The Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (lit. Gate of Heaven) is located in Cairo, Egypt. The synagogue was also known as Temple Ismailia and the Adly Street Synagogue.
Its long time leader was Chief Rabbi Chaim Nahum. In 2008, the synagogue marked its 100th anniversary. The synagogue was built in a style evoking ancient Egyptian temples, and was once the largest building on the boulevard.
When the synagogue opened in 1899, there was a vibrant Jewish community in Cairo. The last time the synagogue was full was in the 1960s. Today the community numbers 30-40 members, most of them older women.
Although it is considered a Sephardic synagogue, many Ashkenazi Jews were members of the congregation and contributed to its construction and upkeep.In February 2010, a booby-trapped suitcase was hurled at the synagogue from a nearby hotel. The suitcase caught fire, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported.
Showing posts with label tourism of jewish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tourism of jewish. Show all posts
1948 Egyptian Alexandria Jewish girls during Bat Mitzva.
Egyptian Alexandria Jewish choir of Rabbin Moshe Cohen at Samuel Menashe synagogue. Alexandria.
After the foundation of Israel in 1948, difficulties multiplied for Egyptian Jews. That year, bombings of Jewish areas killed 70 Jews and wounded nearly 200, while riots claimed many more lives. During the Arab-Israeli war, the famous Cicurel department store near Cairo's Opera Square was firebombed. The government helped with funds to rebuild it, but it was again burnt down in 1952, and eventually passed into Egyptian control.
The Lavon Affair of 1954, in which an Israeli sabotage operation designed to discredit Gamal Abdel Nasser and perhaps also to derail secret negotiations with Egypt proposed by Moshe Sharett, blew up Western targets (without causing deaths), led to deeper distrust of Jews, from whose community key agents in the operation had been recruited. In his summing up statement Fu’ad al-Digwi, the prosecutor at their trial, repeated the official government stance:
'The Jews of Egypt are living among us and are sons of Egypt. Egypt makes no difference between its sons whether Moslems, Christians, or Jews. These defendants happen to be Jews who reside in Egypt, but we are trying them because they committed crimes against Egypt, although they are Egypt's sons.'
Though not one person was killed in the Lavon affair, two members of the ring, Dr. Moussa Marzouk and Shmuel Azzar, received a death sentence. By contrast, six members from Dr. Marzouk's extended family were killed in the 1948 massacres, and yet no one was arrested.[citation needed] In 1953, a cousin of Dr. Marzouk, Kamal Massuda, was killed in cold blood, and the authorities did not make arrests.
Other members of the sabotage rings had families who lost their livelihood after the notorious 1947 Company Law was implemented.
In the immediate aftermath of trilateral invasion during the Suez Crisis of 1956, on November 23 by Britain France and Israel, a proclamation was issued stating that 'all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state', and it promised that they would be soon expelled. Some 25,000 Jews, almost half of the Jewish community left, mainly for Europe, the United States and South America, and Israel, after being forced to sign declarations that they were leaving voluntarily, and agreed with the confiscation of their assets. Some 1,000 more Jews were imprisoned. Similar measures were enacted against British and French nationals in retaliation for the invasion. In Joel Beinin's summary: "Between 1919 and 1956, the entire Egyptian Jewish community, like the Cicurel firm, was transformed from a national asset into a fifth column."
After the 1967 war, more confiscations took place. Rami Mangoubi, who lived in Cairo at the time, states that nearly all Egyptian Jewish men between the ages of 17 and 60 were either thrown out of the country immediately, or taken to the detention centres of Abou Za'abal and Tura, where they were incarcerated and tortured for more than three years. The eventual result was the almost complete disappearance of the Jewish community in Egypt; less than a hundred or so remain today. Most Egyptian Jews fled to Israel (35,000), Brazil (15,000), France (10,000), the US (9,000) and Argentina (9,000).[citation needed] Today, anti-Jewish feelings run high in Egypt, and is common in the media. The last Jewish wedding in Egypt took place in 1984.
After the foundation of Israel in 1948, difficulties multiplied for Egyptian Jews. That year, bombings of Jewish areas killed 70 Jews and wounded nearly 200, while riots claimed many more lives. During the Arab-Israeli war, the famous Cicurel department store near Cairo's Opera Square was firebombed. The government helped with funds to rebuild it, but it was again burnt down in 1952, and eventually passed into Egyptian control.
The Lavon Affair of 1954, in which an Israeli sabotage operation designed to discredit Gamal Abdel Nasser and perhaps also to derail secret negotiations with Egypt proposed by Moshe Sharett, blew up Western targets (without causing deaths), led to deeper distrust of Jews, from whose community key agents in the operation had been recruited. In his summing up statement Fu’ad al-Digwi, the prosecutor at their trial, repeated the official government stance:
'The Jews of Egypt are living among us and are sons of Egypt. Egypt makes no difference between its sons whether Moslems, Christians, or Jews. These defendants happen to be Jews who reside in Egypt, but we are trying them because they committed crimes against Egypt, although they are Egypt's sons.'
Though not one person was killed in the Lavon affair, two members of the ring, Dr. Moussa Marzouk and Shmuel Azzar, received a death sentence. By contrast, six members from Dr. Marzouk's extended family were killed in the 1948 massacres, and yet no one was arrested.[citation needed] In 1953, a cousin of Dr. Marzouk, Kamal Massuda, was killed in cold blood, and the authorities did not make arrests.
Other members of the sabotage rings had families who lost their livelihood after the notorious 1947 Company Law was implemented.
In the immediate aftermath of trilateral invasion during the Suez Crisis of 1956, on November 23 by Britain France and Israel, a proclamation was issued stating that 'all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state', and it promised that they would be soon expelled. Some 25,000 Jews, almost half of the Jewish community left, mainly for Europe, the United States and South America, and Israel, after being forced to sign declarations that they were leaving voluntarily, and agreed with the confiscation of their assets. Some 1,000 more Jews were imprisoned. Similar measures were enacted against British and French nationals in retaliation for the invasion. In Joel Beinin's summary: "Between 1919 and 1956, the entire Egyptian Jewish community, like the Cicurel firm, was transformed from a national asset into a fifth column."
After the 1967 war, more confiscations took place. Rami Mangoubi, who lived in Cairo at the time, states that nearly all Egyptian Jewish men between the ages of 17 and 60 were either thrown out of the country immediately, or taken to the detention centres of Abou Za'abal and Tura, where they were incarcerated and tortured for more than three years. The eventual result was the almost complete disappearance of the Jewish community in Egypt; less than a hundred or so remain today. Most Egyptian Jews fled to Israel (35,000), Brazil (15,000), France (10,000), the US (9,000) and Argentina (9,000).[citation needed] Today, anti-Jewish feelings run high in Egypt, and is common in the media. The last Jewish wedding in Egypt took place in 1984.
Modern times (since 1919)
Demonstration in Egypt in 1919 holding the Egyptian flag with Crescent, the Cross and Star of David on it.
During British rule, and under King Fuad I, Egypt was friendly towards its Jewish population, though Egyptian nationality was denied to 90 % of Egyptian Jews regardless of how many generations they resided in the country. Jews played important roles in the economy, and their population climbed to nearly 80,000 as Jewish refugees settled there in response to increasing persecution in Europe. A sharp distinction had long existed between the respective Karaite and Rabbanite communities, among whom traditionally intermarriage was forbidden. They dwelt in Cairo in two contiguous areas, the former in the harat al-yahud al-qara’in , and the latter in the adjacent harat al-yahud quarter. Notwithstanding the division, they often worked together and the younger educated generation pressed for improving relations between the two.
Individual Jews played an important role in Egyptian nationalism. René Qattawi, leader of the Cairo Sephardi community, endorsed the creation in 1935 of the Association of Egyptian Jewish Youth, with its slogan: 'Egypt is our homeland, Arabic is our language.' Qattawi strongly opposed political Zionism and wrote a note on 'The Jewish Question' to the World Jewish Congress in 1943 in which he argued that Palestine would be unable to absorb Europe's Jewish refugees.
Nevertheless, various wings of the Zionist movement had representatives in Egypt. Karaite Jewish scholar Murad Beh Farag (1866–1956) was both an Egyptian nationalist and a passionate Zionist. His poem, 'My Homeland Egypt, Place of my Birth', expresses loyalty to Egypt, while his book, al-Qudsiyyat (Jerusalemica, 1923), defends the right of the Jews to a State. al-Qudsiyyat is perhaps the most eloquent defense of Zionism in the Arabic language. Farag was also one of the coauthors of Egypt's first Constitution in 1923.
Another famous Egyptian Jew of this period was Yaqub Sanu, who became a patriotic Egyptian nationalist advocating the removal of the British. He edited the nationalist publication Abu Naddara 'Azra from exile. This was one of the first magazines written in Egyptian Arabic, and mostly consisted of satire, poking fun at the British as well as the Monarchy which was a puppet of the British. Another was Henri Curiel, who founded 'The Egyptian Movement for National Liberation' in 1943, an organization that was to form the core of the Egyptian Communist party. Curiel was to play an important role in establishing early informal contacts between the PLO and Israel.
In 1937, the government annulled the Capitulations that gave foreign nationals a virtual status of exterritoriality the minorities groups were mainly from Syrian, Greece, Italy, Armenia (this also affected some Jews who were nationals of other countries). The immunities from taxation to foreign nationals mutamassir (minority groups) trading within Egypt had given them highly favourably trading advantages.
