Zionism on the Nile An essay on Zionist sentiments of Egyptian Jewry in the early 20th century between the

Zionist national narrative and the Mizrahi post-Zionist narrative.

Hussein A. Mansour 6/19/2013

Mansour 2

INTRODUCTION

The nature of the relationship between 20th century Egyptian Jewry and Zionism has always been

a fevered subject of debate between Zionist nationalists and Mizrahi post-Zionists since the

emergence of the post-Zionist movement in the late 1970’s. The debate includes almost

exclusively two narratives of Egyptian Jewish History; the older narrative of the Zionist

nationalist camp which, ironically, corresponds with that of the Arab nationalists anti-Semite

narrative. It suggests Egyptian Jewry was Zionist in core, and sometimes its commitment and

devotion to Zionism exceeded that of European Jewry. Later on, with the rise of post-Zionism as

an intellectual movement in Israel, a new narrative came into being: the Mizrahi post-Zionist. Its

literature proposes Egyptian Jewry was never Zionist and that Israel is responsible for the

destruction of the Jewish community in Egypt. While the majority of writers interested in the

topic tend to join one of the two camps, a closer look and a more research suggest there had

never been a mutual life experience between members of the Egyptian Jewish community.

Egyptian Jewry was a diversity of several smaller Jewish communities separated in most aspect

of life with deep racial, economical and cultural differences, which makes it rather impossible to

agree on either of the previous two generalizing Zionist and post-Zionist narratives.

ZIONIST ALIYAH

The Egyptian Jewish community was one of the most prestigious Mizrahi Jewish communities in

the orient until the mass exodus of the Arab Jews, a traumatic event which started after the 1948

Arab-Israeli War and lasted until the dawn of the 1970’s. In 1948, approximately 75,000 Jews

were living in Egypt;1 by 1972, only 500 remained.2 The causes for this Biblical-esque event

have always been the subject of controversy and academic interest. Zionist nationalists call it an

Mansour 3

act of Aliyah: a holy ascendance from exile to Zion. In 1968, following the decisive Israeli

victory upon Egypt in the 1967 Six Day War, Rahel Maccabi, an Israeli Jewish writer of

Egyptian origin, published her autobiographical work, My Egypt. Maccabi offered the story of

her mother, a devout Zionist who taught her daughter to despise everything that is Arab or

Egyptian, and who never allowed her daughter to learn Arabic. Maccabi concludes her presence

in Egypt when they immigrated to the Yeshuv in 1935, before the establishment of the Jewish

state, where she resettled in a kibbutz of Ha’ Shomer Ha’ Tza’eer and became a Haganah officer.

It is a story that “affirms the Zionist national narrative: Egyptian Jews became good Zionists

even before 1948.”3

My Egypt and similar literature produced by Jews of Egyptian origin confirmed the

exodus of Jews out of Egypt was an inevitable fulfillment of their Zionist aspirations. Bat Ye’or

called it a “massive collective emigration.”4 Bat Ye’or is a Hebrew name meaning “daughter of

the Nile,” and it is the pen name of the Egyptian-born, Jewish writer Gisèle Littman. She

introduced a collective narrative of the history of Egyptian Jewry, a narrative which was

published in her initial book, The Egyptian Jewry, first in French in 1974, then in Hebrew by

Ma’ariv and the International Jewish Congress in the same year with an the initiative of the

Israeli government.5 The narrative described the exodus as a long saga of persecution and

suffering since the earliest days of Islam to the final Zionist act of emigration to Israel. The

adoption of this book by the Israeli government and the International Jewish Congress can be

considered as a clear act of canonization of this certain narrative by national Zionism.

Bat Ye’or wrote exclusively of the relationship between Egyptian Jews and Zionism in a

research paper which was titled, “Zionism in Islamic Lands; The Case of Egypt,” in which she

strongly supported the Zionist national narrative, suggesting Zionism in the orient was far more

Mansour 4

successful than it was among Jews in Europe.6 In this work, Bat Ye’or illustrated the life of the

Jewish community in Egypt as if it were entirely driven by its Zionist sentiments and wholly

centered on immigration to the land of Israel.

Another similar work that identified Egyptian Jews as only Jews and not as Egyptians

was Operation Susannah, a collective memoir written in 1978 by Aviezer Golan as a record of

Operation Susannah, also known as the Lavon Affair, in which Golan stated Egyptian Jews were

indeed:

…born and raised in Egypt, but they never regarded themselves—nor were they

regarded by the others to be Egyptians. They were typical members of Egypt's

Jewish community; a community with shallow roots. The Jews reached Egypt

during the second half of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth.

They could not read or write Arabic, and spoke no more of the language than was

necessary for the simplest daily needs. All of Egypt's Jews could have been

considered Zionists -or to be more accurate, 'lovers of Zion.7

This narrative corresponds with that of the National Egyptian one. Almost all of the works

published in Egypt detailing modern history of Egyptian Jewry support the idea of Egyptian Jews

being more Zionist than Egyptian, on the assumption that being a Zionist contradicts directly

with being an Egyptian. Needless to say, many of those Egyptian studies had a strong nationalist

flavor and could be fairly described as anti-Semitic. In a major study published in 1980 by

Egyptian researcher Siham Nassar titled, “Egyptian Jews between their Zionist Identity and their

Egyptian One,” which dealt with 20th century Jewish journalism in Egypt, Nassar stated,

“Although Egypt dealt with those Jews with great generosity, they were fanatic supporters of

Zionism and played a vital role in establishing the Jewish state.”8 An official study with a similar

Mansour 5

approach published by an Egyptian governmental institution related to Cairo University in 2000

suggested Zionist activities were common in Egypt long before the first the Zionist Congress in

1897 and Egyptian Jews were among the earliest investors in Zionism.9 The fact that this narrow

and abstract conclusion of the Jewish presence in Egypt was adopted by both nationalist

ideologies, gave little space for any other propositions to be made. This explains the current

victimized sentiments of Egyptian Jews, who feel that they were betrayed by all sides. In an

article titled, "Zionism from the Standpoint of Its Jewish Victims," Ella Habiba-Shohat expressed

some of those victimized ideas.10 In this article, Shohat argued that Zionism is a white,

Ashkenazi phenomenon, based on the denial of the Orient and the rights of both Mizrahi Jews

and the Palestinians. Indeed, she argues, the conflict of East versus West, Arab versus Jew, and

Palestinian versus Israeli exists not only between Israelis and Arabs, but also within Israel

between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews.11 This strong sense of rejection went beyond just rejecting

the Zionist historical narrative, but also rejecting Zionism in its entirety.

Accepting the Zionist nationalist historical narrative serves a wide range of interests for

Zionism, Egyptian Nationalism, and Mizrahi Jews. Such an observation indicates the Arab-

Israeli conflict is a historical clash of identities, and is deeply rooted in history. In this sense, the

narrative gives a deadended explanation of the Arab hostility and anti-Semitism towards Israel.

For Egyptians, it justifies many of the anti-Semetic measures taken against Jews, such as the

mass arrests which took place following the Suez Crisis. On the other hand, this narrative allows

the Mizrahi Jews to fully assimilate into the Zionist Israeli collective national narrative of Jewish

history. In addition, it established that Jews of the orient had suffered from anti-Semitism as

much as European Jewry, and that Zionism had its own place among Jews in the east as it did in

Mansour 6

the West. Thus, the State of Israel could no longer be seen as a pure Ashkenazi achievement, but

a joint achievement of Ashkenazim and Mizrahim.

