In a previous article, I described with supporting evidence how Egyptian Jews, more than any other community in Egypt, are in essence the founders of the country's modern economy; an economy that became the most adanced one in the world outside of the West and Japan. Additionally, this community played an exceptional role in Egypt's 20th-century culutral Renaissance, a golden age of innovationsl and social flourishing. I mentioned some of the major institutions they founded and highlighted prominent individuals who were integral to that era's renaissance.
It is no exageration that doing justice to this community, which suffered a systematic ethnic cleansing, would require an entire book.
The emerging and competing political movements, and the emeging dictatorship that came to power thru a coup d'etat, at the time realized that the existence of 80,000 Egyptian Jews
most of them highly skilled professionals posed a threat to its ideological project: the ethnocentric Arabization or Islamization of a society that, until the mid-20th century, had developed a culturally and religiously diverse identity, to a degree comparable to the most advanced post-war Western societies.
In this context, the regime saw only one option : to tighten its grip by total exclusion, which took the form of forced expulsion, confiscation of property, confiscation of property and nationalization of businesses, revocation of citizenship, mass arrests and torture, deportation, together blanket ban on return (Bedoun Rag'a). This constittutes clearly and unequivocally a systematic process of ethnic cleansing.
Successive governments have claimed these policies were mere "economic reforms" or "national security necessities," but the legal and moral reality is entirely different. Can a state confiscate the property of its own citizens and expel them solely based on their religious affiliation? International law responds with a firm and absolute no. Such violations constitute a grave breach of international human rights conventions and, as in similar historical cases, necessitate fair and comprehensive compensation.
Lessons from Europe… and a Historical Responsibility
History is full of examples where states are compelled to acknowledge their crimes and compensate their victims. Germany paid tens of billions of dollars to Holocaust survivors and their descendants, as well as to Israel, recognizing its historical responsibility. Poland, to this day, faces international pressure to return or compensate Jewish properties confiscated during and after World War II.
Is the Egyptian case any different? Even if Egyptian Jews were displaced rather than exterminated, as in Europe, the legal and moral obligation to compensate them remains the same.
Apologizing to and compensating Egyptian Jews is not merely a financial issue; it is a crucial first step in acknowledging a grave injustice and breaking the long-standing legacy of denial that the Egyptian state continues to uphold, and it is essential to making Egypt a better country for all her citizens
Human Stories… and Wounds Awaiting Acknowldgment in order to Heal
Behind the numbers and political decisions lie deeply personal tragedies or miniature national mourning ceremonies.
The story of Rachel Shaul, a teenage girl expelled with her family from Alexandria in 1957 within just 72 hours, is one of those profoundly painful moments. On the train platform, she said goodbye to her grandmother, who had not been granted permission to leave. As the train pulled away, she waved and said, "I will never see you again." And indeed, she never did.
Yosef Cohen, the son of a Cairo industrialist, saw his life turn upside down from living in a luxurious villa to hiding in the synagogue's basement after the family's property was confiscated and his father imprisoned on fabricated charges. They left Egypt with temporary passports stamped "Not valid for return."
Sarah Mizrahi had dreamed of becoming a teacher. But she was subjected to a brutal interrogation at the Qasr al-Nil police station merely for speaking Hebrew. She was interrogated under a harsh yellow light, threatened with rape, and forced to sign a pledge not to leave Cairo. She eventually left with the help of relatives in France but without any certificates, documents, or money. (This incident took place in late 1956. Source: World Jewish Congress, Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands, archival report, 2006.)
Prison Testimonies… Tortured for Their Identity
In one of the most painful massacres, Leon Castro, a Jewish resident of Cairo's Jewish Quarter, was killed along with his wife and two children in a bombing on June 19, 1948. The explosion was so violent that their home was completely destroyed, amid screams and crying from neighbors. Yet no one was arrested, no investigation was opened, and justice was never served a chilling example of lives taken solely because of their religion.
In his testimony, Youssef Cohen recounts spending years in Egyptian prisons in the late 1960s. He was held in a small windowless cell, deprived of sleep, and repeatedly threatened with death for speaking. His case was not an exception, but the rule.
Alexander Zafari, a Jew from Alexandria, was arrested by police for "affiliation with Jewish organizations." He was brutally tortured: beaten on his limbs, constantly threatened, and subjected to repeated psychological humiliation. No charges were ever brought, and he was never tried in court.
Ellen Cohen was just fifteen when she was arrested with her mother on accusations of storing weapons even though she had never touched a gun in her life. She endured physical and psychological abuse, and was repeatedly threatened with execution. She never forgot what happened, even after emigrating to Canada.
Isaac Gabriel, a merchant from central Cairo, was arrested after the 1967 war and held in Qasr al-Nil prison, where he was beaten daily and constantly humiliated. He was released after two months, and fled Egypt with his family, never to return.
In fact, Egyptian authorities arrested nearly all Jewish men aged 17 to 65. They were deported to the infamous Abu Zaabal prison, and later to Tora prison, where some were tortured for more than three years before being expelled on planes, penniless, forced into exile to start their lives from scratch. (Source, Rami Mangoubi, My Longest Ten Minutes, Jerusalem Post, January 4, 2007).
Reparations A Right That Doesn't Expire
When it comes to estimating the reparations owed for the properties, businesses, institutions, and finances confiscated from Egypt's Jews, the minimum estimated value stands at $60 billion.
These debts do not expire. And again, the importance of reparations goes far beyond financial value. They are about restoring dignity, acknowledging injustice, and achieving at least a minimal measure of historical justice for victims of a crime that was deliberately concealed for decades.
These figures are not arbitrary; they are based on assessments of seized property, frozen bank accounts, and stocks forcibly relinquished.
Egyptian Jews rebuilt their lives elsewhere thriving in countries that welcomed them, such as Israel, the United States, and beyond.
When I speak of the right of Egyptian Jews to reparations and an apology, I am not advocating a fringe issue. I do so on behalf of all Egyptians. Accountability is essential to addressing this shameful historical wrong and it is the first step toward building a better Egypt, one truly worthy of all its people, in all their diversity.
