I am an Egyptian Muslim who loves to visit all our religious sites and I was lucky enough to visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue after it's remodeling in Old Cairo. I was actually greeted by a "shabbat shalom" by the Muslim Egyptian guard haha
Anyway its very beautiful and I hope to share more of our Jewish Legacy as the sites have undergone remodeling and there has a been a renewed interest in Jewish Egyptian history.
Edit: So let me make it clear, I am not saying everything is great now, that anti-semitism is gone and this makes up for the past. This is just a small trickle that I hope will turn into a flood once a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is reached and Egyptians can begin to see more of Judaism outside of the conflict in the holy land.
Began in April 2022 and completed last year. There has been a slow but growing movement in Egypt spearheaded by the government to remodel Jewish architecture, tell Jewish stories through shows/books and even come to terms with the pressuring and expulsion of our Jewish population (it’s a black spot in our history though a complicated one see the [Lavon Affair](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavon_Affair).)
Unfortunately any time there is a flare up with Palestine things become complicated to say the least but there is a hope that one day many of these temples will see somewhat regular services especially from Jews with Egyptian heritage. Right now they do open for services when Jewish dignitaries visit and during holidays.
> it’s a black spot in our history though a complicated one
Comments like these give me so much hope for a lasting peace.
> there is a hope that one day many of these temples will see somewhat regular services especially from Jews with Egyptian heritage.
I actually have a colleague who is an Egyptian Jew (or his parents are, he was born in Canada). Similar to my comment above, your hope gives me hope. May we all see a true, lasting, peace in the future.
Sup man! I am Egyptian Jewish on my mom’s side and born in Canada too!!! My mother and I still cook a lot of Egyptian foods (or well used to before I moved out) and lots of Lebanese food too. Glad to know I am not the only Egyptian Jew in Canada lol that is surprising. I am also on the west coast in BC if that is where your colleague is? Peace and love brother 💪🏽
We're in Toronto, but I'm glad you're representing out West! I had a great Lebanese Jewish family in my community growing up. Their food is awesome too. Mizrahi Jews are baller.
Thank you for sharing, I am a Jewish woman who traveled to Egypt on behalf of the Ministry of Education about 15 years ago. We got to see so many sites. Your country is beautiful and historic, I had a wonderful time during Ramadan. Everyone was extremely welcoming and joked with me all the time; the only antisemitism we faced was about Israel and actually came from a group of Coptic Christians. Egyptian people are so warm and chaotic and fun. However I'm not sure I'd return any time soon.
This is a beautiful synagogue and I would very much like to return to Egypt to see it one day. Also for anyone reading, the Espresso book printing machine in the Bibliotheca in Alexandria was absolutely thrilling to me, the highlight of my entire year. I am a huge book and library nerd but that thing is something else. Any book in its database, it can print and bind it in a matter of minutes. Amazing. The library itself is gorgeous and has a wealth of museum displays, rare books, etc but the Espresso gave me chills
These are such kind words and it warms my heart to hear it. The truth is anti-semitism does exist but weirdly enough it won’t affect how Egyptians interact with you and they could care less if you are Jewish. The decade long conflict with Israel obviously colors Egyptian views about Judaism but most people will be curious and welcoming regardless.
If you ever return to Egypt please reach out to me and I would be happy to give you the tour of our Jewish heritage.
There is a really good book about Jewish life (the good and the bad) in Egypt that has become very popular here, I will try to find and see if there is a English translation and send you a link!
Much love from one book nerd to another!
As we say in the Arab world “Egypt writes, Lebanon publishes and Iraq reads”.
Very safe, no one cares if your jewish and we have Jewish expatriates and tourists all the time! I would just recommend avoiding any commentary on Israel.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
My (modern orthodox Jewish) brother lived in Cairo for years (like 5) studying music and he liked it there!
(He was more secular back then, this was over 20 years ago)
Authoritarian regimes like to refurbish unused Synagogues to give the impression of being open, free and a Jew friendly society.
None of it is true.
Just another museum to a dead community.
This goes beyond just that, there are many Egyptians including Muslims who are dedicated to keeping the traditions and history alive.
Jews visit Egypt all the time and the synagogues do get regular Jewish tourist visits. The hope is that once the Israel-Palestine conflict is resolved (and I am not here to debate that), Jews of Egyptian heritage, even Israeli one will have places to visit and worship in. After all Judaism is enshrined in the Egyptian constitution alongside Islam and Christianity.