Another aspect of the problematic conditions when dealing with Egyptian Jewish history

is the fact that many Jews, who had no connection to Zionism before 1948, became fanatic

supporters of it after the traumatizing events they witnessed in the Arab lands. The harsh, anti-

Semitic atmosphere which led to their expulsion, also led many of them to conclude Zionism was

always correct and Israel was the safest place for Jewish people to be. Many of the Egyptian

Jews interviewed shared this conclusion, such as Mark Levy, who gave information which

illustrated that while none of his family had anything to do with Zionism back in Egypt, most of

them are now devout Zionists.12 As Zionists, some prefer to view history in compliance with

their current ideological convictions.

A closer look on the Zionist nationalist historical narrative along with the historical facts

known of the Egyptian Jewish community in the 20th century, cast shadows of doubt on the

validity of this narrative. It is true the Egyptian Jewry evacuated the country in a very short time,

but the evacuation had less to do with their Zionist convictions than with the anti-Semitic

atmosphere in Egypt. Support of this idea is shown the fact that only one third of the total

Egyptian Jewish community made it to Israel during the 1948-1967 immigration waves, which

was only 200 miles from Cairo. Half of the Jewry’s population traveled around the globe to the

new world, while the rest immigrated to Europe, including the families of prominent Jewish

figures such as Bat Ye’or herself.13

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Haim Sha’ul, an Egyptian and Zionist activist, stated a

Jewish community would remain in Egypt. He spoke of the necessity to think of new strategies

to organize the life of that community.14 Such an important statement from an Egyptian Zionist

Mansour 7

emissary after the first Arab-Israeli war makes it evident that a significant portion of Egyptian

Jewry turned down Zionism in favor of staying in Egypt.

MIZRAHI POST-ZIONISM

On the other hand, a counter narrative was proposed by what became to be known as Mizrahi

Post-Zionism, a faction of the intellectual movement of post-Zionism and new historians. This

narrative, driven by nostalgia and proposed by Israeli Mizrahi Jews of Arab origins, states the

Egyptian Jewish community was destroyed by Operation Susannah and the involvement of

Zionism. It declares the Israelis manipulated Egyptian Jewry for insignificant purposes,15 such as

cheap labor and to increase Jewish demography. This argument is based on the supposition that

the core and majority of Egyptian Jewry at the beginning of the 20th century were not Zionists.

This narrative was starting to gain attention in the 70’s, but wide exposure of it began during the

euphoria caused by the visit of Sadat to Israel and the signing the Camp David peace treaty

between Egypt and Israel. Only then were the former narratives of Maccabi and Bat Ye’or

challenged. One of the earliest works to do so was Jacqueline Kahanoff’s Mi’Mizracha Shemesh

(From the East A Sun), a collection of articles which held favorable views of Egypt and Egyptian

Jewish life in the 20th century. In this book, Kahanoff describes her early life in Egypt and makes

constant mentions of her Jewish friends, who held Nationalist Egyptian ideas as a matter of

principle. Kahanoff upsetted the Ashkenazi audience by describing political Zionism in Egypt as

limited in influence and very exclusive to Ashkenazim in Alexandria, Kahanoff also spoke of her

clinic in the Jewish quarter, which suffered a forced foreclosure by the head of the community on

the suspicion that it promoted Zionism, an allegation described by Kahanoff as a lie.16 The story

of Kahanoff offers nothing special but the experience of a young Egyptian Jewish female living

Mansour 8

in Egypt prior to 1948, an experience which lacked any direct interaction with Zionism, but

rather viewed it as a distant political movement that had no impact on the life of the writer or on

anyone in her social circle.

One of the major works offered in this new narrative was the fictional Alexandrian

trilogy of Yitachak Gormezano Goren, an Egyptian Jew who was born in Alexandria to a non-

religious family in 1941 and immigrated to Israel in 1951. The first volume of the trilogy, Kaitz

Alexandroni (Alexandrian Summer), was confusing in nature and pressured by the ongoing

political predicaments, but had favorable views of Jewish life in Egypt. However, the second

volume, Blanche, contained a strong anti-Ashkenazi tone.17 Goren sees the Jews leaving the

prosperous life of Alexandria only to stand in lines for the food ratios in Israel as an utter

tragedy. He is concerned by the permanent loss of the Egyptian Jewish heritage. Goren directly

engaged with the historical accounts of political Zionism in Egypt and described it as an

inefficient and superficial Ashkenazi project, administrated by European and Egyptian

Ashkenazi Jews, which attracted almost none of the Jewish fictional characters of his work.18

Goren here offered more than just a literal nostalgia to the land of his birth, but rather a hidden

resentment towards the Ashkenazi Zionist view of history. Indeed, the work of Goren has more

roots in the Israeli Ashkenazi-Mizrahi problem. Nevertheless, it challenged the Zionist account

of Egyptian history. Goren’s works were met with anger from Israeli critics, especially when

combined with his public sarcastic criticism of the Israeli government role in Operation

Susannah, which, in his opinion, led to the painful tragedy of the expulsion of Egyptian Jewry.19

These feelings of victimization are well developed in the Mizrahi community in Israel.

Post-Zionist Mizrahi writers, such as Yitachak Gormezano Goren, Jacqueline Kahanoff, Sami

Chetrit, Ella Habiba Shohat, believe the official Zionist account is entirely false and ought to be

Mansour 9

reconstructed. They denounce the idea that they were living in backward hostile societies and

celebrate the great Arab cities, such as Cairo and Alexandria. They suggest a more active and

prosperous history of Mizrahi Jews in general. Mizrahi post-Zionist writers attack the claim that

the Mizrahi Jews had any desire to immigrate to Israel. They claim they were loyal residents of

the Arab world, and Zionism played a relatively minor role in the Mizrahi world-view. Despite

the role the love for Zion played in their religious lives, they did not share the European-Zionist

desire to leave the Diaspora. Even after the Holocaust, post-Zionist writers maintain, Mizrahi

Jews remained largely opposed to Zionism and lived peacefully with their Arab neighbors. In

several works, they argue that Zionism ruthlessly displaced the entire community for the need of

cheap labor and that Zionism was not a liberation movement for Jews; at least not for the

Mizrahis.20

This narrative not only challenges the Zionist and the Egyptian one, but challenges many

of the historical facts known about Zionist activities in Egypt. At the end of the 19th century,

Zionism was introduced to Egypt by the European Ashkenazi Jews. However, many of the

Zionist organizations and newspapers such as La Revue Sioniste (The Zionist Review), Israel

and Al Shams (The Sun), established later in Egypt were created by Egyptian Jews. Also, much

doubt can be shed on the possibility of Mizrahi Jews settling back in their original home

countries. Zionism had very little to do with the Jewish exodus from Egypt. In fact, before 1948,

only a few hundreds of Egyptian Jews made it to Palestine. Even after the establishment of the

state of Israel in 1948, it was the Egyptian anti-Semitic measures that made it impossible for the

Jews to stay in Egypt and caused them to migrate. Although many claim this anti-Semitism was

due to Zionism itself, the truth is that anti-Jewish sentiments were popular in Egypt long before

Israel. The non-secular movements of the Muslim Brotherhood and Young Egypt specifically

Mansour 10

targeted Jews. When the Egyptian government issued the first citizenship law in 1929, it was

plain the government looked on with skepticism at the identity of the Jews, and they officially

refused to give Egyptian citizenship to the majority of the Jewish population, who were therefore

considered stateless. This serious Mizrahi attack of Zionism was driven by two factors: the

nostalgia Jews felt to their homes in the Arab lands and their frustration with the Ashkenazi

monopoly of authority in Israel, which demoted the Mizrahis to be considered as a secondary

class in Israeli society. Although the Mizrahi narrative has validity in its attack on the Zionist

narrative, it should still be seen as a cultural reaction to the Mizrahi’s social and political

situation in Israel. What encouraged the Mizrahi’s to fully express this reaction were the peace

with Egypt, which decriminalized any Mizrahi nostalgic feelings towards Egypt, as well as the

Mizrahi achievement of pushing the Likud Mizrahi based party to power in 1977.

