CORRESPONDENCE on the Jews from Egypt

 

        Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004      From: "Ada Aharoni" <ada@iflac.com>

  Subject: Re: Freelance writer for the Miami Herald: Sources for the Liquidation of the Jewish Community in Egypt.

 

  Dear Mr. Bernard,

 

  The sources for my quotation you mention in your email below, on the liquidation of the Jewish

  Community in Egypt:

 

  "Bank accounts were blocked, private and commercial property was confiscated, business firms were

  liquidated, and Jewish employees were discharged. Jewish department stores, bank and other

  businesses were confiscated and taken over, as were the Jewish schools, youth movements, old age

  homes, welfare institutions, hospitals and synagogues. Jewish judges and lawyers were expelled from

  the bar, and Jewish engineers, doctors and teachers were denied the right to practice. The Egyptian

  Medical Association instructed the population not to consult Jewish physicians and surgeons. "

 

   Are from the research I conducted on "The Jews From Egypt," at the S. Neaman Institute of the

  "Technion: The Israel Institute of Technology", in Haifa, in the years: 1991 - 1993. During those 2

  years, as Head of the Research Group on the "Jews from Egypt in Israel and in the Diaspora," we

  interviewed 501 Jews from Egypt from various sectors, in Israel and abroad, and read and researched

  all the then available sources, books and journals, on the Jews from Egypt.

 

  The results of the research, partly summarized by the passage you quote below, were published in the

  "Technion Magazine," the "Davar Journal", "Haifa Ve Hatsafon," and "Galim - Waves," journals and

  other media, including the electronic media.  They were also published in part in my own books: "THE

  SECOND EXODUS," "NOT IN VAIN," MEMOIRS FROM ALEXANDRIA," "FROM THE NILE TO THE JORDAN," etc. and in

  many various articles. My books are  available on amazon.com , all of them were written originally

  in English, and then translated into Hebrew and Arabic.  For more information you are invited  to

  visit my two following websites: www.iflac.com/jac   and www.iflac.com/ada

 

  I would be very glad to receive a copy of your article.

  I wish you much success for this important project.

 

  Sincerely,

  Ada Aharoni

 

 

 

    ----- Original Message -----

    From: Daniel Bernard

    To: ada@iflac.com

    Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2004 11:12 PM

    Subject: RE: Freelance writer for the Miami Herald

 

 

    Dr. Aharoni:

 

    Greetings. I am an American freelance journalist based in Cairo. I am preparing an article for the

  Miami Herald about the small surviving community of Jews of Egypt and its diminution. I have been

  corresponding with Desire Sakkal of the Historical Society of Jews from Egypt (see attached

  correspondence) and I have read articles on the hsje.org web site including yours.

 

    I might cite a passage in your essay "The Forced Migration  of Jews from Arab Countries and Peace"

  posted at http://www.hsje.org/forcedmigration.htm crediting you, of course. I have a question about

  this passage about the events of 1967 in Egypt:

 

    "Bank accounts were blocked, private and commercial property was confiscated, business firms were

  liquidated, and Jewish employees were discharged. Jewish department stores, bank and other

  businesses were confiscated and taken over, as were the Jewish schools, youth movements, old age

  homes, welfare institutions, hospitals and synagogues. Jewish judges and lawyers were expelled from

  the bar, and Jewish engineers, doctors and teachers were denied the right to practice. The Egyptian

  Medical Association instructed the population not to consult Jewish physicians and surgeons. "

 

    Can you tell me the source(s) for these statements? It's very vivid, so I would like to quote it,

  but due diligence requires me to double-check it.

 

    Thanks very much for your prompt reply.

    Sincerely,

    Dan Bernard

    Freelance journalist

    Cairo

    Tel: +2 010 157 3003

 

   Message: 2

   Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 08:39:40 +0200

   From: "Ada Aharoni" <ada@iflac.com>

Subject: Re: Fw: Freelance writer for the Miami Herald:  FURTHER Sources for the Liquidation of the Jewish Community in Egypt

 

Dear Mr. Bernard,

 

I am glad my note was useful. In answer to your further questions:

 

I left Egypt with my parents, in July 1949, when I was 16.

My father's permit to work was annuled and he had to sell his "grain and flour" office in the

Mouski, and our house in Midan Ismaileya (today called Midan El Tahrir),

at a very low price as they knew the Jews were leaving. It was traumatic for

the whole family as we had to leave all our friends and everything behind.

 

I am attaching Mr. Israel Bonan's note concerning our correspondence,

which may also be helpful. He had to leave Egypt in 1967,

after being interned. You can read part of his moving story on our

JAC website: www.iflac.com/jac

 

You may perhaps like to write an in - depth article on IFLAC PAVE PEACE,

I am confident our work for the paving of peace between Arabs and Israelis

would very much interest the Egyptian, as well as the Miami Herald.

Please check our website: www.iflac.com

for available materials on our organization. Our webmaster, Engineer Hani

Eldeib, is an Egyptian, now living and working in Washington (in satellites).

We have already published 777 Newsletter Digests. You are welcome to join

the IFLAC Digest through its free subscription, and to write a note about

it in our Guestbook.

 

 One of our future IFLAC projects is,

a "World Congress of the Jews from Egypt," at Haifa University, on

"The Jews from Egypt and Peace in Israel," in May 2006. It will be open to all,

and we intend to invite the Egyptian Foreign Minister and other fficials.

 

I am looking forward to receive a copy of your article.

 

Best regards,

Ada Aharoni

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Israel Bonan

To: IFLAC@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 10:19 AM

Subject: Re: [IFLAC] Digest Number 777

 

 

Dear Ada,

 

If you wish to point out to the Mr Bernard this fact as well. There is a repository of case

histories (submitted by disposessed individuals from Arab countries) that can be accessed through

the archives of the Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries Organization

 

http://www.jewishrefugees.org/

 

The organization is in NY (with an international coordinator as well). Info:

 

Vivienne Roumani-Denn

National Executive Director

Email: Vroumani@asf.cjh.org

      Dr. Aharoni:

 

      Greetings. I am an American freelance journalist based in Cairo. I am preparing an article for

the Miami Herald about the small surviving community of Jews of Egypt and its diminution. I have

been corresponding with Desire Sakkal of the Historical Society of Jews from Egypt (see attached

correspondence) and I have read articles on the hsje.org web site including yours.

 

      I might cite a passage in your essay "The Forced Migration  of Jews from Arab Countries and

Peace" posted at http://www.hsje.org/forcedmigration.htm crediting you, of course. I have a question

about this passage about the events of 1967 in Egypt:

 

      "Bank accounts were blocked, private and commercial property was confiscated, business firms

were liquidated, and Jewish employees were discharged. Jewish department stores, bank and other

businesses were confiscated and taken over, as were the Jewish schools, youth movements, old age

homes, welfare institutions, hospitals and synagogues. Jewish judges and lawyers were expelled from

the bar, and Jewish engineers, doctors and teachers were denied the right to practice. The Egyptian

Medical Association instructed the population not to consult Jewish physicians and surgeons. "

 

      Can you tell me the source(s) for these statements? It's very vivid, so I would like to quote

it, but due diligence requires me to double-check it.

 

      Thanks very much for your prompt reply.

      Sincerely,

      Dan Bernard

      Freelance journalist

      Cairo

      Tel: +2 010 157 3003