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IN REMEMBRANCE: 50 YEARS
AFTER THE
‘SECOND EXODUS’ 1948 -
1998
THE CULTURAL HERITAGE
OF THE JEWS FROM EGYPT AS AN
ELEMENT IN THE PROMOTION OF
RELATIONS BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS
By Ada Aharoni, Ph.D.
Technion, Haifa, Dept. of
General Studies
57 Horev Street
Haifa, Israel 34343
Tel. 972-4-8243230
Fax : 972-4-8261288
Email:
ada@tx.technion.ac.il
URL:
http://tx.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html
ABSTRACT
This paper attempts to briefly
explore the cultural heritage of
the Jews from Egypt, and their
historical “Second Exodus” (1948
- 1967), as potential factors
that may contribute to the
promotion of relations between
Jews and Arabs and
reconciliation in the Middle
East.
The Jews of Egypt in modern
times, were educated and
brought up both in the
traditions of the symbiotic
cultural relations between Jews
and Arabs in the Golden Age, in
Medieval Spain, and on Western
and Middle Eastern cultures and
values. They possessed a rich
cross-cultural heritage and
ability, and were able to
appreciate the culture and
mentality of their Arab
neighbors. These factors
inherent to their cultural
heritage in the past, and in the
present, can constitute a
significant bridge
leading to understanding,
respect and harmony between Jews
and Arabs.
Another factor which if used
wisely, can help to promote
reconciliation in the Middle
East, is what has come to be
known as “The Second Exodus.”
From the late 1800’s until 1948,
the Jewish community in Egypt,
which was estimated to number
approximately 80.000 people,
mainly living in Cairo and
Alexandria, was a vibrant,
prosperous, and dynamic element
of Egyptian society.
Towards the end of the Second
World War, due to the conflict
in the Middle East, the
atmosphere changed and the
Jewish population had to leave.
Today, there are only about
ninety Jews living in the whole
of Egypt. That
means, there has been a “Second
Exodus,” of the Jews from
Egypt, which took place in our
own century, and yet, it
has been deplorably overlooked
by both historians and policy
makers.
The cultural heritage of
the Jews of Egypt in modern
times, as well as the tragic
uprooting and dispersal of this
ancient and vibrant community,
have not yet been thoroughly
explored or recorded.
Neither have their cultural and
historical heritage been
taken into account as a
potential factor in the present
endeavors towards an era of
peace in the Middle East.
The “Second Exodus” is a blatant
proof that in wars and
conflicts, both sides of the
uprooted people suffer, and not
merely the one side, as
Palestinians/Arabs often feel.
These historical and cultural
heritage facets should be given
urgent attention and should be
extensively researched.
The results of the research
could help policy makers, in
addition to diplomatic efforts,
in the promotion of peace in the
Middle East.
THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE
JEWS FROM EGYPT AS AN ELEMENT IN
THE PROMOTION OF RELATIONS
BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS
Ada Aharoni, Ph.D.
Technion, Haifa, Dept. of
General Studies
I The
Cultural Heritage of the Jews of
Egypt
The main question I attempt to
explore in this paper is whether
the cultural heritage of the
Jews from Egypt, which includes
the experience of the
“Second Exodus,” can constitute
an intercultural bridge of
understanding and respect
between Jews and Arabs.
On close examination of major
historical periods and events in
the history of the Jews in
Egypt, from ancient times to the
modern era, it is interesting to
note that they have
traditionally, and for long
periods constituted a bridge
between cultures.
In the first century, when the
philosopher, Philo the
Alexandrian, translated
the Bible into Greek (the
Septuaginta), he not only
introduced Jewish elements into
Hellenic culture, but also
contributed to the bridging
between Jewish culture and
the Hellenic world. And in
the tenth century, when Saadia
Hagaon translated the Bible into
Arabic, it introduced Jewish
influences and values into
Islamic culture, and it helped
to promote intercultural Jewish
-Islamic symbiotic traditions.