The Zionist nationalist narrative as well as the Mizrahi post-Zionist one, they both

suggest a view of history that serves them ideologically. Zionists describe Egyptian Jews to be

practical Zionists whom they always wanted to migrate to Eretz Israel. Mizrahi post-Zionist

describe the community as Egyptian, peaceful, and non-Zionist. Usually, the truth lies in its

natural place, between extremes. Both narratives are equally true, while also being equally false.

The magnificent religious, cultural, and ideological diversity of the Egyptian Jewish community

at that time makes it rather impossible to issue either of the two general broad judgments on

whether Egyptian Jews were Zionists or non-Zionists. A simple fact, such as many members of

the Egyptian Jewish community not even sharing the same vernacular until their last days in

Cairo, makes it necessary to delve much deeper into the study of the true nature of the

relationship between Egyptian Jews and Zionism.

Mansour 11

DIFFERENT ROOTS OF THE COMMUNITY

To avoid inaccurate speculations about the relationship between Egyptian Jewry and Zionism,

one has to fully comprehend the ethnical and social map of the community. The truth is that the

Egyptian Jewish community in Egypt in the first half of the 20th century never constituted a

consistent, harmonic community. The formation of the community was the subject of several

independent factors, events, and historical coincidences, which eventually drew a spectacular

mosaic of Jewish life on the banks of the Nile. Therefore, discussion of three major Jewish

ethno-religious groups which co-existed in the same lands, yet never shared a life experience, is

quite necessary. These groups are the Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and the Karaites, who always

placed a well-kept distance from one another. Intermarriages were highly undesirable and, at

many times, forbidden. Many subgroups of those major three communities spoke in different

languages, such as Arabic, French, Yiddish, English, Italian, and Ladino.

The oldest of these groups are the Karaites, the indigenous Jews of Egypt. It is not

exactly clear when this group was established, but most of historical narratives concerning it

circulated around the 8th century, while other narratives suggest a link to the ancient Essences.

The Karaites deny and reject the Talmud, along with all other rabbinical writings; they believe in

no authority but the Tanakh. In 1948, the Karaites constituted about 8% of the Egyptian Jewish

population. They were Arabized Jews, assimilated into an Egyptian identity; Karaite Jews never

felt any connection to the Sephardim and especially not the Europeanized Ashkenazim. Karaites

were a minority inside a minority, an ancient Jewish Middle Eastern group accustomed to the

Ottoman millet system that granted them autonomy in their religious and personal affairs. Unlike

their Sephardic and Ashkenazi counterparts, Karaites did not hold dual citizenships, a method the

Sephardim and Ashkenazim used to secure their interests in the colonized country. Moreover,

Mansour 12

Rabbinism disassociated itself completely from Karaism, seeing it as un-Jewish. Karaism also

distanced itself from Rabbinism, thus making it extremely difficult for Karaite Jews to benefit

from the rest of the Jewish economy. The Karaites were stereotypically known to be poor and

uneducated, sharing the bottom of the social pyramid with their Muslim and Christian neighbors.

As for those Karaites who made it into the middle class by working as professional doctors or

accountants, they never lost their connection to the community of the poor from which they had

come.

INTERVIEWS WITH SAN FRANCISCAN KARAITES

In Daly City of San Francisco County, reside some of the last members of the Karaite Jewish

community, who agreed to be interviewed and asked directly about their Zionist activities. Joe

Pesach, a Karaite born in Cairo who left Egypt when he was in his early twenties, denied that the

Karaites participated in the Zionist movement in any way. He explained Zionism always had to

do with “the other Jews” (Rabbinic ones) and that Karaites had few encounters with them.21

Avraham Massuda, the president of the Bnai Israel Karaite community of San Francisco left

Egypt in the late 60’s when he was 18 years old. He remembers Cairo well, with its mob riots

and violence against them. He recalled the Muslim Brotherhoods violence, but nothing of Zionist

activity.22 It is therefore safe to say Karaites never participated in political Zionism. Although

Karaites are known to have a traditionally deep love for Zion, they have always associated

Zionism with European Jews. The only recorded case of a Karaite being a Zionist activist is that

of Moshe Marzouq, the Zionist saboteur who participated in Operation Susannah, which led to

his execution in Cairo. When asked about Marzouq, a Karaite who sacrificed his life for the

Zionist ideal of the Jewish homeland, Joe Pesach answered, “Marzouq was a person who lived

Mansour 13

among European Jews. He worked [with] and befriended […] them—that’s why he was a

Zionist. But one Karaite being a Zionist does not mean that all of us were.”23 Pesach spoke with

such a negative attitude towards Zionism, he actually gave an example of considering a whole

family to be criminal just because one member is a criminal, literally comparing Zionism to

crime. However, the genuinity of his negativity towards Zionism is doubtful because of the

pressure of speaking to an Arab Egyptian with a Muslim name, especially since he expressed

some strong pro-Israeli views later on in the interview.

In 1937, the Young Karaite Jewish Association began to publish its first newspaper Al

Kalim (The Spokesman), which was the most popular Karaite newspaper ever published in

Egypt. This newspaper was also the longest Jewish publication to remain, as it was only stopped

in 1957.24 The significance of Al Kalim lasting so long is that it serves as evidence of how

Karaites were the last Jews to leave Egypt. Al Kalim was interested in the cultural and

educational aspects of the community. Although Egyptian scholars, such as Siham Nassar, claim

Al Kalim sometimes promoted Zionism,25 Al Kalim never had any Zionist promoting content as it

exclusively spoke of the issues of the Karaite community and had no political involvement

whatsoever.

It is true most of the Karaite Jews immigrated to Israel after their expulsion from Egypt.

However, this emigration should not be looked at as act of Zionism, nor national Jewish

sentimentalism. Immigration to Israel was the most economical solution to an extremely poor

Arab-Jewish community. It is important to consider that traditional rabbinical views were very

skeptic of the Jewishness of those Arabized Jews. In fact, they were not considered Jews at all in

many cases. Thus, they were never included on the Zionist agenda, to the extent that in 1949, the

Jewish Agency officially requested from its agents in Egypt to completely halt the Karaite

Mansour 14

migration to Israel, which did indeed happen for a short period.26 This key piece of information

gives an explanation as to why the Karaites were the last Jewish group to leave Egypt. In Egypt,

the Karaites were a recognized Jewish minority, able to express its identity freely as a Jewish

oriental sect. They never had to worry about how to convey their devout character, since the

collective religious framework of the Middle East recognized them exactly as they identified

themselves. However, in Israel, Karaites were not considered Jews by the official rabbinical

authorities, which not only meant isolation from the rest of the Jewish Israeli society, but also a

series of legal complications. Therefore, it is impossible to find any significant Zionist activity

among the Karaite community, or a trend of migration to the newborn Jewish state. In fact, the

chief Karaite rabbi of Egypt, Tovia Babvotich, never encouraged the community to migrate.