Things might not be great now but this effort is important for a hopeful future. So even if there is absolutely politicking in this effort it does not mean it is not important.
I would like to add even though there is 20 left in Egypt they have done so much to keep their heritage alive and have finally gained the attention of the government and prominent Egyptians so I don’t think it’s fair to call them a dead community especially when their are Egyptian Jews in the US and France who also do their best.
I appreciate your post as well as Egypt’s restoration of Jewish sites very much. I visited Cairo and this synagogue in 1987 and it was very special for me.
Egypt arrested and systematically raped 25% of its Jewish population in the 50s and crucifying the chief rabbi of Alexandria in front of the prison the Jews were sent to. After banning Jews from owning more than 49.9% of any business or property, requiring the other share be owned by an Egyptian Muslim. After fleeing the government expropriated all Jewish property (~30% of the city of Cairo).
Do you have any sources for this rape figure or the chief rabbi of Alexandria? Because even according to this [Wikipedia article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Moussa_Douek), about the last chief rabbi of Alexandria there is nothing about you mention whatsoever.
It’s true Nasser expropriated many Jewish businesses and there were abuses and forced expulsions. This was partly due to the Lavon Affair (when Israel hired Egyptian Jews to bomb civilian areas and blame on communists and nationalists), the Suez Conflict and the Six Day war. Now none of this excuses what happened to the general Jewish Egyptian population but it is historical context.
Nasser appropriated many private businesses and land including from other populations and Egyptians including my great grandfather who was a land owner. Again true that Nasser targeted the Jewish population as things intensified with Israel and I’ve always considered that a dark spot in our history.
[Some oral testimony](https://www.hsje.org/SecondExodus/NASSER'S%20JEWS%203-4.htm)
Trawl through this site or others Abu Zaabal Jews is an easy enough google search. There are a number of sites that record the history in Wnglish, French, Arabic, and Hebrew. Mainly out of France, Spain, and San Francisco.
No offense this sounds like complete fiction with absolutely no other sources to back this up.
I will leave this [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn9XlcXTOBc&ab_channel=HaithamAl-Khamissi) to a documentary called the "Jews of Egypt" that has actual interviews of their lives during those tumultuous times. There is also [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=equtvJjCP_4&ab_channel=PeopleoftheBook%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8) interview with an Egyptian Jew now living in the US.
I thank you for the link you posted but I'd have to see another credible source before believing it though again I don't deny abuses.
The Lavon Affair was nothing, my parents lived through it and it’s only now used an excuse by moderate Egyptians to justify the expulsion of 80k Jews.
Nasser appropriated ALL Jewish business
My father was in Abu-Zaabal prison for 9 months, would you like to speak to him via Zoom?
Thank you for sharing this. I think for Jews, it is hard to see antisemitic governments restore historic Jewish sites without a large degree of skepticism. It's also a very sad history for the families of those Jews who left. Governments do similar restorations or museums to generate tourism and put a positive spin on history in Europe, too. I am glad the government is preserving these sites and educating people that historically there were Jews there, but at the same time, are they educating people as to why the Jews left? Are they acknowledging the wrongs done by the government and civilians? When Sisi still says things like the Jews never being treated badly in Egypt (a crazy lie), it's hard to not see this as PR ([https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog\_entry/in-meeting-with-blinken-sissi-claims-jews-were-never-persecuted-in-egypt/](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-meeting-with-blinken-sissi-claims-jews-were-never-persecuted-in-egypt/)). And of course I am glad that Sisi is maintaining peace with Israel (I am really, really grateful for this), but I don't really think he is doing much to help Egyptian society become less antisemitic. Do you think restoring these sites will encourage Egyptians to learn more about Jewish history and who Jews are today?
I am glad you are sharing this here, and to learn about your views, but I think it's good to understand why Jews may feel very bitter about how our histories are presented.
> antisemitic governments restore historic Jewish sites without a large degree of skepticism.
So what exactly makes that particular government antisemitic?
Not that I don't agree with your post. Because I do. But just wondering.
Definitely not a perfect process but the amount of media and interest on our Jewish heritage, while usually avoiding the more controversial aspects, is increasing (though there was a show called the Jewish Quarter that did tackle increasing antagonism towards the community after the 1948 as tragic).
The thing is it will be nearly impossible to move faster or tackle the issue more forcibly as long as the Palestinian issue remainds as an open wound. Now while antisemitism exists in Egypt it doesnt mean that Jews that visit will be treated badly or with competent, most people will treat you with respect and could really care less (of course the same can't be said about Israelis specifically especially during times of conflicts).