His translation of the Bible and
other writings are widely used
to this day. It is the
basis of important scholarly
research work at the Islamic
University of El Azhar in Cairo
and other various institutions
around the world.
In the eleventh century, the
great Jewish philosopher, Moses
Maimonides, came to Egypt from
Spain as a young man and wrote
all his important
philosophical and creative work
in Egypt. His writings
were influential not only among
the Jews but also among the
Moslems. He wrote both in Hebrew
and Arabic, and even sometimes
in Hebrew using Arabic letters,
or in Arabic using Hebrew
letters. He was venerated
by both Jews and Moslems,
under his Hebrew name:
Moshe Ben Maimon, and his
Arabic name: Abu Amran Obeid
Illah Moussa Ibn Maimoon El
Cortobi. He is today, at
the same time, the major leading
figure in Judaism, and highly
considered by Moslems as an
outstanding contributor to
Islamic philosophy.
It is estimated that more than
one third of the Jews in Egypt
in modern times were descendants
of the Jews from Spain, and they
retained their rich Jewish -
Spanish heritage. In the
“Golden Age” of Medieval Spain,
many famous philosophical,
cultural and literary figures
were venerated and admired by
both Jews and Arabs. Among them
is the leading poet known by the
Jews as Yehuda Ben Shmuel
Halevi, and by the Arabs as Abu
El Hassan El Lawi; and the
writer and philosopher known by
the Jews as Shlomo Ben
Yehuda Ibn Gabirol, and by the
Arabs as Abu Ayub Suliman Ibn
Yehia. There were also
some famous women poets, such as
Casmona Bat Ismail, known by her
Arab name as Casmona Bint
Ismail, who was appreciated by
both Jews and Arabs. She
was versed in Hebrew and
Arabic, and her delicate poetry
powerfully revealed the secrets
of the universal hidden soul.
(1)
The Spanish Inquisition
(1492), led to the persecution
and exile of both Jews and
Moslems. The Turkish Sultan
opened the doors to a great
number of the Jews from Spain
who fled the Inquisition, and
provided them with a safe haven,
mostly in Istanbul or in Izmir.
From Turkey many of them
emigrated to Egypt. They spoke
Ladino, the Spanish-Jewish
language, and retained their
rich traditional cultural
heritage, including their
openness and respect of the Arab
culture.
Those various intercultural
traditions and trends from the
past were developed still
further in various new
directions, in modern
Egypt. The Jews in Egypt,
were taught at least three
basic languages: French
(which from the time of
Ferdinand de Lesseps who built
the Suez Canal, had become the
mother tongue of most of the
Jews), Arabic, and English.
They were also often taught
Hebrew (the language in which
they prayed), and sometimes they
were also taught Italian. In
addition, many of them spoke
Ladino (the Jewish Spanish
language of the fifteenth
century). Thus, though
they lived in the East, they
were exposed to the
cultures of both the East and
West, and were mostly sent
to French , English or Jewish
schools.
At the Opera in Cairo for
instance, which was regularly
frequented by Jews, the cultural
programs offered included not
only the well-known Om Kulthum,
and the Jewish singer Leila
Mourad, but also the peaks of
European culture, such as: The
Shakespeare Company from
Stratford on Avon, the Comedie
Francaise from Paris, the Royal
Ballet from London, the Comedia
del Arte from Milano, and the
Philharmonic from Palestine,
conducted by the famous
Toscanini (2).
In addition to this rich
multi-cultural array of East and
West, Jewish culture and
traditions, were part and parcel
of the daily life of the
Jewish community. At the
beautiful synagogues in Cairo,
Alexandria and Port Said, Jews
duly conducted their services,
feasted their various feasts,
celebrations and weddings in
great gusto and great numbers.
At the various Zionist
movements, some which were
surprisingly founded in Egypt
from the beginning of the
twentieth century (See
Appendix), Jewish youngsters
learnt Hebrew songs and dances
and Jewish and Israeli culture.