Knowing these facts explain why more Karaites stayed in Egypt than Rabbinates. It was only

when the mass arrest campaign targeting Jews and ran by Nasser’s regime after the Suez Crisis

in 1956 took place did the Karaites understand their presence in Egypt was no longer welcomed.

Many members of the San Francisco Karaite community interviewed stayed long after 1948:

Farag Abdulla, until 1959; Joe Pesach, until 1971; Maurice Pesach, until 1968; and Ibrahim

Darwish, until 1961. When asked why they remained so long and did not escape the country after

1948, all provided the same answer: “We were hoping things will get better.”27 It was only after

a series of events, which included the shutting down of the Karaite last newspaper, Al Kalim, and

the arrests of community leaders that 40% of the community fled the country,28 most of whom

headed to Israel for economical reasons. A second wave of Karaite immigration took place after

Egyptian nationalization measures, such as the confiscating properties of non-Egyptians taken in

the early 60’s, which specifically targeted Jews. After the 1967 Six Day War, only less than 200

Karaites remained.29

Mansour 15

SEPHARDIM AND THE ASHKENAZIM

The beginning of the Sephardic community is traditionally connected to the arrival of the

Rambam in Egypt in 1165, but the true Sephardic presence in Egypt has more to do with the

expulsion of Jews from Iberia in 1492. Many of the Spanish Jews crossed the Mediterranean to

the Ottoman Empire, which granted them autonomy under the millet system. Many of those

settled in Egypt, and more immigrated especially to Egypt from other provinces within the

empire in the 19th century, drawn by the rapid success of Egyptian economy.

The Sephardic Jews formed the Jewish elite in Egypt since the 19th century. Sephardic

Jewish families headed the Egyptian community for centuries. The most prominent Jewish

names of Egyptian economy were exclusively Sephardic like the Qattawis, Adas, Benzions,

Hararis, Levys, Mossiris, etc.. Those also elitists participated in Egyptian political life, where

many of them were members of the Wafd party and others served in high governmental posts,

such as Youssef Qattawi Pasha, who was the Secretary of Treasury under King Fouad I. The

majority of the Sephardim were of the middle class, working as merchants, retailers,

administrators, and small bankers, who were not involved in politics and content with their

situations. A large portion of the Sephardic community in Egypt used French as a vernacular and

went to French schools, many of the rich obtained French passports. The Sephardic Jews enjoyed

social and economical stability. Their participation in Egyptian political life was evidence of

their prestigious position in Egyptian society.

The Ashkenazi community however, did not share similar deep roots with the Sephardim

and the Karaites. The Ashkenazi Jews came to Egypt from Europe in 19th century and first two

decades of the 20th century, fleeing prosecution in Europe to a more relaxed and tolerant British

Mansour 16

ruled atmosphere in Egypt. The first waves of Ashkenazi immigration took place in the second

half of the 19th century. But their numbers grew unexpectedly in 1915 when over 11,000

Ashkenazi Jews arrived to Egypt from Palestine after their expulsion at the hands on the Turks.30

Tension between Sephardim, who viewed themselves as indigenous to the country, and the

freshly arrived Ashkenazim was to rise as well; deep disagreements took place on the issues of

religious service and education.

The Ashkenazim took a great advantage of the benefits of European status in Egypt that

allowed them to find relative prosperity and to live as a stable community. They also wanted to

keep an independent Jewish community separated from the Sephardim, residing in Fatimid Cairo

and speaking Yiddish inside the community. Tension between the groups was not uncommon as

they despised one another. The wealthy, stable Sephardic community saw the Ashkenazim as

European intruders to their community. The Ashkenazim were a minority and they were the least

connected to Arab-Egyptian culture. Due to this lack of an association, the Ashkenazim were the

first group to flee the country after the 1948 war. The Ashkenazim also built stronger ties with

other European minorities in Egypt more than they did with the other Jewish communities.

The age of colonization that changed the Middle East had a major effect on the Sephardic

and Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Egypt, while almost none on the Karaite one. The quick

development of the Egyptian economy brought about by the massive success of the Egyptian

cotton industry, along with a wide net of connections to European Jewry, allowed the Sephardic

and some Ashkenazi Jews the ability to perform different financial roles as merchants, bankers,

middlemen, etc. This economical attachment to Europe affected also the social structure of the

community. The rich Sephardim started to build stronger ties with Europe and with the rich

Ashkenazim through European education and buying European citizenships. For example, the

Mansour 17

Menshe family was a subject of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The families of Levi and Egion

had Italian citizenships, while the families of Harari and Rulu had British ones. These rich,

Europeanized families were living a European lifestyle, giving their children European names,

and teaching them to speak in French or English. The poorer members of the community were

very attached to the oriental realm, having stronger sentiments for Egyptian nationalism,

although they were officially stateless since the Egyptian government refused to provide them

with official documents of Egyptian citizenship,31 which was a very evident anti-Semitic action.

This adoption of a European lifestyle by the rich and Egyptian one by the poor, led to a schism

between them. The complexity of the social, economical, and cultural differences instigated

strong feelings of class solidarity, as each grew closer to those within in their class and more

distanced from the other group. The social and economical gap grew wider with time within the

communities. The poor remained to live in the old, traditional, and over populated Jewish

neighborhoods of the cities, while the elite moved to new European neighborhoods. The elite

began to build new relations based mutual interests with their equally wealthy matches from

other ethnic groups, sometimes even stronger than the relations within their own. Moreover,

since the rich obtained their wealth mostly through their connections with the West, their social,

political, and economical loyalty always belonged there, which caused stronger social tension in

Egypt. Jews were separated based on their cultural and economical loyalty.

The rich occupied the leadership of the Jewish community. According to the Ottoman

millet system, which was active in Egypt until the mid 1950’s, the Jewish community had to

elect a Jewish council to lead the community secularly and religiously, and members of that

board were mostly from the wealthiest Jewish families. In Alexandria, the board was headed by

Mansour 18

families like the Salama and Castro, while in Cairo it was headed by the wealthy and influential

Qattawi family.

ARRIVAL OF ZIONISM

Controversial as it was already, Zionism had to find its way in such a diverse and complex

community. Organized Zionism began in Egypt at the early date of 1897. Yet its influence was

very limited to some of the Jews of the lower class and the lower-middle classes who were

mostly Ashkenazi and Mizrahi refugees. Within the Sephardic elite and the community council,

Zionism was met with indifference. In the years between 1915 and 1918 a breakthrough took

place when 11,000 Jews arrived in Egypt from Palestine after their expulsion at the hands of the

Turks.32 The cultural and educational skills of these new comers resulted in stronger Jewish

activity on a national scale. Small rival Zionist groups were active in both Cairo and Alexandria

at the time. The lack of support and enthusiasm to Zionism at the beginning was because

Zionism was a European ideology, which had much to do with the western world and the

European Jewish Question, a question which did not exist at the time in Egypt. It is true that

Egyptian Jews, like any other Jews, had a strong love for Zion, but they knew very little about

the actual Eretz Israel. Their love for Zion was merely of a religious mystical nature, just as

Muslims view Mecca; they saw Jerusalem as a holy site, a biblical land but never as an

immigration destination. Regularly, they collected charity for Zion, organized pilgrimage to the

Temple Mount, wrote poems of the beauty of Jerusalem, but never had an actual idea of

resettling there. Also, Egyptian Jews were more accustomed to the idea of immigrating to Egypt,

not from Egypt.

Mansour 19

Mark Levy, a Jew of Egyptian Sephardic origin who now resides in San Francisco,

agreed to an interview. Levy was born in 1939 in Cairo to an Egyptian-born mother of Turkish

origins and a Palestinian-Jewish father. Levy’s family was relatively new to Egypt and belonged

to the middle class. They spoke—as most of the Jews did, according to Levy said—French in

their daily life, mingled with Arabic words. His mother attended to a French school before she

was married, while Levy himself went to a British one. Levy has favorable views of Egypt and

believes most of the Egyptian Jews enjoyed living there. They were Egyptian by identity, but

like many other Jews not recognized as Egyptian citizens “stateless.” When asked about political

involvement, he denied any, saying none of his family members were involved in any political

movements, and certainly not Zionism. The general Jewish community was indifferent to

Zionism, with no particular opinion towards it. The community Levy remembers is an Egyptian

community with a semi-Europeanized Egyptian life style. Levy’s family had to leave Egypt in

1949 due to the anti-Jewish pressure by the general Egyptian population and government who

viewed them as aliens. His family left for France with “la se passé” documents, which were

provided to them by the Egyptian government on the condition they would not go to Israel. After

9 months, however, they did indeed move to Israel, as they considered it more secure, especially

since it was his father’s home country. When asked if their decision to move to Israel was based

upon any ideological convictions, Levy said, “Not at all; for example, some families immigrated

to Israel just because they ha[d] relatives there,”33 thus showing their decision was built upon

more practical ones. The failure in obtaining any impression from Levy on the existence of

political Zionism in the community’s life before the exodus indicates the indifference the

majority of the Egyptian-Jewish community met Zionism with.

Mansour 20

ZIONIST MOVEMENTS AND NEWSPAPERS

Prior to 1917, Zionism in Egypt was still a very limited movement with no significant

ideological effect on the general atmosphere of the Jewish community. The Balfour Declaration,

however, brought Egyptian Jewry a tad closer to Zionism. Egyptian Jews generally met the

declaration with sympathy. The new hopeful atmosphere caused the Egyptian Zionist groups to

come together and form the Federation of Egyptian Zionists, which was declared in Copenhagen

in the June of 1917. In 1918, the Federation issued its first and only Newspaper, La Revue

Sioniste (The Zionist Review) which was in print until 1933. In 1920, Albert Mossiri issued a

new Jewish journal, Israel, which was published in French, Arabic, and Hebrew. Israel dedicated

most of its content to promoting the Zionist dream and defending the Yeshuv. However, due to

the lack of a Hebrew reading audience, the Hebrew edition was discontinued in 1932 and the

Arabic edition followed the suit in 1933. Only the French edition remained in print until 1939,

finding its way among the French-speaking, high-middle class Sephardic Jews. In 1918, some of

the elite community members in Alexandria established the Association for Eretz Israel, which

declared its goals to be purely humanitarian, not Zionist or political. At that point in time,

Zionism was never considered to be contradictory to being loyal to Egypt.

After the Arabic edition of Israel was stopped, in 1934 Saadia Yacoub Malki, a Jewish

school master, issued a new weekly Jewish newspaper in Arabic named Al Shams (The Sun).

From its first issue, Al Shams made it clear its goals were “moral and cultural.”34 Al Shams did

not have any perceptible Zionist theme at its beginning, but was a devoted supporter and a

defender of Yeshuv in Palestine. With time, Zionist articles began to appear. Later on, Al Shams

faced financial problems which threatened its existence. At one point, the editor complained in

his paper that not enough Jewish businessmen were advertising with him, thus threatening his

Mansour 21

ability to continue producing the publication. This certainly relates how most of Jews did not

believe Al Shams to be important or significant to their lives.35 Al Shams ceased publication in

1948, when it became illegal for Zionist activity to continue.36

When it became impossible to ignore Zionism anymore, many of the lines drawn

depended on the already established class lines. Most of the rich—fearing for their business and

wealth—shifted from giving financial support to Zionist groups to neglecting them altogether, as

they did not want to be associated with Zionism in any way. Meanwhile, the poorer classes were

not Europeanized enough to stand up for the ideology. Zionism was to find itself among the

young revolutionary movements inspired by Marxism and nationalism. In 1948, the French

ambassador Leskowia Bambark wrote letter about the massive conflict between the rich, non-

Zionist Jewish elite in Alexandria and the poor, pro-Zionist young Jews. He stated that the rich

were highly aware of the catastrophe of Zionism (although sometimes they supported it

financially out of religious reasons) was about to bring upon them by damaging their relations

with the Arabs.37 This internal conflict was not the first of its kind; for a long time, the poor had

asked for a democratization of the Jewish community and leadership, since they protested many

of the actions taken by their current elitist leaders.38 Zionism was simply another agent in this

internal disagreement.

Therefore, the most efficient and active groups were socialist youth groups that adopted

Mapai Labor Zionism, which promoted physical labor in Palestine. The largest of these groups

was Ha’ Chalotz Ha’ Achid, which was established by the Executive Zionist Council. Later on,

Ha’ Shomer Ha’ Tsaeir, which was also known as Ha’ Ivri Ha’ Tsaeir, became even more

prominent with its ideological devotion.

Mansour 22

The main language used by these groups was mostly French, which clearly indicated

their socialist alliance. However, Ha’ Shomer Ha’ Tsaeir was unique in its environment; the

movement opposed the UN Two-State Solution and promoted the idea of a dual ethnic state, a

stance which was shared by some members of the communist party in Palestine and Egypt. This

was before the Soviet Union supported the establishment of Israel, thus giving a stronger Marxist

flavor to Ha’ Shomer movement. Ha’ Shomer Ha’ Tsaeir was meant to hold Zionism and

Marxism in equal consideration when it came to ideology, although the members of the

movement showed more support to the Zionist cause. During the years of 1945 and 1947, almost

a hundred members of the movement in Egypt immigrated to Palestine, and eventually

established the Kibbutz Nachashonim in 1949 near Petach Tikvah.

Several other Zionist groups were formed in Cairo and Alexandria. However, these

groups were frequently torn apart by internal conflicts between the members. One conflict in

particular led to the withdrawal of Jack Mossiri from the Federation of Egyptian Zionists. They

also led the Federation to losing its own two branches in Cairo and Alexandria after several

ideological and administrative conflicts. However, these branches chose remain operating, but

functioned independently of the Federation. The amount of collaboration and coordination

between these groups is not clear in any early sources, which means the joint Zionist mission did

not succeed in overcoming the disagreements between the members of the different movements.

Also, the commitment of those members to other ideologies and ideas such as democracy,

Marxism, and Egyptian nationalism may have contributed to this situation.

Aside from the dynamic history of the socialist youth Zionist movements in Egypt, most

Zionist activities of other groups were limited to educational, promotional, and financial support.