The impact of the well-publicized Arab-Jewish clash in Palestine from 1936 to 1939, together with the rise of Nazi Germany, also began to affect the Jewish relations with Egyptian society, despite the fact that the number of active Zionists in their ranks was small.
The rise of local militant nationalistic societies like Young Egypt and the Society of Muslim Brothers, who were sympathetic to the various models evinced by the Axis Powers in Europe, and organized themselves along similar lines, were also increasingly antagonistic to Jews.
Egyptian Banks were a common destination for European Jews transferring money from central Europe and a for those Jews escaping the Fascist regimes.
By the 1940s, the situation worsened. Sporadic pogroms took place in 1942 onwards. In 1945, the Jewish quarter of Cairo was severely damaged. As the Partition of Palestine and the founding of Israel drew closer, hostility strengthened, fed also by press attacks on all foreigners accompanying the rising ethnocentric nationalism of the age. In 1947, the Company Laws set quotas for employing Egyptian nationals in incorporated firms, requiring that 75% of salaried employees, and 90% of all workers be Egyptian. As Jews were denied citizenship as a rule, this constrained Jewish and foreign owned entrepreneurs to reduce recruitment for employment positions from their own ranks. The law also required that just over half of the paid-up capital of joint stock companies be Egyptian.
During British rule, and under King Fuad I, Egypt was friendly towards its Jewish population, though Egyptian nationality was denied to 90 % of Egyptian Jews regardless of how many generations they resided in the country. Jews played important roles in the economy, and their population climbed to nearly 80,000 as Jewish refugees settled there in response to increasing persecution in Europe. A sharp distinction had long existed between the respective Karaite and Rabbanite communities, among whom traditionally intermarriage was forbidden. They dwelt in Cairo in two contiguous areas, the former in the harat al-yahud al-qara’in , and the latter in the adjacent harat al-yahud quarter. Notwithstanding the division, they often worked together and the younger educated generation pressed for improving relations between the two.
Individual Jews played an important role in Egyptian nationalism. René Qattawi, leader of the Cairo Sephardi community, endorsed the creation in 1935 of the Association of Egyptian Jewish Youth, with its slogan: 'Egypt is our homeland, Arabic is our language.' Qattawi strongly opposed political Zionism and wrote a note on 'The Jewish Question' to the World Jewish Congress in 1943 in which he argued that Palestine would be unable to absorb Europe's Jewish refugees.
Nevertheless, various wings of the Zionist movement had representatives in Egypt. Karaite Jewish scholar Murad Beh Farag (1866–1956) was both an Egyptian nationalist and a passionate Zionist. His poem, 'My Homeland Egypt, Place of my Birth', expresses loyalty to Egypt, while his book, al-Qudsiyyat (Jerusalemica, 1923), defends the right of the Jews to a State. al-Qudsiyyat is perhaps the most eloquent defense of Zionism in the Arabic language. Farag was also one of the coauthors of Egypt's first Constitution in 1923.
Another famous Egyptian Jew of this period was Yaqub Sanu, who became a patriotic Egyptian nationalist advocating the removal of the British. He edited the nationalist publication Abu Naddara 'Azra from exile. This was one of the first magazines written in Egyptian Arabic, and mostly consisted of satire, poking fun at the British as well as the Monarchy which was a puppet of the British. Another was Henri Curiel, who founded 'The Egyptian Movement for National Liberation' in 1943, an organization that was to form the core of the Egyptian Communist party. Curiel was to play an important role in establishing early informal contacts between the PLO and Israel.
In 1937, the government annulled the Capitulations that gave foreign nationals a virtual status of exterritoriality the minorities groups were mainly from Syrian, Greece, Italy, Armenia (this also affected some Jews who were nationals of other countries). The immunities from taxation to foreign nationals mutamassir (minority groups) trading within Egypt had given them highly favourably trading advantages.
The impact of the well-publicized Arab-Jewish clash in Palestine from 1936 to 1939, together with the rise of Nazi Germany, also began to affect the Jewish relations with Egyptian society, despite the fact that the number of active Zionists in their ranks was small.
The rise of local militant nationalistic societies like Young Egypt and the Society of Muslim Brothers, who were sympathetic to the various models evinced by the Axis Powers in Europe, and organized themselves along similar lines, were also increasingly antagonistic to Jews.
Egyptian Banks were a common destination for European Jews transferring money from central Europe and a for those Jews escaping the Fascist regimes.
By the 1940s, the situation worsened. Sporadic pogroms took place in 1942 onwards. In 1945, the Jewish quarter of Cairo was severely damaged. As the Partition of Palestine and the founding of Israel drew closer, hostility strengthened, fed also by press attacks on all foreigners accompanying the rising ethnocentric nationalism of the age. In 1947, the Company Laws set quotas for employing Egyptian nationals in incorporated firms, requiring that 75% of salaried employees, and 90% of all workers be Egyptian. As Jews were denied citizenship as a rule, this constrained Jewish and foreign owned entrepreneurs to reduce recruitment for employment positions from their own ranks. The law also required that just over half of the paid-up capital of joint stock companies be Egyptian.
Turkish rule (1517 to 1922)
On January 22, 1517, the Turkish sultan, Selim I, defeated Tuman Bey, the last of the Mamelukes. He made radical changes in the affairs of the Jews, abolishing the office of nagid, making each community independent, and placing David ibn Abi Zimra, at the head of that of Cairo. He also appointed Abraham de Castro to be master of the mint. It was during the reign of Salim's successor, Suleiman II, that Aḥmad Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt, revenged himself upon the Jews because De Castro had revealed (1524) to the sultan his designs for independence (see Aḥmad Pasha; Abraham de Castro). The "Cairo Purim," in commemoration of their escape, is still celebrated on Adar 28.
Toward the end of the sixteenth century Talmudic studies in Egypt were greatly fostered by Bezaleel Ashkenazi, author of the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet." Among his pupils were Isaac Luria, who as a young man had gone to Egypt to visit a rich uncle, the tax-farmer Mordecai Francis (Azulai, "Shem ha-Gedolim," No. 332); and Abraham Monson (1594). Ishmael Kohen Tanuji finished his "Sefer ha-Zikkaron" in Egypt in 1543. Joseph ben Moses di Trani was in Egypt for a time (Frumkin, l.c. p. 69), as well as Ḥayyim Vital Aaron ibn Ḥayyim, the Biblical and Talmudical commentator (1609; Frumkin, l.c. pp. 71, 72). Of Isaac Luria's pupils, a Joseph Ṭabul is mentioned, whose son Jacob, a prominent man, was put to death by the authorities.
According to Manasseh b. Israel (1656), "The viceroy of Egypt has always at his side a Jew with the title 'zaraf bashi,' or 'treasurer,' who gathers the taxes of the land. At present Abraham Alkula holds the position." He was succeeded by Raphael Joseph Tshelebi, the rich friend and protector of Shabbatai Zevi. Shabbetai was twice in Cairo, the second time in 1660. It was there that he married the ill-famed Sarah, who had been brought from Leghorn. The Shabbethaian movement naturally created a great stir in Egypt. It was in Cairo that Miguel (Abraham) Cardoso, the Shabbethaian prophet and physician, settled (1703), becoming physician to the pasha Kara Mohammed. In 1641 Samuel b. David, the Karaite, visited Egypt. The account of his journey (G. i. 1) supplies special information in regard to his fellow sectaries. He describes three synagogues of the Rabbinites at Alexandria, and two at Rashid (G. i. 4). A second Karaite, Moses b. Elijah ha-Levi, has left a similar account of the year 1654; but it contains only a few points of special interest to the Karaites (ib).
Sambari mentions a severe trial which came upon the Jews, due to a certain "ḳadi al-'asakir" (="generalissimo," not a proper name) sent from Constantinople to Egypt, who robbed and oppressed them, and whose death was in a certain measure occasioned by the graveyard invocation of one Moses of Damwah. This may have occurred in the seventeenth century (S. 120, 21). David Conforte was dayyan in Egypt in 1671. Blood libels occurred at Alexandria in 1844, in 1881, and in Jan., 1902. In consequence of the Damascus Affair, Moses Montefiore, Crémieux, and Salomon Munk visited Egypt in 1840; and the last two did much to raise the intellectual status of their Egyptian brethren by the founding, in connection with Rabbi Moses Joseph Algazi, of schools in Cairo. At the turn of the century, a Jewish observer noted with 'true satisfaction that a great spirit of tolerance sustains the majority of our fellow Jews in Egypt, and it would be difficult to find a more liberal population or one more respectful of all religious beliefs.’
According to the official census published in 1898 (i., xviii.), there were in Egypt 25,200 Jews in a total population of 9,734,405.
Toward the end of the sixteenth century Talmudic studies in Egypt were greatly fostered by Bezaleel Ashkenazi, author of the "Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet." Among his pupils were Isaac Luria, who as a young man had gone to Egypt to visit a rich uncle, the tax-farmer Mordecai Francis (Azulai, "Shem ha-Gedolim," No. 332); and Abraham Monson (1594). Ishmael Kohen Tanuji finished his "Sefer ha-Zikkaron" in Egypt in 1543. Joseph ben Moses di Trani was in Egypt for a time (Frumkin, l.c. p. 69), as well as Ḥayyim Vital Aaron ibn Ḥayyim, the Biblical and Talmudical commentator (1609; Frumkin, l.c. pp. 71, 72). Of Isaac Luria's pupils, a Joseph Ṭabul is mentioned, whose son Jacob, a prominent man, was put to death by the authorities.