Though many of the Jews had been
in Egypt for generations, they
were in general not given
Egyptian citizenship.
Despite their increasing demands
to become citizens, it is
estimated that merely less
than five percent succeeded to
obtain the Egyptian citizenship.
The rest were either “apatride,”
meaning with no citizenship at
all, or they had succeeded to
retain a foreign citizenship
from one of their ancestors.
They had no identity cards, and
if they wanted to travel they
could obtain a “laissez passer,”
but no passport. The fact
that they were not allowed to
become Egyptian citizens, was an
additional element which
promoted their multicultural
inclinations.
The multi-cultural heritage and
ability of the Jews from Egypt
helped them later in their
uprooting and emigration from
Egypt during the “Second Exodus”
(1948 -1967). Whether they
came to Israel as half of them
did, or whether they emigrated
to France, the US, Canada, South
America or Australia, their
knowledge of languages and of
various cultures, helped them to
integrate in their new
homelands.
Another basic effect of their
multicultural character of the
Jews from Egypt today, as in the
past, is their openness and
respect towards other cultures
and not only toward their own.
This makes them more
understanding and
appreciative of the ethnic
culture of their Arab neighbors.
In addition, the fact that
they had lived in Egypt in the
past, and that they know
the language and mentality of
the Middle East, make them
suitable partners for the
bridging of Jewish and Arab
cultures.
Thus, the pluralistic education
and intercultural character and
formation of the Jews of Egypt
in modern times, developed in
them values of moderation and
tolerance, as well as basic
attitudes of openness and
respect for other cultures.
These characteristics make their
cultural heritage
appropriate for helping the
paving of a Middle East beyond
war through cultural means.
Their cultural heritage can
function as a basic turnstile of
openness, tolerance and
understanding, which can promote
reconciliation, peace and
harmony.
II “The Second
Exodus” and the Tragedy of
Uprooting
Jews have lived in Egypt almost
continuously for two millennia.
After the destruction of the
First Temple, the Prophet
Jeremiah came to Egypt with a
following, and since then, until
1967, there had always been a
Jewish community in Egypt.
In modern times, from the late
1800’s until 1948, when the
State of Israel was established,
the Jewish community in Egypt
was vibrant, prosperous, and a
dynamic element of Egyptian
society and economy.
Towards the end of World War II,
due to political turmoil and the
growing Arab - Israeli conflict,
all of this changed
considerably, and the
Jewish community had to leave.
Today there are only about
ninety Jews living in Egypt, and
most of them are very old. That
means there has literally, and
not only figuratively, been a
Second Exodus which took place
in our own century. The
book The Second Exodus,
(2), which is based on a
research on the Jews from Egypt
who emigrated to Israel,
delineates some of the tragedies
and sufferings endured by the
painful uprooting of this
population. And yet, to this
day, only few people in the
Middle East and around the world
are aware that there has indeed
been a “Second Exodus” that took
place in their own century.
The emigration of this ancient
Jewish population from the land
of their birth, came by stages.
As the conflict between Jews and
Arabs in Palestine intensified
during the 1930’s and 1940’s,
the Jews of Egypt became
increasingly vulnerable to
Egyptian nationalist extremists
and Muslim fundamentalists, who
used anti -Jewish attitudes as a
manifestation of solidarity with
Palestine’s Arabs. By the
late 1940’s the Jews confronted
violent riots and their
insecurity became increasingly
evident.
Since the creation of the
State of Israel in 1948, and in
the wake of Egypt’s active
participation in the Arab -
Israeli wars of 1948, 1956, 1967
and 1973, Egyptian Jewry emerged
as victims of these conflicts.
Many were interned in
concentration camps in Huckstep
and El Tor, and were expelled
from the country in large
numbers. Those who were not
expelled, due to restricting
work laws and other prohibiting
measures by the Egyptian
government, understood they had
no future in Egypt, and they
were compelled to emigrate.
About half of them emigrated to
Israel, while the others went to
the United States, Canada,
France, Australia, South America
and other places. The still more
unfortunate were prevented from
leaving and became political
pawns of the Egyptian regime.