The events organized were usually lectures, fund raisings for the national Jewish funs, selling

Mansour 23

Shekels, etc.. Although the rich were aware of the dangers Zionism posed to their situation in

Egypt, they also were generous to Zionist organizations. However this generosity had nothing to

do with devotion to Zionist ideals, but rather was just a formality of being a wealthy Jew,

showing that these donations were more of a charity than political financing.

In 1929, violence at the Western Wall threw its shadow over Egypt. The disturbing news

coming from the Holy Land exposed Egyptian society to a great wave of anti-Zionism and anti-

Semitism. The leaders of the Jewish community began struggling to fight the anti-Jewish

propaganda. For the first time, the Jews of Egypt felt threatened. This fear pushed the community

to suspend all Zionist activities, leading it into a great depression in Egypt, from which it has

never recovered. In December, 1929, the delegates of the Keren Kayemt in Egypt wrote to the

main office in Palestine, commanding organizations in Egypt to stop all Zionist activities at once,

as preserving their genial relationship with the secular Arab society was crucial.39 An unnamed

Zionist activist reported from Alexandria in 1930 that the doors for any Zionist activity in Egypt

were absolutely closed and the safety of the community was at risk.28 Ha’Shomer Ha’Tsaeir

went underground; its members became very sparse in Cairo and Alexandria, and more involved

in the Marxist political scene, as they considered it to be safer. The year 1929 was a grim time

for Zionism in Egypt; the only activities remaining were those performed by individuals. In

1933, when Hitler came to power in Germany, the atrocious news coming from Europe almost

revived Zionism in Egypt, but the hostilility and anti-Semitic atmosphere made it clear Zionism

would not be tolerated.

LOYALTY TO EGYPT, ZIONISM, ANTI-ZIONISM, AND COMMUNISM

Mansour 24

It is notable to mention most Egyptian Jewish Zionists did not see Zionism to be contradictory to

Egyptian nationalism, mainly because Zionist sentiments of Egyptian Jewry were not based upon

a Jewish Question of ongoing persecution of the Jews in Egypt, but were more of nationalist

ideas mixed with religious sympathy. Moreover, being an Egyptian Jew had its own prestigious

and authentic assertion of identity. The biblical associations of Egypt made many Jews proud of

being Egyptians and allowed them to believe in a profound and mystical connection between

Judaism and Egypt. Even after the war in 1948, many Egyptian Jews still believed in loyalty both

to Zionism and Egyptian nationalism. A Zionist activist who left Egypt 1949 reported to the

Jewish agency that he, as well as many of his compatriots, believed there would eventually be

peace between Egypt and Israel, and the amiable Egyptian Jewish relations would be resumed

because of the strong historical link between Egypt and the Jews. He reported, “The Jewish

people have taken root in Egypt and the most beautiful Jewish figures resided in that country or

came there seeking refuge: Joseph, the first minister of supply in history, our great legislator

Moses, Philo of Alexandria, Saadia Hagaon, Maimonides… Our Torah, the most beautiful

achievement of the spirit, the charter of humanity, was given to us on Mt. Sinai, land of Egypt.”

40 Moreover, many Egyptian Zionists participated in both nationalist movements. For example,

Leon Castro founded the Egyptian nationalist pro-Wafd French newspaper La Liberte (Liberty),

which was responsible for most of the Wafdist anti-colonial propaganda in Europe, while

simultaneously being the head of the Zionist Organization of Cairo.41 Castro also served as the

private secretary to the historical Egyptian nationalist leader Sa’ad Zaghloul, and even attempted

to arrange a meeting between Chaim Weizman—head of the World Zionist Organization—and

Zaghloul to discuss the collaboration between the two nationalist movements.42 In addition, Felix

Benzakein was a member of the Wafd party, a deputy of the Wafd in the parliament, a member

Mansour 25

of the Alexandria rabbinical court, and the head of the Zionist Organization of Alexandria.

Despite his Zionist commitments, Benzakein remained in Egypt until 1960, when he immigrated

to the United States.43

The anti-Zionist activities of Egyptian Jewry in the 20th century were of no less weight

than those of the Zionist ones. Jews in Egypt rejected Zionism for different reasons; it was

pragmatic, ideological, cultural, and religious. Many of the elite members feared their wealth in

Egypt would be endangered by the Arab hostility Zionism provoked. Others saw it as a European

movement which did not address the real issues of the orient. The most remarkable Jewish anti-

Zionist movement in Egypt was the Jewish Anti-Zionist League, which was formed in 1946 by

Ezra Harari with Marcel Israel and Edward Levy as a subgroup of the underground communist

party Iskra. The League was very hostile to Zionism and performed acts of militant agitation in

the Jewish quarters of both Cairo and Alexandria. In 1947, the League protested the results of a

leadership election of the Daher Maccabi Jewish club, which was won by some Zionist

members. The protests ended with violent clashes committed by both sides until the Zionists

called the police. The police—convinced communists were a greater threat than Zionists—

arrested the members of the Anti-Zionist League. Members of the League reported the incident

to the Wafd newspaper Saut El Umma, which in turn launched a series of articles attacking local

Zionists. The physical clashes repeated themselves one month later, leading the anti-Zionists to

create a furious propaganda campaign, claiming Jewish schools were used for Zionist

propaganda and Jewish clubs for Zionist mobilization.44 The League was determined to fight the

Zionist influence among the Jewish community, sometimes by publishing warning statements

and declarations against Zionism (such as the leaflets distributed in May, 1947, in both Arabic

and French cite) to warn Jews to “beware of Zionist propaganda which endeavors to send Jews

Mansour 26

to Palestine where they will live under an oppressive and pogromist regime.”31 The League

announced that it had cabled the United Nations urging the creation of an independent Palestine:

Jewish Men! Jewish Women! Zionism wants to throw us into a dangerous and

hopeless adventure. Zionism contributes to making Palestine uninhabitable.

Zionism wants to isolate us from the Egyptian people. Zionism is the enemy of

the Jewish people. Down with Zionism! Long live the brotherhood of Jews and

Arabs! Long live the Egyptian people!45

One month later, the League was banned by the Egyptian government for public security

reasons. Ezra Harari, however, did not submit. He immediately turned to the most prominent

communist Jewish figure in Egypt: Henri Curiel. As an anti-Zionist himself, Curiel helped Harari

form the Forum Group, an anti-Zionist group within The Democratic Movement for National

Liberation also known as HADETO. Although HADETO itself with known anti-Zionist stands

with more commitment to international labor communism, the movement mainly depended on

Jewish cadres with other prominent Muslims and Christians, like Attia El Shafei, who led the

movement following Curiel’s removal.

The position of Jewish communists was much more complicated than that of other

members of the Jewish community. Some of the communist Jews opposed the two states

resolution and supported the idea of a dual-ethnic state. However, most of them supported the

UN two-state solution, not because of any special ideological convictions, but because of their

commitment to the Soviet Union. This was described as a Zionist approach, due to their Jewish

identity, which ended in a great disturbance in the Egyptian Communist Party, which was

heavily based on Jewish cadres. Public figures, like Henri Curiel, a devout Jewish communist

Egyptian, were under suspicion and removed from their posts of leadership. This caused

Mansour 27

communist Jews to adopt clear anti-Zionist stands; they viewed Zionism as a bourgeoisie

movement allied to imperialism. Yet even this strong anti-Zionism did not help the Jewish-

communists to face anti-Semitism. Eventually, the entire structure of the Egyptian left wing

transformed. Once, Jews constituted over 60% of the Marxist and communist leadership,

whereas by the 1950’s they were eliminated completely, leaving the communist party in the

hands of Muslim intellectuals.

