I.A.J.E. Newsletter 6

I.A.J.E. NEWSLETTER International Association of Jews from Egypt 6 Association Internationale des Juifs d’Egypte EDITOR: Prof. Victor D. Sanua IAJE, 2416 Quentin Road, Brooklyn, NY 11229 2002 Volume 4 No. 2 Editorial A Wedding in the Shaar understand that the Synagogue is not n our preceding editorial in issue No. Ha’shamaim Synagogue, 1941 open at the present time, in contrast to the Synagogue on Nebi Daniel in Alex- 5 Newsletter, we pointed out how (“Temple Ismaliah” on Adly Pasha, andria, which can easily be visited. I Jews from Egypt are divided, those Cairo) that have great nostalgia for the country Regarding the picture below, Mr. they left behind and those who would rofessor Moshé Matalon sent us Matalon writes the following: “The like to forget about it, as one of our cor- the picture appearing on this page. names Hamaoui and Titcheck, are well respondents wrote, “El lefat, mate” (The PIt was taken in the interior of the familiar to me and I remember them well. past is dead). We must acknowledge that Synagogue at the wedding of his parents We lived not too far from the Synagogue. in previous issues of the newsletter, we Ernest and Elise Matalon. It is a mag- I think it was in the center of the city were inclined to emphasize the good nificent shot of the ceremony and the near ‘Passage Rivoli.” I went to “Lycee memories we have of the country despite chandelier is of outstanding beauty re- du Caire” school until the end of 1956. that each one of us must have had un- flecting the high standard of living that Despite being a young boy, I remember pleasant experiences. The Editor, during the Jews of Egypt had. Vita Bey Mosseri vividly the dramatic experience of be- the critical period of 1948, was fired built it in1905, as a close replica of ing in Cairo during the Sinai Campaign from his job, and had problems finding Solomon’s Temple. The Editor, with his when we the “Yahuds” - were consid- another one since he had an Italian pass- daughter, visited the Synagogue in 1982 ered the “enemy” and we had to care- port. He was fortunate to find a position and found six old men that Saturday fully obey the blackout in order not to with a United Nations Office, which was morning. We had to wait for three more give the authorities an excuse to blame exempted from the Company laws that tourists to start the minyan. My daugh- us of treason. After the war, I was trans- caused the dismissal of many Jewish ter, the only woman, was asked by one ferred to a Jewish school “La Goutte de white-collar workers. Future issues of the of the congregants to sit on the other side Lait,” for one year and finally ended at newsletter will include both the pleas- of the aisle. Old traditions never die! We the “College des Freres a Bab-El ant and unpleasant memories of our continued on page 3 members. In the case of the latter, we can offer the example of Mr. Jacques Hasson who feels bitter about his own experiences, as he was interned in 1956 in Notakal camp No.5. It is obvious that the conditions in 1956 were much worse than in 1948. In 1956, when Egypt ex- propriated the Suez Canal considered to be an international waterway, most Brit- ish and French citizens were forcefully expelled from the country. In this issue we are including long statements provided by some of our members. For example, we have included the reminiscences of Mrs. Rachel Cwerner and Sarah Douek, USA, where they expressed nostalgia, but also decry the fact that “they were peremptorily ordered to depart within a matter of days leaving behind everything including the possibility of even visiting again the graves of those we loved.” They feel that the larger picture dwarfs Do you recognize anyone in this picture? In the background, the Hazan continued on page 2 Hamaoui can be identified. Who is the person next to him? Academic Committee she is willing to send those sketches to Of The International Association anyone inquiring about a relative or known person. In the present issue, we of Jews from Egypt have included a short biography of Mr. Jacques Maleh, a well-known journal- Joel Beinin, Ph.D., ist, which was sent to us by his son Stanford University, USA Maurice Maleh, who is presently in- Ya’acov Choueka, Ph.D., volved with the Association of Jews Bar Ilan University, Israel from Egypt in the United Kingdom. We Jacob Landau, Ph.D., have included in our newsletter an ar- Hebrew University, Israel ticle, retrieved from our archives, that Pittu Laungani, Ph.D., Mr. Jacques Maleh wrote in 1977 when South Bank University, U.K. he returned to Egypt. He reports on the Yoram Meital, Ph.D., sad state of what was left of the thriv- Ben Gurion University, Israel ing Jewish community. Periodically we Tobie