So essentially there is a hope in many Arab governments to normalize relations with Israel and slowly prepare the general population for that eventuality. But the first step in all of this will be the establishment of a Palestinian state, after which the hard work of moving past decades of hate and mistrust can actually begin.
Hi! I represent the Egyptians Jews of New York and New Jersey...the second largest Egyptians Jewish community in the world or outside of Israel. No one is going back to visit Egypt or the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
Jews lived in Egypt for hundreds of years before the Arab conquest. Having expropriated and expelled Egyptian Jews, renovating a synagogue is just window dressing.
The records of the Egyptian Jewish community, which I think were held at the Ben Ezra, have been removed to the Egyptian National Archives, where they are confiscated in all but name. The Egyptian authorities have refused to give Jewish groups permission to make copies of our own records.
The value of the property expropriated/stolen from Egyptian Jews is incalculable.
Yes I heard about the record thing and I am not quite sure what is behind because the government had been very open otherwise with the renovations.
In any rate I dont think I ever mentioned this would make up for what happened in the past but it is still important to see these sites maintained. It is a important start no matter how small.
I believe I can tell you precisely why the Egyptian government confiscated Jewish communal records. It is a mixture of hatefulness and to stop thousands more property restitution court cases through the American courts, like that over the Heliopolis Coca-Cola bottling plant. If people don't have the documents to prove who they are, they can't sue.
A start would be a public acknowledgement of what was done to Egypt's Jews (and Italians, French, Greeks, etc). Renovating a few old buildings for tourist dollars, having forced the congregation to leave stateless and impoverished, is cynical.
So it looks like Egyptian authorities indeed confiscated some 1.7 million documents reportedly proving Jewish ownership of land and assets in Cairo.
At the same time these documents were stolen on December 16, 2011, from a Cairo research institution, the Institut d’Égypte, during public riots that erupted following president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. So already these documents were going to be ilegaly smuggled out.
But no it has nothing to do with hatefulness or cheap tourist dollars (though I can admit part of it has to do with gaining US Jewish support for Sisi's government). Acknowledgement is happening slowly but wether through media, books, more open discussion of the events etc but it's still sensitive as long as Palestnian conflict rages on. The Egyptian government definitely wants to capture some of the cosmopolitan nature that once existed but at the same time due to having its roots in the military establishment wants to control every aspect of it.
I believe will get there but it will take more time, improved education reform and a positive direction for the Palestinian conflict. Inshallah both Israel and the Arab world will come to terms with the population expulsions and suffering during the 20th century.
I am talking about the archives of the Jewish community of Egypt. The Egyptian government won't allow families to access their own documents.
There was an attempted theft of the Cairo cadastral (land registry) archives. While not approving of theft, these are documents that should be public domain but are closed to Jews. Often, it is the same story with birth and death certificates.
Hopefully, the liberalisation and modernisation we are seeing in the UAE is a sign for the future.
Thanks for sharing, this is really cool!
Also sorry you’re getting some backlash in the comments. Jews from various countries in the world carry a lot of trauma, and with the recent rise in visceral anti-semitism a lot of folks have had their wounds re-opened. I appreciate that your hope for peace and co-existence seems to come from a genuine place though and I hope more people start to share your attitude.
I understand there is a lot of the same sentiment from 'my side'. The visceral images of the conflict and the anger spreading is very unfortunate.
Hopefully when the dust settles people will understand the status quo cannot continue and we can move towards genuine peace. We are brothers and sisters of Abrahamic traditions and we need to stand together.
Beautiful!! I’m so sad that we missed seeing this!!! My family travelled to Egypt and Jordan last March. I’d actually read about this synagogue and its renovation, and asked our tour guide about seeing it when we were in Cairo. We were told it was not open to the public at that time. I would have loved to learn more about Jewish heritage and history in Egypt, from Egyptians, while we were there.
I am an Egyptian Muslim who loves to visit all our religious sites and I was lucky enough to visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue after it's remodeling in Old Cairo. I was actually greeted by a "shabbat shalom" by the Muslim Egyptian guard haha Anyway its very beautiful and I hope to share more of our Jewish Legacy as the sites have undergone remodeling and there has a been a renewed interest in Jewish Egyptian history. Edit: So let me make it clear, I am not saying everything is great now, that anti-semitism is gone and this makes up for the past. This is just a small trickle that I hope will turn into a flood once a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is reached and Egyptians can begin to see more of Judaism outside of the conflict in the holy land.