According to Manasseh b. Israel (1656), "The viceroy of Egypt has always at his side a Jew with the title 'zaraf bashi,' or 'treasurer,' who gathers the taxes of the land. At present Abraham Alkula holds the position." He was succeeded by Raphael Joseph Tshelebi, the rich friend and protector of Shabbatai Zevi. Shabbetai was twice in Cairo, the second time in 1660. It was there that he married the ill-famed Sarah, who had been brought from Leghorn. The Shabbethaian movement naturally created a great stir in Egypt. It was in Cairo that Miguel (Abraham) Cardoso, the Shabbethaian prophet and physician, settled (1703), becoming physician to the pasha Kara Mohammed. In 1641 Samuel b. David, the Karaite, visited Egypt. The account of his journey (G. i. 1) supplies special information in regard to his fellow sectaries. He describes three synagogues of the Rabbinites at Alexandria, and two at Rashid (G. i. 4). A second Karaite, Moses b. Elijah ha-Levi, has left a similar account of the year 1654; but it contains only a few points of special interest to the Karaites (ib).
Sambari mentions a severe trial which came upon the Jews, due to a certain "ḳadi al-'asakir" (="generalissimo," not a proper name) sent from Constantinople to Egypt, who robbed and oppressed them, and whose death was in a certain measure occasioned by the graveyard invocation of one Moses of Damwah. This may have occurred in the seventeenth century (S. 120, 21). David Conforte was dayyan in Egypt in 1671. Blood libels occurred at Alexandria in 1844, in 1881, and in Jan., 1902. In consequence of the Damascus Affair, Moses Montefiore, Crémieux, and Salomon Munk visited Egypt in 1840; and the last two did much to raise the intellectual status of their Egyptian brethren by the founding, in connection with Rabbi Moses Joseph Algazi, of schools in Cairo. At the turn of the century, a Jewish observer noted with 'true satisfaction that a great spirit of tolerance sustains the majority of our fellow Jews in Egypt, and it would be difficult to find a more liberal population or one more respectful of all religious beliefs.’
According to the official census published in 1898 (i., xviii.), there were in Egypt 25,200 Jews in a total population of 9,734,405.
Mamelukes (1250 to 1517)
Under the Baḥri Mamelukes (1250–1390) the Jews led a comparatively quiet existence; though they had at times to contribute heavily toward the maintenance of the vast military equipment, and were harassed by the cadis and ulemas of these strict Moslems. Al-Maqrizi relates that the first great Mameluke, Sultan Baibars (Al-Malik al-Thahir, 1260–77), doubled the tribute paid by the "ahl al-dhimmah." At one time he had resolved to burn all the Jews, a ditch having been dug for that purpose; but at the last moment he repented, and instead exacted a heavy tribute, during the collection of which many perished.
An account is given in Sambari (135, 22) of the strictness with which the provisions of the Pact of Omar were carried out. The sultan had just returned from a victorious campaign against the Mongols in Syria (1305). A fanatical convert from Judaism, Sa'id ibn Ḥasan of Alexandria, was incensed at the arrogance of the non-Moslem population, particularly at the open manner in which services were conducted in churches and synagogues. He tried to form a synod of ten rabbis, ten priests, and the ulemas. Failing in this, he endeavored to have the churches and synagogues closed. Some of the churches were demolished by Alexandrian mobs; but most of the synagogues were allowed to stand, as it was shown that they had existed at the time of Omar, and were by the pact exempted from interference. Sambari (137, 20) says that a new pact was made at the instance of letters from a Moorish king of Barcelona (1309), and the synagogues were reopened; but this probably refers only to the reissuing of the Pact of Omar. There are extant several notable fatwās (responsa) of Moslem doctors touching this subject; e.g., those of Aḥmad ibn 'Abd al-Ḥaḳḳ, who speaks especially of the synagogues at Cairo, which on the outside appeared like ordinary dwelling-houses—a fact which had occasioned other legal writers to permit their presence. According to Taki al-Din ibn Taimiyyah (b. 1263), the synagogues and churches in Cairo had once before been closed. This fanatical Moslem fills his fatwās with invectives against the Jews, holding that all their religious edifices ought to be destroyed, since they had been constructed during a period when Cairo was in the hands of heterodox Moslems, Ismailians, Karmatians, and Nusairis (R. E. J. xxx. 1, xxxi. 212; Z. D. M. G. liii. 51). The synagogues were, however, allowed to stand (Weil, l.c. iv. 270). Under the same sultan (1324) the Jews were accused of incendiarism at Fostat and Cairo; they had to exculpate themselves by a payment of 50,000 gold pieces.
Under the Burji Mamelukes the Franks again attacked Alexandria (1416), and the laws against the Jews were once more strictly enforced by Sheik al-Mu'ayyid (1412–21); by Ashraf Bars Bey (1422–38), because of a plague which decimated the population in 1438; by Al-Ẓahir Jaḳmaḳ (1438–53); and by Ḳa'iṭ-Bey (1468–95). The lastnamed is referred to by Obadiah of Bertinoro (O. p. 53). The Jews of Cairo were compelled to pay 75,000 gold pieces
An account is given in Sambari (135, 22) of the strictness with which the provisions of the Pact of Omar were carried out. The sultan had just returned from a victorious campaign against the Mongols in Syria (1305). A fanatical convert from Judaism, Sa'id ibn Ḥasan of Alexandria, was incensed at the arrogance of the non-Moslem population, particularly at the open manner in which services were conducted in churches and synagogues. He tried to form a synod of ten rabbis, ten priests, and the ulemas. Failing in this, he endeavored to have the churches and synagogues closed. Some of the churches were demolished by Alexandrian mobs; but most of the synagogues were allowed to stand, as it was shown that they had existed at the time of Omar, and were by the pact exempted from interference. Sambari (137, 20) says that a new pact was made at the instance of letters from a Moorish king of Barcelona (1309), and the synagogues were reopened; but this probably refers only to the reissuing of the Pact of Omar. There are extant several notable fatwās (responsa) of Moslem doctors touching this subject; e.g., those of Aḥmad ibn 'Abd al-Ḥaḳḳ, who speaks especially of the synagogues at Cairo, which on the outside appeared like ordinary dwelling-houses—a fact which had occasioned other legal writers to permit their presence. According to Taki al-Din ibn Taimiyyah (b. 1263), the synagogues and churches in Cairo had once before been closed. This fanatical Moslem fills his fatwās with invectives against the Jews, holding that all their religious edifices ought to be destroyed, since they had been constructed during a period when Cairo was in the hands of heterodox Moslems, Ismailians, Karmatians, and Nusairis (R. E. J. xxx. 1, xxxi. 212; Z. D. M. G. liii. 51). The synagogues were, however, allowed to stand (Weil, l.c. iv. 270). Under the same sultan (1324) the Jews were accused of incendiarism at Fostat and Cairo; they had to exculpate themselves by a payment of 50,000 gold pieces.
Under the Burji Mamelukes the Franks again attacked Alexandria (1416), and the laws against the Jews were once more strictly enforced by Sheik al-Mu'ayyid (1412–21); by Ashraf Bars Bey (1422–38), because of a plague which decimated the population in 1438; by Al-Ẓahir Jaḳmaḳ (1438–53); and by Ḳa'iṭ-Bey (1468–95). The lastnamed is referred to by Obadiah of Bertinoro (O. p. 53). The Jews of Cairo were compelled to pay 75,000 gold pieces
Arab rule (641 to 1250)
The Arab invasion of Egypt at first found support not only from Copts, and other Christians, but from Jews as well, all disgruntled by the corrupt administration of the Patriarch Cyrus of Alexander, notorious for his Monotheletic proselytizing.[12] In addition to the Jews settled there from early times, some must have come from the Arabian Peninsula. The letter sent by Muhammad to the Jewish Banu Janba in 630[13] is said by Al-Baladhuri to have been seen in Egypt. A copy, written in Hebrew characters, has been found in the Cairo Geniza.
The Jews had no reason to feel kindly toward the former masters of Egypt. In 629 the Emperor Heraclius I had driven the Jews from Jerusalem this was followed by a massacre of Jews throughout the empire—in Egypt, aided by the Copts, who had old scores to settle with the Jews, dating from the Persian conquest of Amida at the time of Emperor Anastasius I (502) and of Alexandria by the Persian general Shahin (617), when the Jews assisted the conquerors in fighting against the Christians.[citation needed] The Treaty of Alexandria (Nov. 8, 641), which sealed the Arab conquest of Egypt, expressly stipulates that the Jews are to be allowed to remain in that city; and at the time of the capture of that city, 'Amr ibn al-'As, in his letter to the caliph, relates that he found there 40,000 Jews.[needs citation]
Of the fortunes of the Jews in Egypt under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates (641-868), little is known. Under the Tulunids (863-905), the Karaite community enjoyed robust growth.
Rule of the Fatimid Caliphs (969 to 1169)
The rule of the Fatimid Caliphate was in general favorable for the Jews, except the latter portion of al-Ḥakim bi-Amr Allah's reign. The foundation of Talmudic schools in Egypt is usually placed at this period. One of the Jews who rose to high position in that society was Ya‘qub Ibn Killis.