(3)
The “Second Exodus” of the Jews
from Egypt which led to their
total uprooting as well as that
of their cultural heritage and
traditions, is a tragic part of
history that has not been
researched. Some writers,
such as Andre Acimov, in
Out of Egypt (4),
Paula Jacques, in Lmiere
de l’Oeil , Jacques
Hassoun in Les
Juif du Nil, (6) have
recalled their own impressions
and memoirs of the painfulness
of the uprooting and exile.
However, it has not been
researched thoroughly yet as
part of the Arab-Israeli
conflict. War causes
suffering to both sides in a
conflict, and not just to the
one side, and the modern history
of the Jews from Egypt indeed
proves that it is so. (7)
This ancient and prosperous two
thousand year community was
completely destroyed, the Jews
in Egypt lost all their personal
property and assets, as well as
all the flourishing public
property of the Jewish
community, such as schools,
youth movements, synagogues, old
age homes, hospitals etc…
Everything they owned was
confiscated and sequestered by
the Egyptian Government, and
they were forced to leave with
nothing but their shirts on
their backs, and only twenty
Egyptian pounds in their
pockets. Their tragedy and
sufferings were tremendous, for
from a prosperous community,
they found themselves paupers
almost overnight. Several people
suffered heart attacks caused by
these tragic developments, and
did not even make it to France
or Italy, which were the ports
of arrival of the Jewish
emigrants from Egypt.
This historical “Second
Exodus,” caused by the
Arab-Israeli conflict, has been
deplorably overlooked by
historians and policy makers.
Though there has recently been
some revived interest in this
subject, the complex
myriad of historical facts
associated with the forced
emigration of the Jews from
Egypt, and the tragic sufferings
associated with their
uprooting and dispersal, has not
yet been thoroughly explored or
recorded. Neither has it
been taken into account as
a potential factor in the
present endeavors toward
an era of peace in the Middle
East. These facets should be
given urgent attention, and
should be widely studied an
promoted by extensive research.
The question can be asked how
come this important subject has
not been more researched?
There are several possible
answers to this question, but
here I will briefly touch on
just two of them. The
first one, is that research
funds in Israel and abroad were
aimed more on research of the
Jews from Europe rather than the
Jews from the Arab countries,
and the Jews from Egypt, who are
usually not politically minded,
and did not press enough for
funds, were the least
researched. However, if we
want to save this important part
of the Jewish heritage from
oblivion, and also, use
the modern history and cultural
heritage of the Jews from Egypt
as a factor in helping to solve
the conflict in the Middle East,
more attention should be given
to this subject.
Traditionally, we tend to
explain our situation, history
and cultural heritage to the
West, and not enough to the
Arabs. This is another reason
why the history of European Jews
was more researched than that of
the Jews from the Arab
countries. This attitude should
be changed as it is with the
Arabs that we want to arrive at
a peace agreement that would
satisfy both sides. Our
Arab neighbors are more involved
and interested by the history of
the Jews from Arab countries,
and among them from Egypt, than
the history of the Jews from
Europe.
The second reason I would like
to briefly touch upon, for the
lack of extensive research
concerning the Jews in modern
Egypt, is probably because of
their conciliating, tolerant and
moderate upbringing.
In general, they do not harbor
hard feelings towards Egypt.
In our research on “The Jews of
Egypt in the Twentieth Century”,
conducted at the Technion’s
“Neaman Institute for Advanced
Studies in Science,” the
majority of a sample of 501 Jews
from Egypt who were interviewed,
did not bear a grudge against
the Egyptian people, and most of
them said they understood that
their calamities and the tragic
events that befell them
were due to the leaders and not
to the Egyptian people. (8)
When asked why they did not try
to salvage their history and
cultural heritage, many of them
emitted a typical
response: “ele fat mat,”
meaning “what is past is dead.”
