The Jewish community of Egypt dates back thousands of years. Although persecuted throughout history by the various empires that have controlled the area, there had been a continuous Jewish presence in Egypt since the third century BC.
By 1948, there were 75,000 Jews in Egypt. The Jewish community was well integrated into Egyptian social life. Most Egyptian Jews were uninterested in Zionism and Israel.
Despite this, pogroms against the Jewish population became increasing common in the 1940s. In the wake of the civil war between Jews and Arabs in the British Mandate of Palestine, bombings of the Jewish quarter in Cairo killed over 70 Jews and wounded about 200 more.
When Egypt and Israel fought a war during the Suez Crisis in 1956, the Egyptian government expelled 25,000 Jews out of the country, while imprisoning over 1,000. The property of these Jews was confiscated.
In November 23 of 1956, the Minister of Religious Affairs signed a statement which read "all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state." Thousands of Jews were forced to leave Egypt, while being forced to sign documents of donating their property to the Egyptian government.
When the 6 Day War began in 1967, all Jewish property was confiscated and the remaining Jews had no choice but to flee the country.
Today, there are under 100 Jews left in Egypt.
Although Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel and sign a peace treaty with the state, anti-Semitism is widespread in Egyptian society.
Although Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel and sign a peace treaty with the state, anti-Semitism is widespread in Egyptian society.
The press, which is government controlled, denies the Holocaust, blames the Jews on September 11th attacks and often features anti-Semitic caricatures. In downtown Cairo, anti-Semitic books are sold by street vendors and can be found in many bookstores.
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll published this month, 95% of Egyptians do not like Jews.