The caliph al-Ḥakim (996-1020) vigorously applied the Pact of Umar, and compelled the Jews to wear bells and to carry in public the wooden image of a calf. A street in the city, al-Jawdariyyah, was inhabited by Jews. Al-Ḥakim, hearing that they were accustomed to mock him in verses, had the whole quarter burned down.
By the beginning of the twelfth century a Jew, Abu al-Munajja ibn Sha'yah, was at the head of the Department of Agriculture. He is especially known as the constructor of a Nile sluice (1112), which was called after him "Baḥr Abi al-Munajja". He fell into disfavor because of the heavy expenses connected with the work, and was incarcerated in Alexandria, but was soon able to free himself. A document concerning a transaction of his with a banker has been preserved. Under the vizier Al-Malik al-Afḍal (1137) there was a Jewish master of finances, whose name, however, is unknown. His enemies succeeded in procuring his downfall, and he lost all his property. He was succeeded by a brother of the Christian patriarch, who tried to drive the Jews out of the kingdom. Four leading Jews worked and conspired against the Christian, with what result is not known. There has been preserved a letter from this ex-minister to the Jews of Constantinople, begging for aid in a remarkably intricate poetical style (J. Q. R. ix. 29, x. 430; Z. D. M. G. li. 444). One of the physicians of the caliph Al-Ḥafiẓ (1131–49) was a Jew, Abu Manṣur (Wüstenfeld, p. 306). Abu al-Faḍa'il ibn al-Nakid (died 1189) was a celebrated oculist.
In this century a little more light is thrown upon the communities in Egypt through the reports of certain Jewish scholars and travelers who visited the country. Judah Halevi was in Alexandria in 1141, and dedicated some beautiful verses to his fellow resident and friend Aaron Ben-Zion ibn Alamani and his five sons. At Damietta Halevi met his friend, the Spaniard Abu Sa'id ibn Ḥalfon ha-Levi. About 1160 Benjamin of Tudela was in Egypt; he gives a general account of the Jewish communities which he found there. At Cairo there were 2,000 Jews; at Alexandria 3,000, whose head was the French-born R. Phineas b. Meshullam; in the Faiyum there were 20 families; at Damietta 200; at Bilbeis, east of the Nile, 300 persons; and at Damira 700.
From Saladin and Maimonides (1169 to 1250)
Saladin's war with the Crusaders (1169–93) does not seem to have affected the Jews in his kingdom. A Karaite doctor, Abu al-Bayyan al-Mudawwar (d. 1184), who had been physician to the last Fatimid, treated Saladin also. Abu al-Ma'ali, brother-in-law of Maimonides, was likewise in his service. In 1166 Maimonides went to Egypt and settled in Fostat, where he gained much renown as a physician, practising in the family of Saladin and in that of his vizier al-Qadi al-Fadil|Ḳaḍi al-Faḍil al-Baisami, and Saladin's successors. The title Ra'is al-Umma or al-Millah (Head of the Nation or of the Faith), was bestowed upon him. In Fostat, he wrote his Mishneh Torah (1180) and The Guide for the Perplexed, both of which evoked opposition from Jewish scholars. From this place he sent many letters and responsa; and in 1173 he forwarded a request to the North-African communities for help to secure the release of a number of captives. The original of the last document has been preserved. He caused the Karaites to be removed from the court.
The Jews had no reason to feel kindly toward the former masters of Egypt. In 629 the Emperor Heraclius I had driven the Jews from Jerusalem this was followed by a massacre of Jews throughout the empire—in Egypt, aided by the Copts, who had old scores to settle with the Jews, dating from the Persian conquest of Amida at the time of Emperor Anastasius I (502) and of Alexandria by the Persian general Shahin (617), when the Jews assisted the conquerors in fighting against the Christians.[citation needed] The Treaty of Alexandria (Nov. 8, 641), which sealed the Arab conquest of Egypt, expressly stipulates that the Jews are to be allowed to remain in that city; and at the time of the capture of that city, 'Amr ibn al-'As, in his letter to the caliph, relates that he found there 40,000 Jews.[needs citation]
Of the fortunes of the Jews in Egypt under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates (641-868), little is known. Under the Tulunids (863-905), the Karaite community enjoyed robust growth.
Rule of the Fatimid Caliphs (969 to 1169)
The rule of the Fatimid Caliphate was in general favorable for the Jews, except the latter portion of al-Ḥakim bi-Amr Allah's reign. The foundation of Talmudic schools in Egypt is usually placed at this period. One of the Jews who rose to high position in that society was Ya‘qub Ibn Killis.
The caliph al-Ḥakim (996-1020) vigorously applied the Pact of Umar, and compelled the Jews to wear bells and to carry in public the wooden image of a calf. A street in the city, al-Jawdariyyah, was inhabited by Jews. Al-Ḥakim, hearing that they were accustomed to mock him in verses, had the whole quarter burned down.
By the beginning of the twelfth century a Jew, Abu al-Munajja ibn Sha'yah, was at the head of the Department of Agriculture. He is especially known as the constructor of a Nile sluice (1112), which was called after him "Baḥr Abi al-Munajja". He fell into disfavor because of the heavy expenses connected with the work, and was incarcerated in Alexandria, but was soon able to free himself. A document concerning a transaction of his with a banker has been preserved. Under the vizier Al-Malik al-Afḍal (1137) there was a Jewish master of finances, whose name, however, is unknown. His enemies succeeded in procuring his downfall, and he lost all his property. He was succeeded by a brother of the Christian patriarch, who tried to drive the Jews out of the kingdom. Four leading Jews worked and conspired against the Christian, with what result is not known. There has been preserved a letter from this ex-minister to the Jews of Constantinople, begging for aid in a remarkably intricate poetical style (J. Q. R. ix. 29, x. 430; Z. D. M. G. li. 444). One of the physicians of the caliph Al-Ḥafiẓ (1131–49) was a Jew, Abu Manṣur (Wüstenfeld, p. 306). Abu al-Faḍa'il ibn al-Nakid (died 1189) was a celebrated oculist.
In this century a little more light is thrown upon the communities in Egypt through the reports of certain Jewish scholars and travelers who visited the country. Judah Halevi was in Alexandria in 1141, and dedicated some beautiful verses to his fellow resident and friend Aaron Ben-Zion ibn Alamani and his five sons. At Damietta Halevi met his friend, the Spaniard Abu Sa'id ibn Ḥalfon ha-Levi. About 1160 Benjamin of Tudela was in Egypt; he gives a general account of the Jewish communities which he found there. At Cairo there were 2,000 Jews; at Alexandria 3,000, whose head was the French-born R. Phineas b. Meshullam; in the Faiyum there were 20 families; at Damietta 200; at Bilbeis, east of the Nile, 300 persons; and at Damira 700.
From Saladin and Maimonides (1169 to 1250)
Saladin's war with the Crusaders (1169–93) does not seem to have affected the Jews in his kingdom. A Karaite doctor, Abu al-Bayyan al-Mudawwar (d. 1184), who had been physician to the last Fatimid, treated Saladin also. Abu al-Ma'ali, brother-in-law of Maimonides, was likewise in his service. In 1166 Maimonides went to Egypt and settled in Fostat, where he gained much renown as a physician, practising in the family of Saladin and in that of his vizier al-Qadi al-Fadil|Ḳaḍi al-Faḍil al-Baisami, and Saladin's successors. The title Ra'is al-Umma or al-Millah (Head of the Nation or of the Faith), was bestowed upon him. In Fostat, he wrote his Mishneh Torah (1180) and The Guide for the Perplexed, both of which evoked opposition from Jewish scholars. From this place he sent many letters and responsa; and in 1173 he forwarded a request to the North-African communities for help to secure the release of a number of captives. The original of the last document has been preserved. He caused the Karaites to be removed from the court.
Ptolemaic and Roman (400 BC to 641 AD)
See also: Leontopolis, Alabarch, Philo, and Elephantine
Further waves of Jewish immigrants settled in Egypt during the Ptolemaic era, especially around Alexandria. Thus, their history in this period centers almost completely on Alexandria, though daughter communities rose up in places like the present Kafr ed-Dawar, and Jews served in the administration as custodians of the river. As early as the third century B.C. one can speak of a widespread diaspora of Jews in many Egyptian towns and cities. In Josephus's history, it is claimed that, after the first Ptolemy took Judea, he led some 120,000 Jewish captives to Egypt from the areas of Judea, Jerusalem, Samaria, and Mount Gerizim. With them, many other Jews, attracted by the fertile soil and Ptolemy's liberality, emigrated there of their own accord. An inscription recording a Jewish dedication of a synagogue to Ptolemy and Berenice was discovered in the 19th century near Alexandria. Josephus also claims that, soon after, these 120,000 captives were freed of their bondage by Philadelphus.
The history of the Alexandrian Jews dates from the foundation of the city by Alexander the Great, 332 B.C., at which they were present. They were numerous from the very outset, forming a notable portion of the city's population under Alexander's successors. The Ptolemies assigned them a separate section, two of the five districts of the city, to enable them to keep their laws pure of indigenous cultic influences. The Alexandrian Jews enjoyed a greater degree of political independence than elsewhere. While the Jews elsewhere throughout the later Roman Empire formed private societies for religious purposes, or else became a corporation of foreigners like the Egyptian and Phoenician merchants in the large commercial centers, those of Alexandria constituted an independent political community, side by side with that of the indigenous population.
