to be arrested. As anticipated in the middle of the night the police arrested those who were on their list. It is to be noted that a number of young men who were communists in ideology and even anti-Zionists were also arrested.

The prisoners in Cairo were first taken to a Jewish school in Abassiah (near Cairo) where they were held for a period of 2-3 days. During those days, bus loads of young men were brought to the school, all carrying bundles of clothing. The school had only a few rudimentary beds. The luckier ones were those who were brought in earlier, the rest had to find a clear spot lo lie down or lean their backs against the wall. The situation tended to be confusing for everybody. No one had any idea of his final destination. They were aware that a war was going on between Israel and the Arab countries. They had no contacts with their families, except that at times, someone from the street called from under a window asking if "X" or "Y" was with the group. After all the young men in the list were rounded up, the whole group was taken to Huckstep Camp.
During the early weeks, the situation seemed to have been chaotic and rather unpleasant for the internees particularly with respect to food and sleeping facilities which were quite primitive. But in time they organized themselves and started to do their own cooking. One internee who had a construction business before his arrest was able to get building material into the camp which made the facilities of the camp more tolerable. A Jewish doctor who had been arrested provided medical care for the internees and was able lo help the guards at times. From the several comments received, there was no evidence of cruelty or physical abuse perpetrated on the prisoners. During the internment, anyone with expertise in any areas or skills conducted classes. Lectures, concerts and serious discussions were held regularly as well as religions services and Friday night special dinners were served. Internees served in rotation as waiters. Some of my respondents indicated that the camp experience had a positive influence on them because of the intensive intellectual activities.

A large group of members of the Moslem brotherhood and Commu¬nists were also interned close to the Jewish camp. There was also a group of Palestinian refugees residing in the area. It seems that the Jewish group was in danger of being attacked. At one point when the Jewish group believed that they would be attacked, some got iron bars which they were planning to use in self-defence. Fortunately the camp commandant managed to intercede and probably prevented a massacre.
The Soviet Union was one of the first to recognize Israel. As a result, the Jewish communists who were anti-Zionists changed their attitude. It seemed that the leader of the Jewish communists, Curiel, who was later murdered in France, had written a statement to the effect that Israel should be accepted as a viable state. One of m y respondents indicated that the Egyptian government was more fearful of the Moslem communists who tended to be militant trouble makers and followed closely their ideologies of overturning the government. The Egyptian authorities seemed to be aware that Jewish communists were in general ideo¬logues and would not act on their beliefs. The authorities tended to be more lenient towards them.

A few months after their interment, a group of 50 Jews were selected to be transferred to another camp in the Sinai desert called El Tor. The camp had been used in the past as a quarantine station for pilgrims coming from Saudi Arabia. The condition of the camp was extremely primitive. It was extremely hot during the day and freezing during the night. The selection of Jewish internees and the reason for their transfer was purely arbitrary. The explanation for the transfer was that the authorities wanted to keep vocal members of the Moslem Brotherhood and Communists away from inhabited areas. The 50 Jews were included in the list for internment at El Tor as a kind of camouflage that they were punishing both Moslems and Jews. A letter written by the Jewish internees was sent out describing the horrible conditions under which they were living, and reminding the world of the injustice inflicted on them and demanding their freedom. A few months later, they were returned to Huckstep Camp.
Internees were slowly freed, some of them by their consular representatives for those who had foreign citizenship. The others were allowed to stay with their families for a while but had to leave the country: others were taken to the ships with handcuffs. Shiploads of Jews were leaving the country of their own free will bit dispossessed of their assets. Others were deported and arrived in European ports. Fortunately, they were taken care of by Joint Distribution Committee or Israeli representatives. Many families were taken directly to Israel where conditions were extremely difficult and many had to live in tents for a while. Some of the young people who landed in France were sent to camps for training for agricultural work. This would become later an asset for them when transferred to Israël.

Hardship in leaving Egypt
The hardships that our respondents incurred in leaving the country varied tremendously from those who were able to leave without any unfortunate incident, to those who underwent a lot of suffering because of interment. separation from their families, loss of their homes and assets and the problems in leaving the country particularly at the customs in Alexandria. Many Jews in leaving the country were subjected to indignities and arbitrary treatment. Suitcases were overturned and checked thoroughly and bundles opened or slashed to make sure that there were no hidden jewels or valuable objects. At one time immigrants were only able to carry one suitcase, at other times there was no limits as to the number of suitcases they would carry with them. They were allowed to take a lot of clothing. One respondent indicated that he purchased huge suitcases for the purpose of making shoes. Immigrants were allowed to take out of the country the amount of 20 Egyptian pounds ($54.) However one respondent indicated that a custom official refused to let him go with the 20 Egyptian Pounds. He managed to have a friend who accompanied him to purchase some clothing before his departure.

