מכתב ממ. זקס לעורך ה"פרזנט טנס" (אנ')

Dr. Maurice Sachs 4, Elie Cohen St, Bat-Yam Israel The Editor "present Tense" New-York Dear Sir, I read with great interest the fine article of TRUDY RUBIN : "The 500 souls in Cairo & Alexandria,"(Autumn 75, vol 3, No. 1), but there is one big fact which is not Correct; Jews were not well treated by the Moslems in Egypt. True, Jews lived with their"companiable Hosts for several cnturies" (p. 63, 3rd cln.), but not as it is stated in the article in"a peaceful coexistence". Jews were considered, at the best as citizens of second or 3rd degree, but mostly they were considered as strangers. In Egypt, as in Most moslems countries, religion is the base of everything Fanatism and xenophobism (as it is said correctly in the article) are regula- ting the way of living and they still persist. Jews have always suffered in Egypt, not only after the war of Palestine in 1948. Despite descrimination & persecution, some Jews reached high positions in the Administration, because the rulers (kings Fuad & Faruk) considered them- selves above the Law, and when they found capable jews succeeding in busi- ness they employed them as advisers or ministers) as it happened with Cattaoui Pacha, who was Minister of Finance in the 20's & 30's or Boubli bey who was a Chambellan of Fuad & Faruk or Dr. Katz was King Faruk's Physician. But, apart those few Jews, Jews in Egypt suffered antisemitism since always. Harambam (Maimonides) wrote "that there is no grater enemy to the Jews than the Ismaelites(Moslem)". Because of the fanatism of Egypt, this Country is called the "Big Mosque". True Egypt is a big Mosque "where minorities have no right to live in, it's only religion that determines citizenship (+). If you were born in Egypt, even if your parents or your grandparents were born in Egypt, and if by "misfortune" you are not Moslem, you are not considered Egyptian (unless you are rich and you can bribe high rank egyptian official to obtain the Egyptian citizenship). On the other Hand if a Moslem has just landed in Egypt from Pakistan or another Moslem Country he can obtain immediatly the Egyptian Nationality +) Religion is very strong in Egypt that no reform of changement can be made without the help or approval of the religious. For instance when King Faruk felt that his throne was threatened, he had recourse to the Azhar and the big Cheikh (The Moufti) made a "Fatwa" (a Holy declaration parallel to the Catholic Dogma), in which he stated that Faruk was the True descendant of the prophet Mohamad. Nowadays, Egypt, in order to solve the Problem of overpo- pulation, has to find some arguments in favour of Birth Control in the Koran. they found a verse in it saying that "if a man cannot(economically) sustain many wives, he has to contain himself with One"!Or to induce fighting Israel, the army published pamphlets convincing the soldiers of the holliness of kil- ling Jews. During the Yom Kipur War, The Cheikh of Al Azhar, declared that he saw in his dream the prophet Mohamed pointing to the Canal and ordering the soldiers to throw the Jews. Such things can be rediculous in the eyes of a westerner, but it works in Egypt. Every Scientical book has to start with the verse of " In the Name of Allah the Merciful(Bism Alla el Rahman wal Rahim) picturesof Sadar Kneeling in the Mosque appear in the papers on Fidays. - 2 - One of the Minorities held in very poor esteem, was the Jewish community, despite the long stay of most of them over centuries. Jews had never ceased to put all their efforts for the benefit and the welfare of the whole Egyptian Nation. They had always been at the basis of every progress, eventhouhh they had been considered as strangers. Only Jews had to prove their Egyptian Citi- zenship. They had to show the Egyptian Nationality Certificate to apply for a job, identity Card or Birth Certificate to obtain the Job, was enough for him to say that his name was Ahmad or Omar to obtain the Job, even if he did not have the qualifications required. One can say that fate of the Jews before 48, was not different from the 1/2 milions Italian, greeks and other minorities living in Egypt. But those people (Greeks, Italians...)did not give up with their nationality of origin, they continued to live their own way of living for generations, they spoke in their languages , they lived together, they had schools of their own, they did not use the arabic language. But that was not the case of the Jews. Most of them did not have any other Nationality. They have been assimilated to the Egyptian life, the same as Jews elsewhere. Greeks and Italians have kept using their costumes & traditions. According to the law of Nationality of 1929, Jews, in order to obtain the Egyptian Nationality, had to prove their residence and of their parents in Egypt since 1841 (year when Mohamed Aly ruler of Egypt obtained the internal autono- my of Egypt from the Ottoman Empire) (Rich Jews bribed ministers as already said to obtain the Citizenship). And it was only at the beginning of this 20th Century, that they started in Egypt to organize registrations (birth, marriage, death, census...etc.,) proving residence since 1841 was an "impossible Mission". Though, many Jews in Egypt, including my own father, found documents going back to 1870 or even 1860, thanks to the registers of the Rabbinate Office (Hakham- khana). Needless to say that these Jews didn't ask for their Egyptian Natura- lization, because they were Egyptians. These Jews were asked for a certificate that they really were Egyptians. These Jews were considered "Ra'aya". (protected by the law), or in foreign language the officials used the word "local". , becau- se they did not possess this precious document (the certificate of Nationality). Few Jews obtain the certificate according to the 1929 Law, most of them came from the Ottoman Empire, because the law provided facilities to people from the Ottoman origin. The Nationality Matter preoccupied the Egyptian Jewry . 