This kind of response was not
considered running away from the
issue or an irresponsible
attitude toward their heritage,
but rather as a proof that they
were not vengeful or bitter, and
they knew how to stoically
accept the vagaries of destiny.
Another factor that may explain
the difference between the
attitude of the Jews from Egypt
toward their cultural heritage,
is when we compare it to the
staunch pursuit of their
heritage by the Jews from Iraq.
The Jews of Egypt who were in
general not Egyptian citizens,
and were not allowed to vote,
did not enter the political
arena, and looked down on
politics as something “low,
dirty, and not for us.”
The same attitude was carried to
Israel, and that explains why
there is not even one member of
the Israeli Parliament (the
Knesset), who is a Jew from
Egypt. Even the Ethiopans,
who came to Israel much later
than the Jews from Egypt, and
who are less in number than the
Jews from Egypt, already have a
representative member at the
Knesset.
The Jews from Iraq, unlike those
from Egypt, had the Iraqui
citizenship, and knew the
political game well. As
soon as they came to Israel,
they entered the various
political parties, so that
there has always been a large
number of Jews from Iraq who are
Knesset members. As most
of the funds for historical and
cultural research come from
governmental support, the Jews
from Iraq in Israel were capable
of establishing an eight million
dollar research institute of the
“Jews of Babel,” in Or Yehuda,
while the Jews of Egypt cannot
obtain governmental support as
they have no representatives.
Their cultural heritage is
therefore in danger of
disappearing.
III The Heritage of
the Jews from Egypt and
Reconciliation
Though the “Second Exodus” of
the Jews from Egypt is a tragic
consequence of the Arab-Israeli
conflict, it can be used toward
a reconciliation in the Middle
East. It has to be studied and
examined not only in general,
but in particular details and
directions pertaining to
reconciliation, and in relation
to the promotion of
peacemaking in the Middle East.
Egyptian, Israeli, French
and British archives, as well as
other archives around the world
relevant to these tumultuous
times, should be thoroughly
explored, and the results should
be published and made known to
all sides in the conflict.
Full awareness of the modern
history of the Jews from Egypt
and their “Second Exodus,”
could contribute to the
abatement of anger, bitterness
and feelings of victimization on
the Palestinian/ Arab side.
Knowledge and proof that wars
bring suffering and tragedy on
both sides of the conflict, and
not only on the one side, could
lead to the realization that the
Palestinians are not the sole
victims of the conflict.
This objective attitude could
lead to constructive and lenient
measures towards reconciliation
and the ending of the conflict.
The historiography of the
Conflict in the Middle East
would thus be enriched in scope
and in new positive directions.
This could constitute a valuable
addition to modern Jewish -
Egyptian history, as well as to
the history of the Peace Process
in the Middle East. It
could also constitute a new
partnership between Israeli and
Egyptian researchers in the
field of Conflict Resolution.
Although many Egyptian writers
and journalists are still
reluctant to consider the
tragedy and suffering of the
Jews from Egypt, some Egyptian
writers and literary critics
have already opened
significant windows of
comprehension and analysis
toward this subject. The most
prominent amongst the Egyptian
writers, the well-known Nobel
Prize winner, Naguib Mahfouz,
has for years incessantly
admonished the necessity for
Egypt to end the conflict with
Israel. Even though
President Nasser imprisoned him,
and banned his books, he
courageously went on admonishing
reconciliation and peace with
Israel.
Recently, Professor Mohamed
Fawzi Deif, of the Departments
of Arabic Studies at the
University of Cairo, and the
University of Minya, wrote a
series of books on War and
Peace in Israeli Literature
(9), which analyzes in depth
the Jewish-Egyptian condition
and uprooting, as
expressed in works of literature
written by writers in Israel,
who are former Jews from Egypt.
In his thorough analysis he
shows sensibility and openness
to their precarious situation as
expressed in their poetry and
prose, and to the necessity of
their immigration to Israel (9).
(See also Peace Poems
(10), and Appendix 2: Foreword
by Mohammed Fawzi Deif,
The Significance of Peace in the
Poetry of Ada Aharoni).