For the Roman period there is evidence that at Oxyrynchus (modern Behneseh), on the east side of the Nile, there was a Jewish community of some importance. It even had a Jews' street. Many of the Jews there must have become Christians, though they retained their Biblical names (e.g., "David" and "Elisabeth," occurring in a litigation concerning an inheritance). There is even found a certain Jacob, son of Achilles (c. 300 AD), as beadle of an Egyptian temple.
The Jewish community of Alexandria was virtually wiped out by Trajan's army during the Jewish revolt of 115-117 CE (which destroyed pagan temples), and Josephus puts the figure for those slaughtered in the vast pogrom at 50,000.
Further waves of Jewish immigrants settled in Egypt during the Ptolemaic era, especially around Alexandria. Thus, their history in this period centers almost completely on Alexandria, though daughter communities rose up in places like the present Kafr ed-Dawar, and Jews served in the administration as custodians of the river. As early as the third century B.C. one can speak of a widespread diaspora of Jews in many Egyptian towns and cities. In Josephus's history, it is claimed that, after the first Ptolemy took Judea, he led some 120,000 Jewish captives to Egypt from the areas of Judea, Jerusalem, Samaria, and Mount Gerizim. With them, many other Jews, attracted by the fertile soil and Ptolemy's liberality, emigrated there of their own accord. An inscription recording a Jewish dedication of a synagogue to Ptolemy and Berenice was discovered in the 19th century near Alexandria. Josephus also claims that, soon after, these 120,000 captives were freed of their bondage by Philadelphus.
The history of the Alexandrian Jews dates from the foundation of the city by Alexander the Great, 332 B.C., at which they were present. They were numerous from the very outset, forming a notable portion of the city's population under Alexander's successors. The Ptolemies assigned them a separate section, two of the five districts of the city, to enable them to keep their laws pure of indigenous cultic influences. The Alexandrian Jews enjoyed a greater degree of political independence than elsewhere. While the Jews elsewhere throughout the later Roman Empire formed private societies for religious purposes, or else became a corporation of foreigners like the Egyptian and Phoenician merchants in the large commercial centers, those of Alexandria constituted an independent political community, side by side with that of the indigenous population.
For the Roman period there is evidence that at Oxyrynchus (modern Behneseh), on the east side of the Nile, there was a Jewish community of some importance. It even had a Jews' street. Many of the Jews there must have become Christians, though they retained their Biblical names (e.g., "David" and "Elisabeth," occurring in a litigation concerning an inheritance). There is even found a certain Jacob, son of Achilles (c. 300 AD), as beadle of an Egyptian temple.
The Jewish community of Alexandria was virtually wiped out by Trajan's army during the Jewish revolt of 115-117 CE (which destroyed pagan temples), and Josephus puts the figure for those slaughtered in the vast pogrom at 50,000.
Maimonides Synagogue
The Maimonides Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת הרמב"ם, translit: Beit Knesset ha-Rambam; Arabic: كنيس ابن ميمون), also known as the Rav Moshe Synagogue, is a historic synagogue located in Cairo, Egypt. A synagogue has existed at the site since the 10th century and was subsequently named after the famous Jewish philosopher, rabbi and physician Maimonides, after his arrival there in around 1168. It is believed that Maimonides' original tomb is contained within the building.[1] In March 2010, the Egyptian government completed the restoration of the current building which dates from the late 19th century.
Early history Moses Maimonides
A synagogue has existed at the site from around two centuries before Maimonides emigrated to Egypt in around 1168, following his exile from Córdoba, Spain at the hands of the Almohads.The Almohads had conquered Córdoba in 1148 and threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile. Maimonides' family, along with most other Jews, chose exile. After spending ten years in southern Spain, they moved to Morocco and then eventually settled in Fustat, Egypt in around 1168. In Egypt, he gained widespread recognition and became a court physician to Qadi al-Fadil, Grand Vezier to Saladin. Maimonides studied and worked in a yeshiva attached to the small synagogue. The synagogue and yeshiva are located in Harat al-Yahud, the Jewish quarter of medieval Cairo, and can only be reached on foot. (In the time of Maimonides, 97% of the inhabitants of Harat al-Yahud were Jews.)
After his death in Fustat on December 12, 1204, it is believed that he was buried for a short while at the synagogue before being reinterred in Tiberias. According to tradition, his bones were placed for a week in a small shrine where he used to study and to heal strangers. (Some believe his bones never left Egypt.)
19th century: Rebuilding
In the 19th century, another synagogue was built on the site and named in his honor.
20th century: Disuse and decay
See also: History of the Jews in Egypt#Modern times (since 1922)
The situation of Egypt's Jews became increasingly precarious in the middle of the 20th century. Rising Arab nationalism, together with increased tensions between Jews and Arabs following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and later, the 1956 Suez War, led to government restrictions on foreign economic activity which deeply impacted Egypt's Jewish community. Several thousand Jewish residents were expelled from the country following the 1956 war and thousands more fled the hostile social and economic conditions. Egypt's Jewish population eventually dropped from 80,000 to less than 100.
With only about 30 Jews (mostly elderly women) left in Cairo, the synagogue was closed, and almost collapsed due to underground water and earthquakes.The ceiling of the building collapsed in 1992, and the debris was left on the floor.The slum area in which synagogue was located was littered with garbage. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said that the synagogue was used for the last time in 1960, and then was allowed to "crumble". Although it was declared an antiquity in 1986, the condition of the medieval synagogue had deteriorated further by 2005. A holy ark with a broken door was located in the small courtyard, covered with debris. The ark's Star of David was still present, but was hanging on only by a thread.
21st century: Restoration
In June 2009, the Egyptian government began a year-long restoration project, unveiled in August 2009 by their head of antiquities Zahi Hawass. The $2 million, 18-month restoration project of the Rav Moshe synagogue, in an area of Cairo once called "the neighborhood of the Jews," was financed by the Egyptian government. The restoration work was finished in March 2010. Along with Maimonides tomb, the synagogue contains two areas that were for prayer and rituals, one of which included a section for women. Among the synagogue's treasures is a Bible that allegedly was written by Maimonides himself. Former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Zvi Mazel, said "the results were spectacular; the original colors were restored almost perfectly".
Inauguration controversy
As restoration work was nearing completion, the Egyptian authorities agreed that the small Jewish community of Cairo would organize a dedication ceremony on March 7, 2010. The official inauguration was planned for the middle of March.The dedication ceremony was closed to media but attendees said it was an emotional event, especially for the Egyptian-Jewish families invited, many of whom now live in Europe. About 150 people attended, none of them Egyptian officials.
On March 14, 2010 the official inauguration ceremony was canceled. Zahi Hawass explained that the cancellation was due to media reports of Jews "dancing and drinking alcohol in the synagogue" during the private March 7 dedication, which Hawass described as a "provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims in Egypt and around the world". Hawass later added that the decision to scrap the ceremony was made at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers...". Later still, he characterized the cancellation of the ceremony as a "strong slap in the face" to "the Zionist enemy."
Legends and tradition
According to a legend told by Joseph ben Isaac Sambari, (c.1640 - 1703), a Jewish-Egyptian chronicler of the 17th century, the people who carried the body of Maimonides to the Sea of Galilee for permanent burial mistakenly left one of his toes behind in the synagogue, which at that time was called the synagogue of Western (Tunisian) Jews. Later, one of the people who carried the body had a dream, in which a wise man of Egypt reminded him about the forgotten toe. The toe was later recovered and buried next to the body.
The synagogue and accompanying yeshiva have traditionally been considered to have miraculous healing powers. Until the Egyptian government forbade the practice in 1948, the synagogue was used as a place of healing by the local Jewish community. The ailing person was left to sleep in the special underground room in the hope that the sufferer would dream of Maimonides and get better.
Early history Moses Maimonides
A synagogue has existed at the site from around two centuries before Maimonides emigrated to Egypt in around 1168, following his exile from Córdoba, Spain at the hands of the Almohads.The Almohads had conquered Córdoba in 1148 and threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile. Maimonides' family, along with most other Jews, chose exile. After spending ten years in southern Spain, they moved to Morocco and then eventually settled in Fustat, Egypt in around 1168. In Egypt, he gained widespread recognition and became a court physician to Qadi al-Fadil, Grand Vezier to Saladin. Maimonides studied and worked in a yeshiva attached to the small synagogue. The synagogue and yeshiva are located in Harat al-Yahud, the Jewish quarter of medieval Cairo, and can only be reached on foot. (In the time of Maimonides, 97% of the inhabitants of Harat al-Yahud were Jews.)
After his death in Fustat on December 12, 1204, it is believed that he was buried for a short while at the synagogue before being reinterred in Tiberias. According to tradition, his bones were placed for a week in a small shrine where he used to study and to heal strangers. (Some believe his bones never left Egypt.)
19th century: Rebuilding
In the 19th century, another synagogue was built on the site and named in his honor.
20th century: Disuse and decay
See also: History of the Jews in Egypt#Modern times (since 1922)
The situation of Egypt's Jews became increasingly precarious in the middle of the 20th century. Rising Arab nationalism, together with increased tensions between Jews and Arabs following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and later, the 1956 Suez War, led to government restrictions on foreign economic activity which deeply impacted Egypt's Jewish community. Several thousand Jewish residents were expelled from the country following the 1956 war and thousands more fled the hostile social and economic conditions. Egypt's Jewish population eventually dropped from 80,000 to less than 100.
