Encyclopaedia Judaica
Jews in Cairo 04: Independent Egypt since 1768
Schooling with "European standards" - Suez Canal and the effects - Zionism - Hebrew printing
from: Cairo; In: Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, vol. 5
presented by Michael Palomino (2008)
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[Schools according to "European standards"]
<In independent Egypt under Muhammad Ali (1805-48) a new era of development for the Jewish community began. In 1840 Moses *Montefiore, Adolphe *Crémieux, and Solomon *Munk visited Cairo, and founded schools in which Jewish youth were educated according to European standards. The economic development of Egypt attracted Jews from other Mediterranean countries, many of whom (col. 30)
settled in Cairo. Even so, the number of Jews did not exceed 4,000 until the middle of the 19th century.
[[Supplement: Suez Canal and the effects against the Muslims
In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened and Egypt became a puppet state of the "democratic" European powers England and France. Then Egypt was occupied by the British power and the Jews had a good "development" by English protection. Foreigners had an own court with foreign law justice. The economy was going down because the spice trade fell off by the Suez Canal. The industrialization was nothing for the Muslims and their mentality did not change. For the Muslims this situation since 1869 was a national disaster. Add to this Herzl Zionism was an absolute attack against all Arabs. So the anger against Europe and the Jews was growing slowly but steadily]].
[1882-1917: Jewish developments in Cairo]
In 1882 there were 5,000 Jews in Cairo, and by 1898, 11,500 including 1,000 Karaites.
In 1917 there were approximately 25,000 Jews. Among these immigrants there were some Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe who founded their own synagogue, but also collaborated with the existing community. The economic situation of the Jewish community improved and many of its members, such as the Suares, *Mosseri, and Cicurel families, prospered in commerce and banking. The greater part of the community moved from the ancient Jewish quarter and built houses in the newer districts of Zamalik, Heliopolis, and the "Garden City". The Jews became active in public affairs and some of them were appointed to the legislative assemblies and government institutions. R. Yom Tov Israel was appointed to the Legislative Assembly by Khedive Ismail Pasha, and Jacob *Cattavi became the khedive's private banker and the chief revenue officer of Egypt. His son Joseph became minister of finance in 1923, while another son Moses was president of the Cairo community for 40 years. Chief Rabbi Haim *Nahoum was appointed a member of the Egyptian Academy of Science in 1925.
[Zionism in Cairo]
The Zionist movement found supporters among the Jews of Cairo. From the beginning of the 20th century Zionist societies and newspapers were established in the city. In 1900 the weekly newspaper Mizrayim ("Egypt") was published in Ladino, in 1907-08 the Yiddish periodical Die Zeit appeared, and in 1908 the French weekly L'Aurore was founded. The last appeared until World War II. In 1919 the French weekly Israel was founded and in 1939 it amalgamated with the La Tribune Juive, which was published in Alexandria until 1948. From 1934-48 there was also an Arab weekly, al-Shams. The Karaite community published the Arabic weekly al-Kalim from 1945.
[E.A.]
[[There is no indication how many of the Jews in Egypt were Zionists and how many were non-Zionists. The percentage can only be estimated by the emigration countries of the Egyptian Jews in the last chapter about the Jews in Egypt ]].
Hebrew Printing in Cairo.
[[...]
The renewal of Hebrew printing in Cairo took place in 1905, and after that year there were five Hebrew printing presses. They were principally used for commercial purposes, with the printing of books as a secondary activity. Up to World War II, they printed over 50 books, most of which served the needs of the Egyptian communities or were the works of authors living in Egypt.
[A.YA.]> (col. 31)
[[The time between 1930 and 1948 is not mentioned in Encyclopaedia Judaica]].
Sources
Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Cairo, vol.5, col.29-30
Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Cairo, vol.5, col.31-32