The “Second Exodus” of the Jews
from Egypt, on coming to his
attention, as well as to the
attention of certain other
Egyptian academics and
professionals, have
emitted feelings of
responsibility and comprehension
toward the tragedy of the Jews
from Egypt, as well as toward
their necessity of having
emigrated to Israel. Their
acceptance of Israel as a
necessary and legitimate State,
was thus strengthened.
The above examples show that
reconciliation in the Middle
East,
as in other areas of
deep-rooted conflict, can
benefit from bridging
between nations through
their cultural heritage. The
deep levels of mistrust on both
sides of a conflict which have
accumulated over the years,
can best be reached by vehicles
of emotions and feelings,
such as literature and ethnic
culture, which can delve into
the deep layers of hurt.
As a vehicle of emotions,
culture and literature can cause
an impact which no political
speech can convey. They are
particularly suited for
analyzing and reflecting fears
and mistrust, and for
changing them into more positive
attitudes. The
intercultural approach, includes
identification with the
“other”, and comprehension and
respect for the other’s
situation, reality and
culture. It can
build up ideological, emotional
and psychological
motivation, and increase
awareness and knowledge,
that can help toward the “Sulha”
- the full reconciliation,
not only between the leaders
that have signed the peace
agreement, but also between the
two nations.
Literary research of the “Second
Exodus,” and the writing of
creative works on this subject,
in addition to the historical
research, can highlight feelings
and predicaments which are
inherent to all uprooting, and
therefore shared by both sides
of the conflict. The
results of these investigations
should be brought to the
knowledge of the professionals
and the public on both sides of
the conflict. This increased
awareness could diffuse more
reconciliatory attitudes and
lead to the building of a
harmonious climate. This
productive atmosphere could in
turn enhance the research and
the publication of new exciting
and prolific creative works.
Efforts should be made to
cooperate with researchers,
scholars and writers not only in
Egypt, but also with Jordanians
and with Palestinians.
There should even be a pursuit
of collaborative efforts with
scholars in Syria, Lebanon, and
the Arabian Gulf. This
regional effort in the Middle
East, could in time generate and
mobilize worldwide support for
the pursuit of peace not only in
our region, but moreover in the
whole global village.
The contribution of the Jews
from Egypt that live in the
United States and other
countries such as France and
Canada, and are less directly
affected by the tensions of the
Middle East, has a
particular importance and should
be encouraged.
IV Suggestions and
Conclusions
The “Second Exodus,” with its
potential for the promotion of
peace in the region,
should be made part and parcel
of curriculum materials in the
educational systems of
Israel, of the Palestinian
Authority and of the Arab
countries. Support and
investments should be mobilized
toward this educational aim.
There should also be a provision
of grants to encourage extensive
research and creative writing on
various aspects of the
historical facts and cultural
heritage of both the
“Second Exodus” of the Jews from
Egypt, and from other Arab
countries, as well as the
emigration of the Palestinians.
Comparisons should be made and
lessons should be learned from
the past and should be used in
the present. The information
that such research could reveal
could also be rewarding to
policy makers on both sides of
the conflict. It could
fulfill an important and overdue
need in both Israel and the Arab
countries, benefiting the whole
of the Middle East in its search
for paving peace. (See
index no. 3, “Pave Peace
Organization”).
This need for research on the
“Second Exodus” is particularly
urgent, seeing that the older
generations of the Jews from
Egypt are disappearing and
taking with them their history,
cultural heritage and
memories, into oblivion.
What is left can still be
redeemed if the urgency of the
task is recognized and acted
upon as quickly as possible.