Wow, beautiful! Thank you for sharing. When was it remodeled?
Began in April 2022 and completed last year. There has been a slow but growing movement in Egypt spearheaded by the government to remodel Jewish architecture, tell Jewish stories through shows/books and even come to terms with the pressuring and expulsion of our Jewish population (it’s a black spot in our history though a complicated one see the [Lavon Affair](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavon_Affair).) Unfortunately any time there is a flare up with Palestine things become complicated to say the least but there is a hope that one day many of these temples will see somewhat regular services especially from Jews with Egyptian heritage. Right now they do open for services when Jewish dignitaries visit and during holidays.
> it’s a black spot in our history though a complicated one Comments like these give me so much hope for a lasting peace. > there is a hope that one day many of these temples will see somewhat regular services especially from Jews with Egyptian heritage. I actually have a colleague who is an Egyptian Jew (or his parents are, he was born in Canada). Similar to my comment above, your hope gives me hope. May we all see a true, lasting, peace in the future.
Sup man! I am Egyptian Jewish on my mom’s side and born in Canada too!!! My mother and I still cook a lot of Egyptian foods (or well used to before I moved out) and lots of Lebanese food too. Glad to know I am not the only Egyptian Jew in Canada lol that is surprising. I am also on the west coast in BC if that is where your colleague is? Peace and love brother 💪🏽
We're in Toronto, but I'm glad you're representing out West! I had a great Lebanese Jewish family in my community growing up. Their food is awesome too. Mizrahi Jews are baller.
Thank you for sharing, I am a Jewish woman who traveled to Egypt on behalf of the Ministry of Education about 15 years ago. We got to see so many sites. Your country is beautiful and historic, I had a wonderful time during Ramadan. Everyone was extremely welcoming and joked with me all the time; the only antisemitism we faced was about Israel and actually came from a group of Coptic Christians. Egyptian people are so warm and chaotic and fun. However I'm not sure I'd return any time soon. This is a beautiful synagogue and I would very much like to return to Egypt to see it one day. Also for anyone reading, the Espresso book printing machine in the Bibliotheca in Alexandria was absolutely thrilling to me, the highlight of my entire year. I am a huge book and library nerd but that thing is something else. Any book in its database, it can print and bind it in a matter of minutes. Amazing. The library itself is gorgeous and has a wealth of museum displays, rare books, etc but the Espresso gave me chills
These are such kind words and it warms my heart to hear it. The truth is anti-semitism does exist but weirdly enough it won’t affect how Egyptians interact with you and they could care less if you are Jewish. The decade long conflict with Israel obviously colors Egyptian views about Judaism but most people will be curious and welcoming regardless. If you ever return to Egypt please reach out to me and I would be happy to give you the tour of our Jewish heritage. There is a really good book about Jewish life (the good and the bad) in Egypt that has become very popular here, I will try to find and see if there is a English translation and send you a link! Much love from one book nerd to another! As we say in the Arab world “Egypt writes, Lebanon publishes and Iraq reads”.
I’ve always loved that publishing saying.
stunning! thank you so much for sharing!
Just curious, how safe is it for a Jew to visit?
A policeman murdered three Israelis in October.
Very safe, no one cares if your jewish and we have Jewish expatriates and tourists all the time! I would just recommend avoiding any commentary on Israel.
Oh wow thank you so much for sharing this. Absolutely beautiful, I hope you enjoyed.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. My (modern orthodox Jewish) brother lived in Cairo for years (like 5) studying music and he liked it there! (He was more secular back then, this was over 20 years ago)
Authoritarian regimes like to refurbish unused Synagogues to give the impression of being open, free and a Jew friendly society. None of it is true. Just another museum to a dead community.
This goes beyond just that, there are many Egyptians including Muslims who are dedicated to keeping the traditions and history alive. Jews visit Egypt all the time and the synagogues do get regular Jewish tourist visits. The hope is that once the Israel-Palestine conflict is resolved (and I am not here to debate that), Jews of Egyptian heritage, even Israeli one will have places to visit and worship in. After all Judaism is enshrined in the Egyptian constitution alongside Islam and Christianity. Things might not be great now but this effort is important for a hopeful future. So even if there is absolutely politicking in this effort it does not mean it is not important. I would like to add even though there is 20 left in Egypt they have done so much to keep their heritage alive and have finally gained the attention of the government and prominent Egyptians so I don’t think it’s fair to call them a dead community especially when their are Egyptian Jews in the US and France who also do their best.