With only about 30 Jews (mostly elderly women) left in Cairo, the synagogue was closed, and almost collapsed due to underground water and earthquakes.The ceiling of the building collapsed in 1992, and the debris was left on the floor.The slum area in which synagogue was located was littered with garbage. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said that the synagogue was used for the last time in 1960, and then was allowed to "crumble". Although it was declared an antiquity in 1986, the condition of the medieval synagogue had deteriorated further by 2005. A holy ark with a broken door was located in the small courtyard, covered with debris. The ark's Star of David was still present, but was hanging on only by a thread.
21st century: Restoration
In June 2009, the Egyptian government began a year-long restoration project, unveiled in August 2009 by their head of antiquities Zahi Hawass. The $2 million, 18-month restoration project of the Rav Moshe synagogue, in an area of Cairo once called "the neighborhood of the Jews," was financed by the Egyptian government. The restoration work was finished in March 2010. Along with Maimonides tomb, the synagogue contains two areas that were for prayer and rituals, one of which included a section for women. Among the synagogue's treasures is a Bible that allegedly was written by Maimonides himself. Former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Zvi Mazel, said "the results were spectacular; the original colors were restored almost perfectly".
Inauguration controversy
As restoration work was nearing completion, the Egyptian authorities agreed that the small Jewish community of Cairo would organize a dedication ceremony on March 7, 2010. The official inauguration was planned for the middle of March.The dedication ceremony was closed to media but attendees said it was an emotional event, especially for the Egyptian-Jewish families invited, many of whom now live in Europe. About 150 people attended, none of them Egyptian officials.
On March 14, 2010 the official inauguration ceremony was canceled. Zahi Hawass explained that the cancellation was due to media reports of Jews "dancing and drinking alcohol in the synagogue" during the private March 7 dedication, which Hawass described as a "provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims in Egypt and around the world". Hawass later added that the decision to scrap the ceremony was made at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers...". Later still, he characterized the cancellation of the ceremony as a "strong slap in the face" to "the Zionist enemy."
Legends and tradition
According to a legend told by Joseph ben Isaac Sambari, (c.1640 - 1703), a Jewish-Egyptian chronicler of the 17th century, the people who carried the body of Maimonides to the Sea of Galilee for permanent burial mistakenly left one of his toes behind in the synagogue, which at that time was called the synagogue of Western (Tunisian) Jews. Later, one of the people who carried the body had a dream, in which a wise man of Egypt reminded him about the forgotten toe. The toe was later recovered and buried next to the body.
The synagogue and accompanying yeshiva have traditionally been considered to have miraculous healing powers. Until the Egyptian government forbade the practice in 1948, the synagogue was used as a place of healing by the local Jewish community. The ailing person was left to sleep in the special underground room in the hope that the sufferer would dream of Maimonides and get better.
Ancient times
In the Elephantine papyri, caches of legal documents and letters written in Aramaic amply document the lives of a community of Jewish soldiers stationed in there as part of a frontier garrison in Egypt for the Achaemenid Empire. Established at Elephantine in about 650 BC during Manasseh's reign, these soldiers assisted Pharaoh Psammetichus I in his Nubian campaign. Their religious system shows strong traces of Babylonian polytheism, something which suggests to certain scholars that the community was of mixed Judaeo-Samaritan origins, and they maintained their own temple, functioning alongside that of the local deity Chnum. The documents cover the period 495 to 399 BC.
The Hebrew Bible also records that a large number of Jews took refuge in Egypt after the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah in 597 BC, and the subsequent assassination of the Jewish governor, Gedaliah. (2 Kings 25:22-24, Jeremiah 40:6-8) On hearing of the appointment, the Jews that had fled to Moab, Ammon, Edom and in other countries returned to Judah. (Jeremiah 40:11-12) However, before long Gedaliah was assassinated, and the population that was left in the land and those that had returned ran away to Egypt for safety. (2 Kings 25:26, Jeremiah 43:5-7) The numbers that made their way to Egypt is subject to debate. In Egypt, they settled in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros. (Jeremiah 44:1)
Although the Book of Exodus describes a period of Hebrew servitude in ancient Egypt, more than a century of archaeological research has discovered nothing which could support its narrative elements— the four centuries sojourn in Egypt, the escape of well over a million Israelites from the Delta, or the three months journey through the wilderness to Sinai.The Egyptian records themselves have no mention of anything recorded in Exodus, the wilderness of the southern Sinai peninsula shows no traces of a mass-migration such as Exodus describes, and virtually all the place-names mentioned, including Goshen (the area within Egypt where the Israelites supposedly lived), the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses, the site of the crossing of the Red Sea (or, more commonly among modern Biblical scholars, the Sea of Reeds), and even Mt Sinai itself, have resisted identification. Scholars who hold the Exodus to represent historical truth concede that the most the evidence can suggest is plausibility.
The Hebrew Bible also records that a large number of Jews took refuge in Egypt after the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah in 597 BC, and the subsequent assassination of the Jewish governor, Gedaliah. (2 Kings 25:22-24, Jeremiah 40:6-8) On hearing of the appointment, the Jews that had fled to Moab, Ammon, Edom and in other countries returned to Judah. (Jeremiah 40:11-12) However, before long Gedaliah was assassinated, and the population that was left in the land and those that had returned ran away to Egypt for safety. (2 Kings 25:26, Jeremiah 43:5-7) The numbers that made their way to Egypt is subject to debate. In Egypt, they settled in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros. (Jeremiah 44:1)
Although the Book of Exodus describes a period of Hebrew servitude in ancient Egypt, more than a century of archaeological research has discovered nothing which could support its narrative elements— the four centuries sojourn in Egypt, the escape of well over a million Israelites from the Delta, or the three months journey through the wilderness to Sinai.The Egyptian records themselves have no mention of anything recorded in Exodus, the wilderness of the southern Sinai peninsula shows no traces of a mass-migration such as Exodus describes, and virtually all the place-names mentioned, including Goshen (the area within Egypt where the Israelites supposedly lived), the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses, the site of the crossing of the Red Sea (or, more commonly among modern Biblical scholars, the Sea of Reeds), and even Mt Sinai itself, have resisted identification. Scholars who hold the Exodus to represent historical truth concede that the most the evidence can suggest is plausibility.
History of the Jews in Egypt
Egyptian Jews constitute both one of the oldest and youngest Jewish communities in the world. While no exact census exists, the Jewish population of Egypt was estimated at fewer than a hundred in 2004, down from between 75,000 and 80,000 in 1922. The historic core of the indigenous community consisted mainly of Arabic-speaking Rabbanites and Karaites. After their expulsion from Spain, more Sephardi and Karaite Jews began to emigrate to Egypt, and their numbers increased significantly with the growth of trading prospects after the opening of the Suez Canal, to constitute the commercial and cultural elite of the modern community. The Ashkenazi community, mainly confined to Cairo's Darb al-Barabira quarter, began to arrive in the aftermath of the waves of pogroms that hit Europe in the latter part of the 19th century.
Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue , Cairo
Shaar HaShamayim Synagogue, 17 Adly Street, Ismailia. Active on High Holidays. Architect: Maurice Youssef Cattaui. Completed: 1899. Photo: Daniel Mayer, July 2008
The Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (lit. Gate of Heaven) is located in Cairo, Egypt. The synagogue was also known as Temple Ismailia and the Adly Street Synagogue.
Its long time leader was Chief Rabbi Chaim Nahum. In 2008, the synagogue marked its 100th anniversary. The synagogue was built in a style evoking ancient Egyptian temples, and was once the largest building on the boulevard.
When the synagogue opened in 1899, there was a vibrant Jewish community in Cairo. The last time the synagogue was full was in the 1960s. Today the community numbers 30-40 members, most of them older women.
Although it is considered a Sephardic synagogue, many Ashkenazi Jews were members of the congregation and contributed to its construction and upkeep.
In February 2010, a booby-trapped suitcase was hurled at the synagogue from a nearby hotel. The suitcase caught fire, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported.
The Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (lit. Gate of Heaven) is located in Cairo, Egypt. The synagogue was also known as Temple Ismailia and the Adly Street Synagogue.
Its long time leader was Chief Rabbi Chaim Nahum. In 2008, the synagogue marked its 100th anniversary. The synagogue was built in a style evoking ancient Egyptian temples, and was once the largest building on the boulevard.
When the synagogue opened in 1899, there was a vibrant Jewish community in Cairo. The last time the synagogue was full was in the 1960s. Today the community numbers 30-40 members, most of them older women.
Although it is considered a Sephardic synagogue, many Ashkenazi Jews were members of the congregation and contributed to its construction and upkeep.
In February 2010, a booby-trapped suitcase was hurled at the synagogue from a nearby hotel. The suitcase caught fire, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported.
Ibn Maïmoun Synagogue, Cairo
The Maimonides Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת הרמב"ם, translit: Beit Knesset ha-Rambam; Arabic: كنيس ابن ميمون), also known as the Rav Moshe Synagogue, is a historic synagogue located in Cairo, Egypt. A synagogue has existed at the site since the 10th century and was subsequently named after the famous Jewish philosopher, rabbi and physician Maimonides, after his arrival there in around 1168. It is believed that Maimonides' original tomb is contained within the building. In March 2010, the Egyptian government completed the restoration of the current building which dates from the late 19th century.
