Jews of Egypt

With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, trade and commerce no longer had to circumnavigate Africa but necessarily passed through Egypt. The country’s prospects appeared excellent, and so hundreds of thousands of Europeans moved there. Among them, many Jews, joining those who had been there since the time of the Pyramids and the community that had built up over the centuries. From that moment until 1956, the Egyptian Jewish community experienced its peak, contributing to all aspects of the country’s life: in the economy and work, in education and the training of the ruling class, in newspapers and various book productions, in politics, cinema, theater, music, sports, and even cartoons. The community itself, whose composition, trends, organization, demographics, movements and associations, synagogues, rabbis, and key figures, as well as its customs and traditions, are reconstructed here. It is shown in its vibrant collective life and also through the personal stories of leading figures in Egyptian national life.
A journey with beautiful period images to present the book “Jews of Egypt.”
The author Daniel Fishman in conversation with Riccardo Mancuso, an Italian living in Egypt.