The late author and beloved media reporter, Victor Nahmias, a Jew formerly from Egypt,
living in Israel, attended the Jewish Arab Writers Conference in September 2004,
and contributed to its success. It was a shock to all of us to hear that a short month after, he passed away,
and we all deeply mourn him.

He wrote his moving memoirs:
I WAS BORN TWICE, in Arabic, to highlight both the harmony and tension between his 'old' and 'new' homeland:
"Who are you, Victor Nahmias?" asks the Egyptian journalist Anis Manzour, editor of the weekly magazine "October",
after they met and became close friends. "I am a victim of the Israeli-Arab conflict," Nahmias replies.
"I was forced to leave Egypt before completing my pharmacology degree at Qasr al-Eini (Cairo's famous medical school).
I left with one 20-kilo suitcase of clothes and personal belongings, a total of $20 (the maximum allowance)
and a certificate stamped with the words `exit, no return,' revoking the Egyptian citizenship held by my father."

Years later, when Nachmias accompanied President Yitzhak Navon to Egypt as part of the press corps,
he was asked why, upon leaving Egypt, he had chosen to go to Israel.
The question was accusing in tone, and Nahmias' answer was that since Egypt had no right to expel him,
they also had no right to ask what made him choose Israel.
However, he had warm feelings for the Egyptian people, and felt he was indeed "born twice".

He loved his new homeland, Israel, as much as he had loved his former homeland,
that had ousted him and his family, and his whole community.
Victor Nahmias is a model of the nobleness and inherent cultural qualities of reconciliation, harmony and an open heart,
that typify the Jews from Egypt. He was a strong believer in the power of cultural bridges as a means to the promotion of peace between Israel and her neighbors.
May we all learn from him, and may he rest in peace.

Prof. Ada Aharoni
IFLAC: The International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace