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Middle East Times
By Rami Mangoubi
Middle East Times
Published October 30, 2004
Mr. Ibrahim complains that the US Global Anti-Semitism
Awareness Act stops at Jews, in a recent Middle East Times
article titled "Why stop at Jews?"
Surely he knows that Congress passes laws to
specifically protect other groups. The Glass Ceiling Committee
helps working women. Affirmative action benefits
underrepresented minorities. Mr. Ibrahim wisely does not
complain about these laws. Why complain when Congress recognizes
that Anti-Semitism is on the rise?
This may be surprising, but Anti-Semitism in Egypt
predates the Arab-Jewish conflict. Had Egypt's government passed
an Anti-Semitism Awareness Act a century or more ago, Egyptian
Jews would still be jointly contributing with other Egyptians to
the country today, and would be a bridge of true peace between
the Egyptian government and Israel.
As far back as 1860, bureaucrats interpreted citizenship
decrees so as to exclude Jews. One decree after another
culminated in the Nationality Law of 1929. As a result, 90
percent of the country's 80,000 Jews were denied Egyptian
citizenship. While a minority of these, 25 percent or so,
already had or succeeded in obtaining citizenship papers from a
foreign country, the great majority of Egyptian Jews were left
stateless. Many of these Jews lived in Egypt for centuries.
In spite of this racist (some minorities like the
Armenians were also denied citizenship) implementation of the
Nationality Law, Jews managed to contribute more than their
share to Egypt's well-being. They introduced modern industry to
Egypt, specifically textile and sugar. They established the
suburb of Maadi, and introduced public transportation (The
Suarez Company). Daud Hosni, one of Egypt's foremost composers,
is Jewish, and his grandchildren now live in Israel. So is Murad
Farag, the active passionate Zionist and Egyptian patriot, one
of the lawyers who contributed to the writing of Egypt's first
constitution.
But ethnocentric nationalists and fundamentalists
persisted in seeing Jews as aliens (khawagat). Thanks to them,
hatred prevailed. The Nationality Laws were reinforced by
employment measures that slowly but surely prevented Jews from
earning a living. The measures culminated in the notorious
Company Law, passed in 1947, requiring that 90 percent of the
employees of any enterprise be Egyptian citizens. Those denied
citizenship worked mostly for the private sector, and as a
result, after having lived for centuries in Egypt, tens of
thousands of Jews were fired en masse.
Everyone needs to earn a living to eat, so even absent
Israel and Zionism Jews would still have left because of the two
laws. But a year later the Jewish state declared its
independence and offered citizenship to these Jews for the first
time in their history.
Egypt's economy today still suffers from these measures,
as well as from others that Egyptian President Gamal Abdel
Nasser had later imposed. Ironically, American aid to Egypt,
supported by the same parties that advocated the act Mr. Ibrahim
is complaining about, is now repairing the damage. Why not
complain about aid that specifically favors Egypt?
Mr. Ibrahim also complains that the Jewish Passover
recital promotes unnecessary lasting hatred against all
Egyptians. He can be assured that Jewish children know that
today's Egyptians are a different nation since they speak a
different language and practice totally different religions.
Besides, the Koran mentions the Exodus, and no Egyptian I know
of has ever complained about the recital.
But Egyptian governments have been brutal to their Jews
in modern times as well. In 1948 two massacres in the Jewish
Hara (Quarter) in which dozens perished went unpunished.
Remaining Jewish families, especially since Nasser's ascent to
power, lived fearful in a hostile environment, even though they
had non-Jewish friends who were very protective of them. At the
start of the Six Day War, only 3,000 Jews remained. Nasser
ordered the incarceration of Jewish adult males in the notorious
detention camps of Abu Zaabal and Tura. The incarcerated Jews
were tortured and humiliated for up to three years, until 1970,
when nearly all were deported out of Egypt provided they
promised not to return.
While it is true that not all victims of Nasser were
Jews, all Jews were his victims. Far from lifting a finger and
coming to their help, Mr. Ibrahim and other intellectuals
certainly did not complain at that time when Nasser did stop at
Jews.
The United Nations has passed more than 100 resolutions
regarding Arab refugees, and continues to spend millions every
year on them. Yet it has never even once mentioned, nor given a
penny to Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Why does Mr.
Ibrahim not complain that the UN stops at Arab refugees?
In Arab countries and in Iran, Jews for too long had to
swallow insult, abuse, incarceration, and even massacres, while
keeping their mouths shut. Thanks to America, and to Israel, we
are now assertive and do not keep quiet.
Rami Mangoubi was born and raised in Egypt, and now
lives in the United States.
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