The second suggestion is that
inter-cultural bridges should be
used as a powerful tool
for overcoming borders of
nationalism and conflicts,
through mass media, using modern
technical facilities such as
satellites and the internet to
propagate them. Research
and promotion of the facts of
the “Second Exodus,” should be
diffused through the mass media,
using TV documentaries and
films, multimedia, the internet,
CD’s, etc. The fact that there
were more Jews who fled from
Arab countries (it is estimated
that there were more than
800.000), than Palestinians who
fled from Israel in 1948, is not
known. Neither is it known
that their property which they
were forced to leave behind in
the various Arab countries, was
much more than what the
Palestinians left behind when
they fled. The revealing
of these historical facts and
others pertaining to aspects of
the Middle East conflict which
have been ignored and neglected,
can constitute a comprehensive
and important contribution to
reconciliation and peacemaking.
In conclusion, extensive
research, study and diffusion of
the historical and cultural
aspects of the “Second Exodus,”
can help to promote a stable
reconciliation between Jews and
Palestinians/ Arabs. Both sides
of the conflict will be able to
discover each other culturally,
intellectually and emotionally,
through their joint experiences,
and empathize with each other.
Realizing that tragedy and
suffering were on both sides of
the conflict, will enable
acceptance and the
openness toward the “other.”
Both sides will be able to
discover that the same fears,
frustrations and deep feelings
of wrong and hurt, are shared by
all victims of displacement, who
have gone through much the same
trauma of the painful and tragic
process of being uprooted.
Israel will be celebrating its
50th birthday in May
1998, and it could be an
occasion to give the search for
ending the conflict in the
Middle East an additional boost
and impetus. The political
and diplomatic approaches toward
the Arab-Israeli conflict
through this half century
have proved to be insufficient.
Additional approaches
should be explored and
added to the diplomatic
efforts. One of the important
approaches which should
certainly be considered and
fully researched and utilized,
is the intercultural approach.
In this c
ontext the cultural heritage and
modern history of the Jews from
Egypt, who have experienced the
“Second Exodus”, can certainly
be instrumental, and have a
significant role.
The desire for peace in the
hearts of the people of the
Middle East is a real and basic
one. People are weary of wars,
and most people do not believe
anymore that conflicts can
be resolved by military means.
In the research on the “Jews
from Egypt in the Twentieth
Century,” conducted at the
Technion in Haifa, most of the
people interviewed expressed the
opinions that conflicts
should be resolved by
negotiations and diplomatic
endeavors, and by concessions on
both sides, and not by military
action (See Index no. 4).
Most of them agreed that
intercultural bridges can
fulfill a crucial role in
conflict resolution. They
can reveal and reflect the keen
desire for peace by both sides
of a conflict. They can likewise
help to develop and pave
the climate of harmony and
reconciliation by building up
attitudes and responses
conducive to a consensus for
peace. (11) The potentialities
of intercultural bridges between
Jews and Palestinian/Arabs, are
as yet mostly untackled, though
some work has been done toward
it, and if further developed, it
can become of considerable
importance (See Indexes on Pave
Peace, and The Bridge,
nos. 4 and 5).
Dedication to this issue
can lend a sense of
identity and continuity to the
community of the Jews from
Egypt, in Israel and over the
world. They have recently
started to show signs of anxiety
lest their rich cultural
heritage and history should
disappear from the general
genealogical tree of
modern Jewish history. Though
there has recently been a
certain awakening and “prise
de conscience” concerning
the danger of this
particular branch being cut off
, among Jews from Egypt, it
should be an issue which should
worry all historians and not
only the Jews from Egypt.
Finally, exploration and wide
publication of the intercultural
heritage of the Jews of Egypt in
modern times, can indeed serve
as an element in the promotion
of relations between Jews and
Arabs. This should include
in particular the
extensive research of the
“Second Exodus,” which has the
potential to promote a
stable reconciliation and a
lasting era of peace in the
Middle East.
I would like to end my
presentation with a poem I
dedicated to the memory of my
late father, entitled “A Green
Week,” - “Gometek Khadra,”,
a beautiful Jewish -Egyptian
blessing. I wrote
the poem after he died of a
heart attack, when he found out
that all his property and assets
had been sequestered by the
Egyptian governement.