75% of employees of companies have to be Egyptians. i. e. Moslems or with Egypt- ian Nationality Certificate. (Company law of 1947 giving legitimacy of existing matters). Not only public office position were forbidden to the Jews , and now companies !!!! RUBIN writes in this articles that Jews before 48 travel abroad every year. Only few had this privilege. Because it was not easy to obtain Egyptian passeport. After 1948, Jews with Egyptian nationality in order to live the country obtained with big difficulties a "laisser Passer" with the mention "aller sans Retour"!!!! Rubin writes that most of the Jews were bourgeois or Rich, which was not true, but after the second world war. Before 1939, most of the Jews in Egypt, living mostly in the big towns like Cairo, Alexandria, Port-Said... were poor. The Egyptian Community, financed by the few very rich like Menasce Adda, Aghion, Cicurel, Addes, Dorra and others... erected Schools , hospitals orphanage , asylum for old people. 70% of the Jews of Alexandria (were I was born) attended the "Ecoles Gratuites de la Communauté Israelite d'Alexandrie " (where there was nothing to pay (or a symbolic fee), and most of the children were given 2 meals every day, twice a year shoes and cloth. When we were kids (in the early forties) we were beaten by moslems near the synagoge or near our jewish school, I was aboy when they run after us calling "Ya Yahoudi", throwing stones... In April 1948, there was a very strange strike . The strike of the Police (and it was before the Palestine War). The Mob seizing the oppurtinity to manifest their hatred to the Jews they destructed jewish shops ( Like Cicurel and Oreco departemental stores). ). No matter was the cause of the Manifestations, Jewish institutions were the victim!!!! -3- I was member of the Haluts Movement in Alexandria from 1943, but this was in contradiction with my sympathy to the struggle of Egypt for a full Independance and an Evacuation of the British from the Egyptian Territories. My friends and my self were students at the secondary schools when we took part in manifestation against the British in 1945 and 1946. I remember being held by the shoulders of teenagers in the place Manchie (Midan Tahrir -Independance Place now), in Alexandria, shouting in Arabic and English "Down with Imperialism, Down with England and Up with Egypt, Evacuation, Evacuation". The Egyptian Moslems were very satisfied and proud of "their Jewish Brothers" like they said in these events. But, this did not prevent the Moslems to attack Jews on the 2nd of novembre 1946 and 1947. They threw Jews from their home (from the balcony to the street) about 10 were killed in 1947. Our First year in the Egyptian University of Alexandria was 47/48, and many of us were mistreated before the war of May 15, 1948. Many of my friends of the faculty of Engeneering were not allowed to get in their faculty by their"comrades". After the war they were beaten by their comrades. Only under the protection of the police they could do the Examinations!!!. To say that Jews lived in Peace with Moslems in Egypt it is far from the truth. They lived there because they didn't have the choice to go elsewhere or because the situation of the Jews in others countries was not Better. But still that does not justify to say that there was no antisemitism in Egypt. But apart that the article describe faithfully the Egyptian Jewry. Yours faithfully, Maurice Sachs, B. Com. University of Alex 1951 Docteur de l'Un. de Paris. N. B. Despite of the Loyalty of the Egyptian Jewry to Egypt, the 2 Commu- nities in Alexandria and Cairo were in touch with the world Jewry and the Zionist Organization. In 1908, the "Bné Zion" Organization of Alexandria adopted the Basle Program. Rabi Bekhor Elihu Hazan (1888-1908), organized a Committee for the Assistance to the victims of the Kichinev Pogrom. In 1913, after the Beylis affair Jews organized meetings and collected donations. Moussa Cattauoi Pacha interfered with the British authorities in 1917 to organize a Jewish regiment, with 350 volunteers from Jews expelled by the Turks in Palestine and 150 Alexandrian Jews. The Jewish communitiy in Alexandria organized schools for the palestinian Jews refugees in 1916 with the same program of the "Yeshuv" and appointed Dr. Bograshow the Headmaster of Hertzilia Gymnasium of Tel Aviv, in charge of these schools. When Weizman visited Egypt in 1919, the Alex. Community gave him a donation of 10,000£. The Jewish institutions provided documents and papers to Jews refugees and helped between 1920 to 1927 to some 12,000 Olim to reach Palestine. The Keren Kayemet was an important institution since 1924. In 1933, The Alexandrian Jewry donated £15,000 for the purchase of a land in Palestine for the Jews who fled from the Nazis. This place is known to day as "Kfar Yedidia". (For more détails see the Excellent Book in Frech and Hebrew of Yéhudia al Masrya " Les Juifs d'Egypte" - Bat Hayéor "Yehoudé Mitsraym" Maariv edition). P.S. In Case of Publishing my letter, Will you be kind to send to me a copy of the review. 1923 -