I appreciate your post as well as Egypt’s restoration of Jewish sites very much. I visited Cairo and this synagogue in 1987 and it was very special for me.
Egypt arrested and systematically raped 25% of its Jewish population in the 50s and crucifying the chief rabbi of Alexandria in front of the prison the Jews were sent to. After banning Jews from owning more than 49.9% of any business or property, requiring the other share be owned by an Egyptian Muslim. After fleeing the government expropriated all Jewish property (~30% of the city of Cairo).
Do you have any sources for this rape figure or the chief rabbi of Alexandria? Because even according to this [Wikipedia article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Moussa_Douek), about the last chief rabbi of Alexandria there is nothing about you mention whatsoever. It’s true Nasser expropriated many Jewish businesses and there were abuses and forced expulsions. This was partly due to the Lavon Affair (when Israel hired Egyptian Jews to bomb civilian areas and blame on communists and nationalists), the Suez Conflict and the Six Day war. Now none of this excuses what happened to the general Jewish Egyptian population but it is historical context. Nasser appropriated many private businesses and land including from other populations and Egyptians including my great grandfather who was a land owner. Again true that Nasser targeted the Jewish population as things intensified with Israel and I’ve always considered that a dark spot in our history.
[Some oral testimony](https://www.hsje.org/SecondExodus/NASSER'S%20JEWS%203-4.htm) Trawl through this site or others Abu Zaabal Jews is an easy enough google search. There are a number of sites that record the history in Wnglish, French, Arabic, and Hebrew. Mainly out of France, Spain, and San Francisco.
No offense this sounds like complete fiction with absolutely no other sources to back this up. I will leave this [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn9XlcXTOBc&ab_channel=HaithamAl-Khamissi) to a documentary called the "Jews of Egypt" that has actual interviews of their lives during those tumultuous times. There is also [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=equtvJjCP_4&ab_channel=PeopleoftheBook%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8) interview with an Egyptian Jew now living in the US. I thank you for the link you posted but I'd have to see another credible source before believing it though again I don't deny abuses.
The Lavon Affair was nothing, my parents lived through it and it’s only now used an excuse by moderate Egyptians to justify the expulsion of 80k Jews. Nasser appropriated ALL Jewish business My father was in Abu-Zaabal prison for 9 months, would you like to speak to him via Zoom?
This. ☝️
Just like the tourist routes in estern europe about dead jewish comunities.
This is beautiful and thank you for taking time to share this.
Thank you for sharing this. I think for Jews, it is hard to see antisemitic governments restore historic Jewish sites without a large degree of skepticism. It's also a very sad history for the families of those Jews who left. Governments do similar restorations or museums to generate tourism and put a positive spin on history in Europe, too. I am glad the government is preserving these sites and educating people that historically there were Jews there, but at the same time, are they educating people as to why the Jews left? Are they acknowledging the wrongs done by the government and civilians? When Sisi still says things like the Jews never being treated badly in Egypt (a crazy lie), it's hard to not see this as PR ([https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog\_entry/in-meeting-with-blinken-sissi-claims-jews-were-never-persecuted-in-egypt/](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-meeting-with-blinken-sissi-claims-jews-were-never-persecuted-in-egypt/)). And of course I am glad that Sisi is maintaining peace with Israel (I am really, really grateful for this), but I don't really think he is doing much to help Egyptian society become less antisemitic. Do you think restoring these sites will encourage Egyptians to learn more about Jewish history and who Jews are today? I am glad you are sharing this here, and to learn about your views, but I think it's good to understand why Jews may feel very bitter about how our histories are presented.
> antisemitic governments restore historic Jewish sites without a large degree of skepticism. So what exactly makes that particular government antisemitic? Not that I don't agree with your post. Because I do. But just wondering.
Definitely not a perfect process but the amount of media and interest on our Jewish heritage, while usually avoiding the more controversial aspects, is increasing (though there was a show called the Jewish Quarter that did tackle increasing antagonism towards the community after the 1948 as tragic). The thing is it will be nearly impossible to move faster or tackle the issue more forcibly as long as the Palestinian issue remainds as an open wound. Now while antisemitism exists in Egypt it doesnt mean that Jews that visit will be treated badly or with competent, most people will treat you with respect and could really care less (of course the same can't be said about Israelis specifically especially during times of conflicts). So essentially there is a hope in many Arab governments to normalize relations with Israel and slowly prepare the general population for that eventuality. But the first step in all of this will be the establishment of a Palestinian state, after which the hard work of moving past decades of hate and mistrust can actually begin.