A GREEN WEEK
A week like fresh mint
a green week spreading its
fragrance
to the roots of being
“Gometek Khadra!” Have a green
week!
My father used to bless us
on Saturday nights in Cairo
after the ‘Havdala’
when he came back
from “Shaar Hashamayim,”
the Gates of Heaven,
the grand synagogue in Adli
Street
Have a green week he beamed
brandishing a fragrant mint
branch
over our keen heads -
but don’t keep it merely for
yourself
and for your family -
and give it back to the world
fully blossoming
Who will give me a green week
now that he’s gone?
Now that the “Gates of Heaven”
are shut?
only peace
only real peace.
REFERENCES
1) Salim Shashua ,
The Golden Age: Cooperation
Between Jews and Arabs in
Andalusia, Second
Edition, 1990, El Mashraq,
Shfaram, Israel.
1.
Yehuda
Ben Shmuel Halevi, p. 27.
2.
Casmona
Bint Ismail, p. 94.
3.
Moshe
Ben Maimon, Harambam, 178.
4.
Shlomo
Ben Yehuda, Ibn Gabirol, 191.
2)
Ada
Aharoni, The Second
Exodus, and the 2nd
ed. From the Nile to the
Jordan, chapter 4,
“Cairo Opera House,” Lahman,
Haifa, 1994, pages 21 - 28.
3) Michael Laskier,
The Jews of Egypt, 1920 - 1970:
In the Midst of
Zionism, Anti-Semitism, and the
Middle East Conflict,
New York University Press,
NY, 1992, pages 125 - 164.
4)
Andre Acimov, Out of
Egypt, Farrar
Strauss Giroux, NYC, 1994.
5) Paula Jacques,
Nour Einaya: Lumiere de l’Oeil,
Paris, Le Seuil, 1980.
6) Jacques Hassoun,
Juifs du Nil, Le
Seuil, Paris, 1981.
7) Shimon Shamir,
ed. The Jews of Egypt
, Ada Aharoni, “The
Image of Jewish Life in Egypt in
the Writings of Egyptian Jewish
Authors,” Westview Press,
Boulder and London, 1987, 192
-198.
8) Ada Aharoni,
Research on the Jews of Egypt in
the Twentieth
Century, the Neaman
Institute for Advanced Studies
in Science
(Technion- Israel Insitute of
Technology), 1995 - 1996.
9)
Mohamed Fawzi Deif,
War and Peace in Israeli
Literature: The
Significance of Peace in the
Poetry of Ada Aharoni,,
The Nile Publications, Cairo
University, Cairo, Egypt, 1996,
200 pages.
10) Mohamed Fawzi
Deif and Ada Aharoni,
Peace Poems: A
Hebrew - Arabic Bilingual
Edition , Preface and
translations from Hebrew and
English to Arabic, by Professor
Mohamed Fawzi Deif, Lahman,
Haifa, 1997.
11) See Ada Aharoni,
Not In Vain: An Extraordinary
Life, Ladybug Press, San
Carlos, CA., January, 1998.
12) Ada Aharoni, “A Green Week,”
Poems from Israel,
Lahman Press, Haifa, 1992, p.
50.
Appendix
1) Zionist Movements
in Egypt, from the beginning of
the twentieth century.
2)
Foreword
by Prof. Mohammed Fawzi Deif:
“The Significance of Peace in
the Poetry of Ada Aharoni.”
3)
A
proposal for the establishment
of a Research Institute on the
Jews of Egypt.
4) IFLAC: Pave Peace ,
The International Friends of
Literature and Culture Platform.
5)
PAVE PEACE Homepage on www.
URL:
http://techunix.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html
6)
“Pave Peace Through Literature
and Culture”: An electronic
magazine dedicated to
promote peace through literature
and culture. Ed. Ada
Aharoni , Conflict Studies -
Technnion, Haifa, and Paul
Smoker, Antioch College, Yellow
Springs, Ohio.
URL:
http://techunix.technion.ac.il/~ada/home.html
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