The chief Rabbi of the community, Nahum Effendi, tried to keep his institution silent for

the most part, but at moments openly discouraged Zionism. In an open letter, written by Albert

Mossiri, the founder and editor of the Zionist newspaper Israel, to Nahum Effendi and published

in the Jewish newspaper Israel, Mossiri urged Nahum Effendi to explain to the community that a

Jew can be both a Jewish nationalist and a loyal citizen of Egypt. Nahum Effendi never replied.46

While this can be used as an evidence of the chief Rabbi not being a Zionist, when combined

with his other anti-Zionist statements, to do so would be erroneous, for this evidence is invalid

due to the legitimate suspicion of him being a mouthpiece of the rich. Nahum Effendi himself

had always been a problematic character in Cairo; when he was first chosen to fulfill the position

of the Chief Rabbi in 1924, many members of the community saw it as a step for the wealthy to

have more control. The newly appointed Chief Rabbi was at many times viewed as an agent of

major wealthy families, such as Qattawi and Eberbenal families,47 who were interested in

publically discouraging Zionism in order to protect their financial interests with the Arabs.

Therefore, he was met with opposition from several Zionist members, not to mention his close

relations to the Young Turks movement. Much of this opposition was proven to be accurate, as

Nahum Effendi expressed anti-Zionist ideas during several occasions.33

Mansour 28

The majority of the Egyptian Jewish population, like the majority of the Egyptian

population, remained neutral to politics and ideologies. Most Egyptian Jews remained

uninvolved in any sort of political movements. It is true they had some favorable views of

Zionism, based on their traditional religious sentiments, but these emotions never resulted in a

general mass support of political Zionism. Eventually, after Egypt became uninhabitable for the

Jews, over 70% of them left for Europe and North America, while the poorer third was forced to

go to purely Israel for economical reasons. Most of the Egyptian Jews interviewed had had very

little interaction with Zionism, if any, during their stays in Egypt. The Egyptian Jews played very

minor role in the story of their expulsion. With mass arrests and expulsions, it was the Arab anti-

Semitism that evacuated the Jews of the Nile from their homes in less than 20 years. The diverse

and vivid Jewish community in Egypt was to exist no more.

CONCLUSION

The nature of the relationship between Egyptian Jewry and Zionism in the 20th century is

complicated and dynamic due to the one absolute characteristic of any human society: diversity.

The Egyptian Jewish community was formed by several unique historical and socio-economical

events. In the heart of this vividly impressive diversity were the Arabic-speaking, local Egyptian

Jews. The dominant factor of their relationship with political Zionism was that Jews in Egypt did

not have a mutual experience due to their racial, social, cultural, and economical differences.

They did not completely lack ethnic solidarity as Jews, but they had a much stronger sense of

class solidarity within their own groups, which ultimately separated them as a whole. Both the

Zionist and Egyptian narratives are inaccurate and must be challenged. Many Egyptian Jews

turned down Zionism in favor of staying in Egypt, even after the establishment of the state of

Mansour 29

Israel because, as the Egyptian Jewish community in San Francisco said many times, “We were

hoping things will get better.”48 It is true the Egyptian Jews who resettled in the United States

may only express the less Zionist aspect of the Egyptian Jewish community; nevertheless, their

accounts of history remain significant. On the other hand, the post-Zionist Mizrahi narrative

lacks substantial historical support; Egyptian Jewry was not a pure Arabized nationalist Egyptian

community. Meanwhile, some Egyptian Jews had a European lifestyle and associated themselves

with Europe more than they did with Egypt, while others adopted and believed in political

Zionism, and tried tirelessly to introduce Zionism to the community. Many of these Egyptian

Jews wrote, lobbied, and raised funds for Zionism. Ultimately, both Zionism and anti-Zionism

were both present among Egyptian Jews. The labeling of the Egyptian Jewish community with a

certain category is irrelevant, since it was so diverse in culture, class, ethnicity, and religious

practice. At the same time, Zionism should not be seen as the reason of these deep differences

within the community, but rather that the fate of Zionism in Egypt was determined by these

preexisting and irreconcilable differences. The disappearance of Egyptian Jewry was not the

result on an unshakable Zionist belief as Bat Ye’or stated, but rather the result of a growing

Egyptian anti-Semitism, which made Jewish life in Egypt nearly impossible.

Mansour 30

References

1 Beinin, Joel. The dispersion of Egyptian Jewry culture, politics, and the formation of a modern

diaspora. Berkeley: American University in Cairo, 2005: 38. 2 Laskier, Michael M.. "Egyptian Jewry Under The Nasser Regime, 1956–70."Middle Eastern Studies 31,

no. 3 (1995): 573-619. 3 Beinin, Joel. "Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias." Contested

Politics 5, no. 1 (1996): unkown. http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-1/text/beinin.html (accessed June

16, 2013). 4 Ye'or, Bat. In Zionism in Islamic lands: the case of Egypt. London: Institute of Contemporary History,

Wiener Library, 1977: 16. 5 Ye’or, Bat: Yehoudei Mitzraim Sifryat Ma’ariv ve Ha’ Congress Ha’ Yehoudi Ha’ Olami Be Yozmat

Misrad Ha’ Tsionot, Tel Aviv 1974 6 Ye'or, Wiener Library, 1977: 16. 7 Golan, Aviezer. Mivtza' Suzanah: ha-sipur ha-mele shel nidune ha-parshah. Yerushalayim: ̒Edanim,

1976. 5. 8 Nassar, Siham. Al Yahud Al Missryun Bayn Sehionithem wa Mersyathem. Cairo: Dar Al Arabyah, 1980:

8. 9 Abdulzahir, Mahmoud Said. Yahoud Masr; Derasa fy al Mwqef al Syasy. Cairo: Center for Oriental

Studies, 2000: 77. 10 Shohat, Ella. "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of its Jewish Victims." Social

Text 19/20 (1988).

http://gentlecynic.net/Articles/Zionism%20from%20the%20Standpoint%20of%20its%20Jewish%20Victi

ms.pdf (accessed June 16, 2013). 11 Wurmser, Meyrav. "Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question." Middle East QuarterlySpring (2005):

21-30. http://www.meforum.org/707/post-zionism-and-the-sephardi-question (accessed June 16, 2013). 12 Levy, Mark. Interview by author. Phone interview. San Diego, June 3, 2013. 13 Beinin, Joel. "Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias." Contested

Politics 5, no. 1 (1996): unkown. http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-1/text/beinin.html (accessed June

16, 2013). 14 Haim Sha'ul le-mahlelket ha-mizrah ha-tikhon, Cairo, Mar. 12, 1950.