Immigrants, male or female, were physically searched in their most intimate parts to make sure that they were not hiding jewellery. More than one respondent indicated that there was a type of Mafia functioning at the Customs in order to deprive the immigrants of their jewellery which they carried openly such as watches, rings and necklaces. The customs official would suggest that they could sell their jewellery to individuals at the customs who took advantage by buying those valuables at ridiculous prices with the probability that the customs official would get his share. It was also indicated that some of these customs officials helped themselves to objects found in the suitcases. Many felt that protesting at this critical period was not wise.
One of the questions raised during these interviews was whether the immigrants had carried with them some documentation: Some had a few old pictures, school records and a few letters. During these critical years, departing travellers had to go to a censorship office with any printed material. The purpose was to make sure that any material which could have strategic value to Israel would not be taken out of the country. Sometimes innocuous material was taken out of the bundle of papers, the rest was packed and sealed, so that it could clear the customs without any problems. However in spite of such a rule, the bundles were opened by the customs officials. Because of the fear of dealing with the censorship, many preferred not to get involved with the censorship office and preferred to leave with no documentation at all. It is hoped that some day a complete book will be devoted to the documentation of this whole episode of the exodus of Egyptian Jews and how they adapted to life in the various host countries around t the world.

Appendix
Vignettes at the Customs in Alexandria - Door No6 - (Translated from French)
Then comes the turn of a young couple with two babies. The wife has a gold ring and the husband has a watch.
Official: Do you have the authorization for these jewels?
Response: We were not told that we needed such authorization.
Official: Why didn't you ask? Those jewels must remain in the country.
Response: We have no one to whom to give the watch and the ring.
Official: This is none of my business.
He calls a couple of Arabs who were close to the door.
Question by one of the Arabs: Mister, if you would like to sell these objects,we are ready to buy them. We pay in French francs.
The wife to her husband who is hesitating: Come on Jack, what is the use of hesitating.
The Arab: Here is 2000 francs for the watch and 1000 francs for the ring. And who knows, maybe they are not genuine. We are here to be of service.
The "service" is made and the couple goes away in tears.

One of my respondents labelled this type of activity as the "Mafia" approach having had a similar expe¬rience at the Customs in Alexandria. Vignettes or extracts from statements made by a Respondent leaving Egypt with his wife and 3 young children on their experiences at the Customs in Alexandria.

Memories of our last day in Egypt
Before getting on board the ship, I had to fill customs a declaration in which I mentioned that 1 had with me the amount of 50 Egyptian Pounds (E.P. = about $3) which we were able to take with us according to the prevailing regulations. Each individual had the right to take out 10 Egyptian pounds. Since we were 5 persons to leave the country, we had the right to carry the amount of 50 Egyptian pounds. I was quite surprised when the customs' official told me that I am not allowed to take out the 50 Egyptian pounds. The following is approximately the exchange that took place. My question: What shall I do with the 50 Egyptian Pounds? His reply: Throw them in the sea! My question: Today, the law permits every traveller to take 10 Egyptian pounds and this rule has not been rescinded. We are 5 people and therefore we have the right to take with us 50 Egyptian pounds. His reply: We decide about the law and we also decide to withdraw it. My question: If I had bought clothes for the amount of 50 Egyptian pounds, isn't it m y right that I could take them with me? His reply: Yes, but now you have no right to get out of the customs. I was fortunate to have a friend at the Customs and told him to buy an expensive overcoat and bring it to me as soon as possible. When he brought it, the customs' official had to let us go on board. I cannot forget the last moment spent on Egyptian territory and I am very happy that I left.

Descriptions of the Customs in Alexandria - Door 6
An old grandmother who has among her luggage a small mattress.
The customs' official: What are you hiding in this mattress?
Response: Nothing, effendi, i- is an ordinary mattress.
(Master, Sir. a Turkish word, more a sign of respect for a state official).
Officiai: But you can hide all your fortune and you believe we shall let you go through?
He takes a knife and tears the mattress searching if there is a treasure. He does not find anything.
Official: Take it back.
Response: Now that it cannot be used. What shall I do with it,
she asked further in tears.
"I needed this for my husband who suffers from arthritis so that he should not sleep on the deck of the ship. We are poor and sleep on the deck".

Received from Australia
Except from letter dated Jan. 29 1992 :
"After graduation in 1945 (from American University at Cairo) I went to pursue my medical studies at the American University at Beirut. From the very first day in Beirut I contracted dysentery so severe that I could not do any home work. I could not help myself but to go to bed very early in the evening only to wake up too late next morning to miss out on my first lecture. Still weak from dysentery I joined the family business--manufacturing goldsmiths for generations. It was a successful business with a very high reputation for honesty--an essential ingredient for goldsmiths. The first couple of years my health was still suffering from that dysentery and I hated the unclean surroundings of the factory. As my health improved gradually I began to contribute my share of efforts to the business which continued to improve very fast. We thought it would be wise to invest in new and modem machinery. I made three trips to Europe and we were quite optimistic. How wrong we were!! The political atmosphere was getting worse and we were being 'targeted' by the opportunistic army officers. Every time Israel dealt a humiliating blow to the Egyptian forces my father was interned and threatened. Finally they ended up taking not only our business but also our private assets. I migrated to Australia in November 1963.

Bitter, penniless and helpless, I struggled till I landed as a casual science teacher. Only in Ï970 did the government finance a course for graduates, casual teachers, leading to a Diploma (in) Education. After completing the course I was appointed as "permanent". In December 1983, I retired at the age of sixty. Even though I am struggling I enjoy my hobbies: photography, silver jewellery and landscaping. (End of story).

Victor D.Sanua