Growing up as a Jew in Cairo

 

By Victor D. Sanua, Phd.

About 50 years ago, I came to America to study psychology. I was fluent in English but my speech had a slight accent? Many people would ask about my background. This was difficult to answer since one single response would not suffice. If I was asked my place of birth, it was Egypt (but I was not Egyptian ) . If I was asked about my passport, I indicated I was Italian, but never lived in Italy; if they inquired about the origin of my family, I would indicate Spain but I had to add that my family left Spain about 500 years ago, went to Italy, and later settled in Istanbul where I found burial stones with the name Sanua (meaning "modest" in Hebrew), one dated early 17th.. Century. The only thing I was sure about in my background was the fact that I was Jewish. I am presenting this short exchange to indicate that a large number of Jews born in Egypt were not culturally indigenous to the country. During the middle of the 19th. Century, the ruler of Egypt who wanted to modernise the country readily accepted Europeans, consequently, a large number of Ladino speaking Jews came from Turkey.

In time, the dominant foreign language became French, in view of the large number of French schools such as the Lycee Fancais and the Catholic Schools ( Frères) which were attended by a large number of Jewish children. My education started in the school of Bab-el-Louk. Besides French, two other languages were taught, English and Arabic. Two hours a week were devoted to the language of the country. Since the Arabic that was taught was classical and had little to do with spoken Arabic, many of us were never conversant with the language, unless the home language was Arabic. However, we were able to manage with "street" Arabic... All department stores had French speaking employees. In my home, we spoke French and Ladino. Depending on their background, Jews spoke other languages. The small Askenazi community spoke Yiddish. Of course, the different nationals whose parents came from various countries spoke the language of their origin, and schools were established for Italians, Germans, Greeks and Armenians. A few scools taught in English. Since most of the students who attended such schools and who wanted to pursue professional careers could not attend Egyptian Universities because of Arabic deficiencies had to go abroad. Only few students attended Egyptian Universities. In view of the decline of France as a power , learning English became more important and it was at that time that I pursued my education in English, first in he high school attached to the American University at Cairo, and later in their liberal college which made it possible for me to continue with my studies in the U.S.A.

Social life for Jews, between the two World Wars, was quite pleasant. Life centred on families, club activities and swimming pool facilities. Cairo had practically everything that a major European city could offer, Italian operas, ballet, Comedy Francaise, foreign symphony orchestras, etc. We had the most recent movies produced in the U.S.A., England, France and Italy. Alexandria was the major Resort City where many Cairenes went to the beaches during vacation time. Alexandria and Cairo had numerous nightclubs presenting shows. There was one particular favourite place for dinner and dancing in Cairo that was called Groppi. I was a member of a club called Judeo-Espagnol but, because of the rising nationalism, the name was changed to Judeo-Egyptian.

A teacher came to my home to prepare me for my Bar Mitzvah, which was celebrated in the major synagogue in Cairo called Shaar Ha Shamayim (The Gates of Heaven). The famous Chief Rabbi of Egypt, Haim Nahoum Effendi, conducted the service. In 1984, 34 years after leaving Egypt, I returned with my daughter to visit this synagogue. One of the remaining Jewish residents. I learned that she died later in 1995. On Friday evenings the synagogue was always crowded and there was only standing room if one was late. During the High Holidays, all synagogues were well attended. Clubs, private schools and large homes were used to conduct the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers. What was particularly strange was when thanked God for having delivered us from the Egyptians during Pessah Seders. Our identity as Jews was quite strong and we even learned to sing the Hatikva in Ladino. There were times of sadness, however. Many times during the year, the ritual of what we called "meldado" (Yahrzeit) was observed. The custom was celebrated in the home. There were a number of older men of modest means who kept dates of deaths and made a living conducting such services in the homes. We requested a number of men to make sure that we had minyan, particularly in the middle of the week. Between prayers, they discussed in Ladino passages of the Bible. These idyllic conditions of Jews in Egypt came slowly to an end with the conflict in Palestine, culminating with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and the disappearance of a vibrant community. Today, there might possibly be about 100 older persons in all Egypt.

Since very little is widely known about the life of Jews from Egypt and their subsequent trials and tribulations, it would be important to commemorate the 50 years of the Second Exodus of Jews from Egypt in 1998. In 1992, we had an International Conference on the expulsion of Jews from Spain. The international Conference of Jews from Egypt will have witnesses who will be able to relate their own experiences. Furthermore, a number of scholars familiar with the evens could be invited. Anyone who feels that this would be an important conference to hold in New York, and who have suggestions regarding its organisation should write to me.

For a more in-depth exposé of my experiences, the reader is referred to the book Fields of Offerings by Victor D. Sanua ( Ed.) Ruthrford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1983.

Dr. Victor Sanua is Research Professor in the Dept. Of Psychology at St. John's University, Jamaica, NY 11439. Please write, c\o Image Magazine, P.O.Box 290-642, Brooklyn, NY 11229-0642.