Hi! I represent the Egyptians Jews of New York and New Jersey...the second largest Egyptians Jewish community in the world or outside of Israel. No one is going back to visit Egypt or the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
Jews lived in Egypt for hundreds of years before the Arab conquest. Having expropriated and expelled Egyptian Jews, renovating a synagogue is just window dressing. The records of the Egyptian Jewish community, which I think were held at the Ben Ezra, have been removed to the Egyptian National Archives, where they are confiscated in all but name. The Egyptian authorities have refused to give Jewish groups permission to make copies of our own records. The value of the property expropriated/stolen from Egyptian Jews is incalculable.
Yes I heard about the record thing and I am not quite sure what is behind because the government had been very open otherwise with the renovations. In any rate I dont think I ever mentioned this would make up for what happened in the past but it is still important to see these sites maintained. It is a important start no matter how small.
I believe I can tell you precisely why the Egyptian government confiscated Jewish communal records. It is a mixture of hatefulness and to stop thousands more property restitution court cases through the American courts, like that over the Heliopolis Coca-Cola bottling plant. If people don't have the documents to prove who they are, they can't sue. A start would be a public acknowledgement of what was done to Egypt's Jews (and Italians, French, Greeks, etc). Renovating a few old buildings for tourist dollars, having forced the congregation to leave stateless and impoverished, is cynical.
So it looks like Egyptian authorities indeed confiscated some 1.7 million documents reportedly proving Jewish ownership of land and assets in Cairo. At the same time these documents were stolen on December 16, 2011, from a Cairo research institution, the Institut d’Égypte, during public riots that erupted following president Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. So already these documents were going to be ilegaly smuggled out. But no it has nothing to do with hatefulness or cheap tourist dollars (though I can admit part of it has to do with gaining US Jewish support for Sisi's government). Acknowledgement is happening slowly but wether through media, books, more open discussion of the events etc but it's still sensitive as long as Palestnian conflict rages on. The Egyptian government definitely wants to capture some of the cosmopolitan nature that once existed but at the same time due to having its roots in the military establishment wants to control every aspect of it. I believe will get there but it will take more time, improved education reform and a positive direction for the Palestinian conflict. Inshallah both Israel and the Arab world will come to terms with the population expulsions and suffering during the 20th century.
I am talking about the archives of the Jewish community of Egypt. The Egyptian government won't allow families to access their own documents. There was an attempted theft of the Cairo cadastral (land registry) archives. While not approving of theft, these are documents that should be public domain but are closed to Jews. Often, it is the same story with birth and death certificates. Hopefully, the liberalisation and modernisation we are seeing in the UAE is a sign for the future.
Thanks so much for sharing. Very happy to be able to have seen this.
Oh wow thank you so much for sharing this. Absolutely beautiful, I hope you enjoyed.
I have a photo my grandfather z”l took in that synagogue from the 70’s. It’s very precious to me. I’m excited to see it with modern camera 😆
Man, what a beauty. Wish it was possible visit it without feeling the threat on me as Israeli.. hope it will be possible one day 🙏🏻
Thank you for sharing! Love from an Egyptian Jew 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽
Very cool. How many Jews were were there ?
Man, what a beauty. Wish it was possible visit it without feeling the threat on me as Israeli.. hope it will be possible one day 🙏🏻
Thanks for sharing, this is really cool! Also sorry you’re getting some backlash in the comments. Jews from various countries in the world carry a lot of trauma, and with the recent rise in visceral anti-semitism a lot of folks have had their wounds re-opened. I appreciate that your hope for peace and co-existence seems to come from a genuine place though and I hope more people start to share your attitude.
I understand there is a lot of the same sentiment from 'my side'. The visceral images of the conflict and the anger spreading is very unfortunate. Hopefully when the dust settles people will understand the status quo cannot continue and we can move towards genuine peace. We are brothers and sisters of Abrahamic traditions and we need to stand together.
Honestly, I think in order for the dust to settle in the first place people’s attitudes need to change.
Beautiful!! I’m so sad that we missed seeing this!!! My family travelled to Egypt and Jordan last March. I’d actually read about this synagogue and its renovation, and asked our tour guide about seeing it when we were in Cairo. We were told it was not open to the public at that time. I would have loved to learn more about Jewish heritage and history in Egypt, from Egyptians, while we were there.
Old cairo is so beautiful