Early History:
A synagogue has existed at the site from around two centuries before Maimonides emigrated to Egypt in around 1168, following his exile from Córdoba, Spain at the hands of the Almohads.The Almohads had conquered Córdoba in 1148 and threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile. Maimonides' family, along with most other Jews, chose exile. After spending ten years in southern Spain, they moved to Morocco and then eventually settled in Fustat, Egypt in around 1168. In Egypt, he gained widespread recognition and became a court physician to Qadi al-Fadil, Grand Vezier to Saladin. Maimonides studied and worked in a yeshiva attached to the small synagogue. The synagogue and yeshiva are located in Harat al-Yahud, the Jewish quarter of medieval Cairo, and can only be reached on foot. (In the time of Maimonides, 97% of the inhabitants of Harat al-Yahud were Jews.)
After his death in Fustat on December 12, 1204, it is believed that he was buried for a short while at the synagogue before being reinterred in Tiberias. According to tradition, his bones were placed for a week in a small shrine where he used to study and to heal strangers. (Some believe his bones never left Egypt.)
19th century: Rebuilding
In the 19th century, another synagogue was built on the site and named in his honor
20th century: Disuse and decay
See also: History of the Jews in Egypt#Modern times (since 1922)
The situation of Egypt's Jews became increasingly precarious in the middle of the 20th century. Rising Arab nationalism, together with increased tensions between Jews and Arabs following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and later, the 1956 Suez War, led to government restrictions on foreign economic activity which deeply impacted Egypt's Jewish community. Several thousand Jewish residents were expelled from the country following the 1956 war and thousands more fled the hostile social and economic conditions. Egypt's Jewish population eventually dropped from 80,000 to less than 100.
With only about 30 Jews (mostly elderly women) left in Cairo, the synagogue was closed, and almost collapsed due to underground water and earthquakes.The ceiling of the building collapsed in 1992, and the debris was left on the floor. The slum area in which synagogue was located was littered with garbage. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said that the synagogue was used for the last time in 1960, and then was allowed to "crumble". Although it was declared an antiquity in 1986, the condition of the medieval synagogue had deteriorated further by 2005. A holy ark with a broken door was located in the small courtyard, covered with debris. The ark's Star of David was still present, but was hanging on only by a thread.
21st century: Restoration
In June 2009, the Egyptian government began a year-long restoration project, unveiled in August 2009 by their head of antiquities Zahi Hawass. The $2 million, 18-month restoration project of the Rav Moshe synagogue, in an area of Cairo once called "the neighborhood of the Jews," was financed by the Egyptian government. The restoration work was finished in March 2010. Along with Maimonides tomb, the synagogue contains two areas that were for prayer and rituals, one of which included a section for women. Among the synagogue's treasures is a Bible that allegedly was written by Maimonides himself. Former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Zvi Mazel, said "the results were spectacular; the original colors were restored almost perfectly".
Inauguration controversy
As restoration work was nearing completion, the Egyptian authorities agreed that the small Jewish community of Cairo would organize a dedication ceremony on March 7, 2010. The official inauguration was planned for the middle of March. The dedication ceremony was closed to media but attendees said it was an emotional event, especially for the Egyptian-Jewish families invited, many of whom now live in Europe. About 150 people attended, none of them Egyptian officials.
On March 14, 2010 the official inauguration ceremony was canceled. Zahi Hawass explained that the cancellation was due to media reports of Jews "dancing and drinking alcohol in the synagogue" during the private March 7 dedication, which Hawass described as a "provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims in Egypt and around the world". Hawass later added that the decision to scrap the ceremony was made at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers...". Later still, he characterized the cancellation of the ceremony as a "strong slap in the face" to "the Zionist enemy."
Legends and tradition
According to a legend told by Joseph ben Isaac Sambari, (c.1640 - 1703), a Jewish-Egyptian chronicler of the 17th century, the people who carried the body of Maimonides to the Sea of Galilee for permanent burial mistakenly left one of his toes behind in the synagogue, which at that time was called the synagogue of Western (Tunisian) Jews. Later, one of the people who carried the body had a dream, in which a wise man of Egypt reminded him about the forgotten toe. The toe was later recovered and buried next to the body.
The synagogue and accompanying yeshiva have traditionally been considered to have miraculous healing powers. Until the Egyptian government forbade the practice in 1948, the synagogue was used as a place of healing by the local Jewish community. The ailing person was left to sleep in the special underground room in the hope that the sufferer would dream of Maimonides and get better.
Early History:
A synagogue has existed at the site from around two centuries before Maimonides emigrated to Egypt in around 1168, following his exile from Córdoba, Spain at the hands of the Almohads.The Almohads had conquered Córdoba in 1148 and threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile. Maimonides' family, along with most other Jews, chose exile. After spending ten years in southern Spain, they moved to Morocco and then eventually settled in Fustat, Egypt in around 1168. In Egypt, he gained widespread recognition and became a court physician to Qadi al-Fadil, Grand Vezier to Saladin. Maimonides studied and worked in a yeshiva attached to the small synagogue. The synagogue and yeshiva are located in Harat al-Yahud, the Jewish quarter of medieval Cairo, and can only be reached on foot. (In the time of Maimonides, 97% of the inhabitants of Harat al-Yahud were Jews.)
After his death in Fustat on December 12, 1204, it is believed that he was buried for a short while at the synagogue before being reinterred in Tiberias. According to tradition, his bones were placed for a week in a small shrine where he used to study and to heal strangers. (Some believe his bones never left Egypt.)
19th century: Rebuilding
In the 19th century, another synagogue was built on the site and named in his honor
20th century: Disuse and decay
See also: History of the Jews in Egypt#Modern times (since 1922)
The situation of Egypt's Jews became increasingly precarious in the middle of the 20th century. Rising Arab nationalism, together with increased tensions between Jews and Arabs following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and later, the 1956 Suez War, led to government restrictions on foreign economic activity which deeply impacted Egypt's Jewish community. Several thousand Jewish residents were expelled from the country following the 1956 war and thousands more fled the hostile social and economic conditions. Egypt's Jewish population eventually dropped from 80,000 to less than 100.
With only about 30 Jews (mostly elderly women) left in Cairo, the synagogue was closed, and almost collapsed due to underground water and earthquakes.The ceiling of the building collapsed in 1992, and the debris was left on the floor. The slum area in which synagogue was located was littered with garbage. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said that the synagogue was used for the last time in 1960, and then was allowed to "crumble". Although it was declared an antiquity in 1986, the condition of the medieval synagogue had deteriorated further by 2005. A holy ark with a broken door was located in the small courtyard, covered with debris. The ark's Star of David was still present, but was hanging on only by a thread.
21st century: Restoration
In June 2009, the Egyptian government began a year-long restoration project, unveiled in August 2009 by their head of antiquities Zahi Hawass. The $2 million, 18-month restoration project of the Rav Moshe synagogue, in an area of Cairo once called "the neighborhood of the Jews," was financed by the Egyptian government. The restoration work was finished in March 2010. Along with Maimonides tomb, the synagogue contains two areas that were for prayer and rituals, one of which included a section for women. Among the synagogue's treasures is a Bible that allegedly was written by Maimonides himself. Former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Zvi Mazel, said "the results were spectacular; the original colors were restored almost perfectly".
Inauguration controversy
As restoration work was nearing completion, the Egyptian authorities agreed that the small Jewish community of Cairo would organize a dedication ceremony on March 7, 2010. The official inauguration was planned for the middle of March. The dedication ceremony was closed to media but attendees said it was an emotional event, especially for the Egyptian-Jewish families invited, many of whom now live in Europe. About 150 people attended, none of them Egyptian officials.
On March 14, 2010 the official inauguration ceremony was canceled. Zahi Hawass explained that the cancellation was due to media reports of Jews "dancing and drinking alcohol in the synagogue" during the private March 7 dedication, which Hawass described as a "provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims in Egypt and around the world". Hawass later added that the decision to scrap the ceremony was made at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers...". Later still, he characterized the cancellation of the ceremony as a "strong slap in the face" to "the Zionist enemy."
Legends and tradition
According to a legend told by Joseph ben Isaac Sambari, (c.1640 - 1703), a Jewish-Egyptian chronicler of the 17th century, the people who carried the body of Maimonides to the Sea of Galilee for permanent burial mistakenly left one of his toes behind in the synagogue, which at that time was called the synagogue of Western (Tunisian) Jews. Later, one of the people who carried the body had a dream, in which a wise man of Egypt reminded him about the forgotten toe. The toe was later recovered and buried next to the body.
The synagogue and accompanying yeshiva have traditionally been considered to have miraculous healing powers. Until the Egyptian government forbade the practice in 1948, the synagogue was used as a place of healing by the local Jewish community. The ailing person was left to sleep in the special underground room in the hope that the sufferer would dream of Maimonides and get better.
The Andalusian Moors
In 825 Crete was seized by Andalusian Moors who established an emirate and centralized their authority over the island at what is now the city of Herakleion. Out of its port sailed corsairs that became the scourge of the Aegean. Athens appears to have been attacked, if not occupied for a period of time, and Thessaloniki was seized and sacked during one of these raids.
