Our Story

Many of the young people responsible for Egypt's revolution were too young to remember the Golden Age of Egypt, when its Jewish population was just shy of 100,000 people in the first half of the 20th century. My parents were members of that last generation of adults who spent most of their lives in that golden Alexandria and who, unfortunately for me due to their early and untimely deaths, took their memories with them. Exiles have always felt a need to reconnect to their land of birth, but in this case, the motherland had rejected its children; thus a good number of Egyptian Jews found it logical to make Arabs a natural target of their disdain. I do not hate nor am I angry; I have always harbored a desire to see my land of birth. In 2007, I started a blog called Women's Lens. It is one of the most referenced websites for Sephardic Jews from North African countries, and is bi-lingual. Through it, many families and friends have reconnected; many a battle of ideology has been fought; many have learned about the 'forgotten refugees' of this area. Currently, Morocco and Iran are the only two countries who have a significant Jewish population in their midst. It wasn't always like that. 

The Impact

I am not the first Egyptian Jewess that will have returned. Others have gone back, disappointed at the dramatic changes they found in society and infrastructure; others accepted those changes as inevitable, and enjoyed catching up with long lost friends and revisiting sites of memories. None have documented their return on a grand scale as the world is still largely unaware of the existence of Jews and their role in the Alexandrian and Cairene society until the late 1950's. Historical accounts of Jewish life omit the importance, and the existence of a Jewish voice which is not linked to European Jewry. The impact would be enormous as it would bring a silenced, albeit unwanted narrative. - An Oriental Jewish voice to the conversation. I will talk to the Egyptian who may remember my father or mother, as well as the younger Egyptian who grew up in a nearly Jew-free Egypt. Perhaps our hopes and dreams will coincide, and perhaps 

they won't. There's only one way to find out.

What We Need & What You Get

(We will need $4000 for flying from New York to Cairo and back for myself and my camera man ; we are estimating a stay of about 30 days.  The production may or may not be adopted by one of the cable channels, but I have contacted a producer at Egypt's Nile TV who has indicated an interview about my homecoming. We will need to travel to Alexandria, Cairo, and if money permits, Luxor.  We will investigate the Geniza, the Bassatine Cemetery and all synagogues that still stand.. In Alexandria we will look at where records can be located on Nebi Daniel Street. I am in contact with journalists for al-Ahram, Egypt's oldest newspaper, a filmmaker residing in Cairo, and new readers to my Women's Lens blog who are encouraging me to tell the story. One of my readers provided contact to the Egyptian Minister of Tourism. The networking  continues through Facebook and Twitter. Please continue reading below for perks.

Other Ways You Can Help

Tell your family and friends; post on Facebook, tweet to your followers, - if you blog, post an entry about the project. There are photos on Flickr of the golden era of Egypt with its unparalleled European flair, its Jews, its Greeks, its Italians, Brits, you name it..Think the idea is great, but you need a vehicle: you are welcome to send your comments to my blog, and I will post them.