Mansour 31

15 Elgazy, Youssef. "Gam Ha’gvol Shelano Sa’gor." Ha'aretz (Jerusalem), March 17, 1996. 16 Kahanoff, Jaqueline Mi’ Mizracha shemesh , Yariv-Hadar, 1978 p.17 17 Beinin, Joel. "Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias." Contested

Politics 5, no. 1 (1996): unkown. http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-1/text/beinin.html (accessed June

16, 2013). 18 Goren, Yitzhak Gormezano. Blanche. Tel Aviv: ʻAm ʻoved, 1986: 80-124. 19 Beinin, Joel. "Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias." Contested

Politics 5, no. 1 (1996): unkown. http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-1/text/beinin.html (accessed June

16, 2013). 20 Wurmser, Meyrav. "Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question." Middle East QuarterlySpring (2005):

21-30. http://www.meforum.org/707/post-zionism-and-the-sephardi-question (accessed June 16, 2013). 21 Pesach and members of the Karaite community, Joe. Interview by author. Personal interview. Daly

City, SFO, May 25, 2013. 22 Pesach, Interview by author, May 25, 2013. 23 Pesach, Interview by author, May 25, 2013. 24 Kra mer, Gudrun. The Jews in modern Egypt, 1914-1952. Seattle: University of Washington Press,

1989: 26. 25 Nassar 75. 26 Beinin, Joel. The dispersion of Egyptian Jewry culture, politics, and the formation of a modern

diaspora. Berkeley: American University in Cairo, 2005: 38. 27 Pesach, Interview by author, May 25, 2013. 28 Beinin, Joel. The dispersion of Egyptian Jewry culture, politics, and the formation of a modern

diaspora. Berkeley: American University in Cairo, 2005: 157. 29 Pesach, Interview by author, May 25, 2013. 30 Ye'or, Bat. In Zionism in Islamic lands: the case of Egypt. London: Institute of Contemporary History,

Wiener Library, 1977: 16. Gordon, Kramer. "Tsionot." Pe'amim 16 (1983): 107. 31 Levy, Mark. Interview by author. 32 Ye'or, Bat. In Zionism in Islamic lands: the case of Egypt. London: Institute of Contemporary History,

Wiener Library, 1977: 19. 33 Levy, Mark. Interview by author. 34 Malki, Saad Yacoub. "Ghaituna min Isdar Al Shams." Al Shams (Cairo), September 14, 1934, First

edition. 35 Nachamias, Victor. “Al shams Iton Yehoudi.” Pe’amim 16 (1983): 138

Mansour 32

36 Nachamias 129. 37 Tignor, Robert Lee. “Metachim Bakhilah ve Hatsionot.” Pe’amim 16 (1983): 101. 38 Tignor 101. 39 Gordon, Kramer. "Tsionot." Pe'amim 16 (1983): 111. 40 Central Zionist Archives (Jerusalem) S20/552, Jewish Agency, Department for Middle Eastern Jews,

Matzav ha-yehudim be-mitzrayim, 1948-1952/no subdivision p. 14 Translated by Beinin, Joel in:

Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias SEHR, Volume 5, Issue 1:

Contested Politics 1996, P unkown 41 Beinin, Joel. "Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias." Contested

Politics 5, no. 1 (1996): unkown. http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-1/text/beinin.html (accessed June

16, 2013). 42 'Uwaysi, Abd El Fattha Muhammad. The Muslim Brothers and the Palestine question, 1928-1947.

London: I.B. Tauris, 1998. 68. 43 Kramer126-128. 44 Kramer180. 45 Kramer180. 46 Laskier 51. 47 Tignor 103. 48 Pesach, Interview by author, May 25, 2013.

Mansour 33

Bibliography

Abdulzahir, Mahmoud Said. Yahoud Masr; Derasa fy al Mwqef al Syasy. Cairo: Center for

Oriental Studies, 2000.

Aharoni, Ada. The Second Exodus: A Historical Novel. Bryn Mawr, Pa.: Dorrance, 1983.

Arafa Abdou, Ali. Yahoud Misr; Baronat Wa Boa'sa'. Cairo: Itrak, 1997.

Translated by Youssef Darwish

Beinin, Joel. "Egyptian Jewish Identities; Communitarianisms Nationalisms, Nostalgias."

Contested Politics 5, no. 1 (1996): Unkown. http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-

1/text/beinin.html (accessed June 16, 2013).

Beinin, Joel. The dispersion of Egyptian Jewry culture, politics, and the formation of a modern

diaspora. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

Beinin, Joel. The dispersion of Egyptian Jewry culture, politics, and the formation of a modern

diaspora. Berkeley: American University in Cairo, 2005.

Bloom, Orly-Castel. Dolly City. Tel Aviv: Amodim, 1992.

Elgazy, Youssef. "Gam Ha’gvol Shelano Sa’gor." Ha'aretz (Jerusalem), March 17, 1996.

Golan, Aviezer. Mivtza' Suzanah: ha-sipur ha-mele shel nidune ha-parshah. Yerushalayim:

.Edanim, 1976«ت

Gordon, Kramer. "Tsionot." Pe'amim 16 (1983): 107-129.

Goren, Yitzhak Gormezano. Blanche. Tel Aviv: Am oved, 1986.

Hassoun, Jacques. Tareekh Yahoud El Nile. Cairo: Dar Al Shorouq, 2007.

Translated by Youssef Darwish

Mansour 34

Kahanoff, Jaqueline. Mi Mizracha shemesh. Tel Aviv: Yariv-Hadar, 1978.

Kramer, Gudrun. The Jews in modern Egypt, 1914-1952. Seattle: University of Washington

Press, 1989.

Laskier, Michael M.. "Egyptian Jewry Under The Nasser Regime, 1956-70." Middle Eastern

Studies 31, no. 3 (1995): 573-619.

Levy, Mark. Interview by author. Phone interview. San Diego, June 3, 2013.

L'express (Paris), "Les juifs de Nasser," December 25, 1967.

Malki, Saad Yacoub. "Ghaituna min Isdar Al Shams." Al Shams (Cairo), September 14, 1934,

First edition.

Nahoum, Haiجˆm, and Esther Benbassa. Haim Nahum: a Sephardic chief rabbi in politics, 1892-

1923. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1995.

Nassar, Siham. Al Yahud Al Missryun Bayn Sehionithem wa Mersyathem. Cairo: Dar Al

Arabyah, 1980.

Pesach and members of the Karaite community, Joe. Interview by author. Personal interview.

Daly City, SFO, May 25, 2013.

Rodinson, Maxime. Israel and the Arabs. New York: Pantheon Books, 1968.

Sachar, Howard Morley. A history of Israel: from the rise of Zionism to our time. 2nd ed. New

York: A.A. Knopf :, 1996.

Shohat, Ella. "Sephardim in Israel: Zionism from the Standpoint of its Jewish Victims." Social

Text 19/20 (1988).

http://gentlecynic.net/Articles/Zionism%20from%20the%20Standpoint%20of%20its%2

0Jewish%20Victims.pdf (accessed June 16, 2013).

Shoshkas, Chaim. MeHa' Krimlim ad Ha' Peyramidoth. Jerusalem: Sepharim, 0.

Mansour 35

Tignor, Robert Lee. "Metachim Bakhilah ve Hatsionot." Peamim 16 (1983): 89-107.

'Uwaysi, Abd El Fattha Muhammad. The Muslim Brothers and the Palestine question, 1928-

1947. London: I.B. Tauris, 1998.

Victor, Nachamias. "Al Shams Iton Yehoudi." Pe'amim 16 (1983): 129-142.

Wurmser, Meyrav. "Post-Zionism and the Sephardi Question." Middle East Quarterly Spring

(2005): 21-30. http://www.meforum.org/707/post-zionism-and-the-sephardi-question

(accessed June 16, 2013).

Ye'or, Bat. "S." In Zionism in Islamic lands: the case of Egypt. London: Institute of

Contemporary History, Wiener Library, 1977. 16.