Nathan, Ph.D., plan to include in our newsletter a story University of Paris, France about an illustrious Jew who lived in Shimon Shamir, Ph.D., The editor visiting Shaar Ha’Shamaim Egypt. The last issue had a biographi- Tel Aviv University, Israel cal sketch of Rabbi Haim Nahum Eff. Sasson Somekh, Ph.D., Editorial continued from page 1 Suggestions for names are welcome. Tel Aviv University, Israel The front page picture of this issue passing nostalgic thoughts. On the other shows a wedding at Shaar Ha’shamaim hand, Mr. Albert Oudiz seems to empha- Editorial Board around 1941 (Temple Ismaliah). Dr. size the nostalgic part of his life in Egypt. Moshé Matalon sent this to us. It is the Jean-Marc Oppenheim, Ph.D. He wrote an article on the beautiful days picture of his parents’ wedding. One Marianne R. Sanua, Ph.D. he spent at Aboukir during his childhood, should marvel at the beauty of the inte- Victor D. Sanua, Ph.D., Editor but he describes his consternation and rior, particularly the chandelier. One of Albert de Vidas, Ph.D. depth of sorrow when he recently visited our non-Egyptian correspondents, in Zaki Levy, Treasurer Aboukir, which is now a desolate place. looking at the front page picture in the Tel & Fax 1-718-339-0337 We would like to bring to the atten- last issue of the newsletter, writes: E-mail: [email protected] tion of our readers the work conducted “Such a photograph brings a new pic- by Mrs. Mathilde Tagger of Tel-Aviv ture of what I might have envisioned who obtained 190 names of prominent Acknowledgements years ago as “Egyptian Jews.” She Jews appearing in the Who’s Who in We would like to acknowledge with states that such a picture could be seen Egypt in 1943 each with a short biographi- thanks donations from the following in the USA in 1926. One of the purposes cal sketch. We are happy to report that members since the last issue of the of our newsletter in showing pictures newsletter: Charles Chehebar, NY • of our life in Egypt is to dispel the ste- Michelle Dewdney (Lindell), Australia • JOIN THE I.A.J.E. reotype of a certain degree of “primi- Izi Elinsky, NJ •Albert Hassid, Ca. • Membership Contribution ..... $30.00 tiveness” that people have about people Marco Matalon, Brazil • Jacques Politi, (Includes newsletter subscription) coming from an African country. OH • Chaya Romano, Brooklyn • Blanche Sacks, Maryland • Victor Donations to promote I.A.J.E. activities: Unfortunately, our efforts to expand our objectives are limited by a certain Salama, Brooklyn and Elie Sion, Swit- $50 $100 $200 $500 lack of support and therefore we are zerland, Nelly Ades, Brooklyn. $1,000 $5,000 Other ______ only able to publish two issues a years. In This Issue All subscriptions should be made pay- Efforts to approach Foundations for able to the International Association substantial support have been a failure. Editorial & Wedding .......................... 1 of Jews from Egypt (IAJE). For do- Members are invited to write to the Research on Jews From Egypt .........3 nors outside the USA, international Editor if they have any suggestions Sephardic Center Conference...........4 money orders or dollars could be sent. about such a support. We have been able Sephardic House Weekend .............. 4 All funds are to be mailed to: Frank Nissel’s Flight to Egypt............ 5 to collect, in the course of the past forty- Victor D. Sanua, Ph.D., Editor Suzan Vidal Pirotte’s Book ................ 5 year’s, archival material which should Jacques Maleh (1906-1989) ............. 6 Int’l Association of Jews from Egypt be published. A newsletter where we Letters to the Editor ........................... 8 2416 Quentin Road can only present extracts of the mate- Brooklyn, New York 11229, U.S.A. General News ...................................9 rial received, will never be adequate for La Vie Etait Belle ............................. 14 that purpose. What is needed is a regu- Page No. 2 I.A.J.E. Newsletter 2002 Vol.4 No. 2 lar journal, and we hope that one of these days, we shall be provided with New Members and Renewals of Membership 2002 substantial financial support for such a ABADY, Raphael & Linda, Brooklyn, NY MATALON, Marco, Sao Paulo, Brazil venture. We shall say “Amen!’ to that. ABDELA, Angelo, S., New York, NY MATALON, Moshe, Wilmette, IL Please write to the Editor if you have ATTIAS, Zaki, Paris, France MEHREZ, Gisele & Henri, Belmont, MA any comments. Thanks BALASSIANO, Nissim, New York, NY MIRES, Sara, Dallas, TX BAYDA, Fernande, Hallandale, FL MIZRAHI, Suzanne, Boulogne-Billancourt, Wedding BENJAMIN, Odette, New York, NY France continued from page 1 BISHOP, Rosette, S., Arlington, VA MODELSKI, Sylvia, Washington, D.C.

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