Crete for the first time in over 2000 years once again became a thalassocracy and through raids aimed at the coastal cities of the eastern Mediterranean it amassed in- credible wealth. Kandia (as Herakleion was known then) was surrounded by a great moat and fortifications... as was, apparently Hania.
Though Jews are not mentioned in accounts dealing with this period it is probable that they were active in urban areas. They were well established in Herakleion (Kandia) by the 11th century not Iong after the reconquest of the island by the Byzantines in 961.
Crete for the first time in over 2000 years once again became a thalassocracy and through raids aimed at the coastal cities of the eastern Mediterranean it amassed in- credible wealth. Kandia (as Herakleion was known then) was surrounded by a great moat and fortifications... as was, apparently Hania.
Though Jews are not mentioned in accounts dealing with this period it is probable that they were active in urban areas. They were well established in Herakleion (Kandia) by the 11th century not Iong after the reconquest of the island by the Byzantines in 961.
The Roman Conquest
With the Roman conquest of Crete in 67 B.C.E., it was linked administratively with Cyrenacia (Libya). Cretans, certainly Cretan Jews, are referred to in the Acts of the Apostles as having been present at Pentecost when Peter spoke in tongues. Philo and Josephus, both writing in the 1st century C.E., allude to the Jews of Crete. Moreover, Josephus was married to a Cretan Jewess from the western end of the island, which indicates that the Jews were present in areas other than the administrative centers of eastern Crete.
Tacitus, in his History written in the 1st century C.E. has an interesting theory regarding the origin of the name "Judaean." He claims that the Jews were in fact Cretans and that their original name was "Idaeans" (in other words "from Mt. Ida"). Beyond the obvious etymological similarity this may also be based on some strand of the tradition that links the Palestinians to Eteo-Cretans fleeing the island with the arrival of the Greeks.
Unfortunately, none of the Roman sites on Crete have been systematically excavated and inscriptions from this period are at times ambiguous. A few have been identified as possibly alluding to Jews. They come from sites near Herakleion and as far west as Kisamo-Kasteli. Other inscriptions have been found at Agioi Deka near Gortys and in Gortys itself, At Kassanoi (Arkades), about 43 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Herakleion, there is an area known as the Evraioi ('Hebrews") which has been designated by archaeologists as possibly the site of a cemetery. During the reign of the Emperor Theodosius II (408-650 CE) Cretan Jews were singled out for prohibitive Legislation. Under Theodosius, the Jews of Egypt and Palestine especially, bore the brunt of a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment that, among other things, Ied to restrictions on the erection of synagogues as well as the abolition of the office of Nasi when Gamaliel II was deposed. The 'Nasi' or Prince (sometimes referred to as the Patriarch), had been appointed under Roman law for universally regulating the scattered Jewish Communities in the Empire. Its abolition was intended to sever the head of Judaism from its body.
It may well be that the difficulties they were facing in adjusting to the new Christian Roman Empire led to the appearance of a Cretan Jewish Messiah in about 430 CE, In that year a rabbi named Moses appeared in Crete and spent a year travelling about the island announcing that he was the same Moses who had led the Israelites through the Red Sea and into Sinai. He promised that in the following year he would lead Crete's Jews to the Holy land. Commercial and economic interests were abandoned in anticipation of the miracle and on a specified day the Jews of Crete met together at some point unknown to us and, to the horror and amazement of Christians watching the event, threw themselves off the cliffs and into the sea. Many were drowned; still others were saved by fishermen assembled in nearby boats to watch. In the account of the historian Socrates, special mention is made of the fact that there was a general conversion to Christianity on the part of the survivors. What happened to R. Moses is not known. Whether or not the Jews of Crete actually did convert through shame or despair at this point in their history is unknown, but for several centuries afterwards they are not mentioned in histories dealing with the island.
Tacitus, in his History written in the 1st century C.E. has an interesting theory regarding the origin of the name "Judaean." He claims that the Jews were in fact Cretans and that their original name was "Idaeans" (in other words "from Mt. Ida"). Beyond the obvious etymological similarity this may also be based on some strand of the tradition that links the Palestinians to Eteo-Cretans fleeing the island with the arrival of the Greeks.
Unfortunately, none of the Roman sites on Crete have been systematically excavated and inscriptions from this period are at times ambiguous. A few have been identified as possibly alluding to Jews. They come from sites near Herakleion and as far west as Kisamo-Kasteli. Other inscriptions have been found at Agioi Deka near Gortys and in Gortys itself, At Kassanoi (Arkades), about 43 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Herakleion, there is an area known as the Evraioi ('Hebrews") which has been designated by archaeologists as possibly the site of a cemetery. During the reign of the Emperor Theodosius II (408-650 CE) Cretan Jews were singled out for prohibitive Legislation. Under Theodosius, the Jews of Egypt and Palestine especially, bore the brunt of a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment that, among other things, Ied to restrictions on the erection of synagogues as well as the abolition of the office of Nasi when Gamaliel II was deposed. The 'Nasi' or Prince (sometimes referred to as the Patriarch), had been appointed under Roman law for universally regulating the scattered Jewish Communities in the Empire. Its abolition was intended to sever the head of Judaism from its body.
It may well be that the difficulties they were facing in adjusting to the new Christian Roman Empire led to the appearance of a Cretan Jewish Messiah in about 430 CE, In that year a rabbi named Moses appeared in Crete and spent a year travelling about the island announcing that he was the same Moses who had led the Israelites through the Red Sea and into Sinai. He promised that in the following year he would lead Crete's Jews to the Holy land. Commercial and economic interests were abandoned in anticipation of the miracle and on a specified day the Jews of Crete met together at some point unknown to us and, to the horror and amazement of Christians watching the event, threw themselves off the cliffs and into the sea. Many were drowned; still others were saved by fishermen assembled in nearby boats to watch. In the account of the historian Socrates, special mention is made of the fact that there was a general conversion to Christianity on the part of the survivors. What happened to R. Moses is not known. Whether or not the Jews of Crete actually did convert through shame or despair at this point in their history is unknown, but for several centuries afterwards they are not mentioned in histories dealing with the island.
Etz Hayim Synagogue
Historical Background (including Crete as a whole)
The island of Crete has had a history quite distinctly its own, due to its relative isolation from the mainland of Greece and its proximity to North Africa, Egypt, and the coast of Palestine. Depending on the dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean, Crete has thus been drawn into various orbits of influence, political and economic.
Left: The "throne of Moses" in the remains of the Delos synagogue, 1st century B.C.E.
Once Crete had emerged from some 2000 years of in-fighting and relative isolation after the Dorian invasions the island found itself centrally located in the new international world that had been created by Alexander the Great. It is into this world that not long after Jews began to settle in great numbers in many of the new Hellenistic cities such as Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus and along the coast of Asia Minor. We can assume that many began to settle as well in Crete which was in close proximity to all of them as well as central to new routes of trade that linked Rhodes, Delos and Thessaloniki.
The Jews of Crete are first mentioned in 2 Maccabees and appear to have had a community at Gortys. This city came into administrative prominence during Hellenistic times and attracted artisans and technicians from Alexandria. It is likely that the members of this early Jewish community were originally from Egypt. Inscriptions found on the island of Delos indicating the existence of a Samaritan community at Knossos/Herakleion in the 1st century B.C.E., make it likely that a Jewish community also existed there.
The island of Crete has had a history quite distinctly its own, due to its relative isolation from the mainland of Greece and its proximity to North Africa, Egypt, and the coast of Palestine. Depending on the dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean, Crete has thus been drawn into various orbits of influence, political and economic.
Left: The "throne of Moses" in the remains of the Delos synagogue, 1st century B.C.E.
Once Crete had emerged from some 2000 years of in-fighting and relative isolation after the Dorian invasions the island found itself centrally located in the new international world that had been created by Alexander the Great. It is into this world that not long after Jews began to settle in great numbers in many of the new Hellenistic cities such as Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus and along the coast of Asia Minor. We can assume that many began to settle as well in Crete which was in close proximity to all of them as well as central to new routes of trade that linked Rhodes, Delos and Thessaloniki.
The Jews of Crete are first mentioned in 2 Maccabees and appear to have had a community at Gortys. This city came into administrative prominence during Hellenistic times and attracted artisans and technicians from Alexandria. It is likely that the members of this early Jewish community were originally from Egypt. Inscriptions found on the island of Delos indicating the existence of a Samaritan community at Knossos/Herakleion in the 1st century B.C.E., make it likely that a Jewish community also existed there.
The Ben Ezra Synagogue
The Ben Ezra Synagogue , sometimes referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת אל גניזה) or the Synagogue of the Palestinians, is situated in Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local tradition, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found.The land for the synagogue was purchased in 882 CE for 20,000 dinars by Abraham ibn Ezra of Jerusalem.
This was the synagogue whose geniza or store room was found in the 19th century to contain a treasure of abandoned Hebrew secular and sacred manuscripts. The collection, known as the Cairo Geniza, was brought to Cambridge, England at the instigation of Solomon Schechter and is now divided between several academic libraries.
This was the synagogue whose geniza or store room was found in the 19th century to contain a treasure of abandoned Hebrew secular and sacred manuscripts. The collection, known as the Cairo Geniza, was brought to Cambridge, England at the instigation of Solomon Schechter and is now divided between several academic libraries.