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Historical Society of Jews From
Egypt
Purpose
and framework of the society
Purpose
The HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF JEWS FROM EGYPT (HSJE) undertakes the
responsibility of preserving and maintaining the culture and history of Jews
from Egypt. “Culture”, according to the American Heritage dictionary, is
“The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs,
institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.”
The Egyptian Jewish community, known as the “Communauté Israélite du Caire
et d’Alexandrie,” consisted of many different cultures, including Ashkenazim
(European Jews) Karaiites (a splinter group from the rabbinical traditional
following), and Sephardim (Levantine Jews). HSJE plans to study their origin
and contributions to Egypt. According to reports from the media and recent
travelers, fewer than 20 Jews live in Egypt today, mostly elderly people.
They can no longer preserve the records, culture, and artifacts of the
community. Much community property has been disposed of in the past without
regard to its historic value. HSJE is attempting to convince the Egyptian
government to allow the transfer of the community’s records and religious
artifacts to the United States, where most Jews from Egypt reside today.
The
goals of the Society are
A) To preserve Jewish
historical sites and monuments in Egypt, including
1)
Cemeteries in Cairo (Bassatine),
Alexandria, Damanhour, and other locations
2) Synagogues all over Egypt, numbering more than
100, some more than 150 years old.
3) Schools, such as
a.
École de la Communauté Israélite du Caire
b.
École de la Comunauté Israélite
d’Alexandrie
c.
La Goutte de Lait
4) Hospitals, including at least one in Cairo and one in Alexandria
5) Social Welfare buildings, such as old-age homes and dwellings for
the disadvantaged.
6)
Artifacts and documents.
B) To study and document the history of Jews from Egypt, with emphasis on
contemporary history, for which scholarly work is sorely lacking:
1.
Period immediately following World War
II.
2.
Period of independence movements in the Middle
East.
3.
Periods when Jews felt the consequences of their
host countries’ independence.
4.
Period of forced exodus to foreign countries and
the dispersion of some 100,000 Jews throughout the world
5.
Period of adaptation to new environments.
C) To establish a medium of communication for Jews from Egypt throughout the
world.
D) To reunite families through genealogical research.
E) To assist members through social and welfare organizations.
F)
To direct the efforts and support
students undertaking similar work, sponsor lectures, publications, films,
and discussion groups.
Framework
A) Preservation of Historical Sites
As the
largest organized community of Jews from Egypt, and with the help of
cultural agencies in all countries where Jews from Egypt reside, HSJE
proposes to appeal to the Egyptian government to safeguard and maintain
Jewish artifacts and community property in Egypt, and make available the
archives of Jews from Egypt. HSJE also proposes to gather the documents
scattered in the Old Geniza of Cairo to classify, itemize, list them by date
of origin, and translate them for use by scholars, with the assistance of
the Central Archives For The History Of The Jewish People in Israel. HSJE
has also been promised cooperation from Beth Hatefutsoth, The Museum of the
Jewish Diaspora, in Tel-Aviv.
B) Documentation of Recent History
Our aims in this category are
to investigate, document and report the recent history of Egyptian Jewry, a
group which is near-moribund today. Appropriately, HSJE’s newsletter was
called the SECOND EXODUS. It informs the members and the public of
HSJE’s activities at least three time a year, includes short scholarly
reports, and is expected to include in the future:
-
Letters to the Editor
2.
Reports by the members of material of historical
importance that could help start an archival center on Jews from Egypt.
3.
Notices of books pertinent to Jews from Egypt and the
Middle East, to be reviewed by members, the editorial board, or other
organizations.
4.
Reports by other groups sharing a similar goal.
5.
Genealogical information. Many Jews from Egypt may have
lost contact with friends and relatives, and the newsletter could help
them reestablish contact.
6.
Biographies of members and lists of who’s who in our
community.
7.
Announcements of interest to members, etc.
C) Conferences
The Society will continue to consult the work of well-known historians and
invite them to speak:
Joel Beinin, Ph.D. History, Stanford University.
Pierre Cachia, Ph.D. Modern Arabic Literature, Columbia University.
Jane Gerber, Ph.D. Institute of Sephardic Studies, Graduate Center C.U.N.Y.
Jacques Hassoun, MD Psychoanalysis, History, Paris.
George Gruen, Ph.D. Political Science, Columbia University
Reginetta Haboucha, Ph.D. Spanish Literature and Judeo Spanish folklore,
Dean of Humanities, Marist College
Jacob Landau, Ph.D. Political Science, Hebrew University
Michael Laskier, Ph.D. Middle Eastern & Contemporary Jewish History, Beit
Berl College, Israel.
Avigdor Levy, Ph.D. Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University.
Moshe Ma’oz, Ph.D. The Harry S. Truman Research Institute, The Hebrew
University, Jerusalem.
Yo’ram Meital, Ph.D. Middle Eastern Studies, Ben Gurion University.
Ya’acov Meron, Ph.D. Doctorate in Islamic Law, Paris. Ministry of Justice,
Israel.
Nadav Safran Ph.D. Political Science, Harvard University.
Marianne R. Sanua, Ph.D. Jewish History, Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Sasson Somekh, Ph.D. Director, The Israeli Academic Center in Cairo.
Norman Stillman, Ph.D. Judaic History, University of Oklahoma.
Albert de Vidas, Ph.D. Editor, History of Sephardim, Erensia Sefardi
Walter Zenner, Ph.D. Anthropologist, State University of New York, Albany.
Victor D. Sanua, Ph.D. Coordinator, Research Professor, St. John’s
University.
Ada Aharoni Ph.D. Researcher and a cultural sociologist,
Technion: Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Zvi Zohar Ph.D.
Bar Ilan University and Shalom
Hartman Institute
HSJE will have many committees, covering archives, education, genealogy,
publication, rabbinical, research, and social projects, and other topics.
HSJE has already established a committee to study secular and religious
education in Egypt. Because many Jews from Egypt attended foreign schools,
the dynamic inclination and impact were never analyzed vis-à-vis their
Jewish identity.
Through the
Internet, which has proven a great asset to HSJE, two discussion groups have
been established (Egyjews and Egypt Today) with over 250 regular
participants exchanging personal histories and opinions. HSJE intends to
expand these fora and add new ones.
D) Genealogical
Research
The genealogical research will be conducted through mailings to the members
and the exchange of data and other material with other genealogical
societies. An effort will be made to obtain copies of the records of the
Rabbinates in Cairo and Alexandria, known to date back hundreds of years,
reproduce them into modern format, and make them easily available to
scholars and researchers. HSJE also consults with many Jewish genealogical
sites, such as JewishGen and SephardicGen.
E) Social Welfare
With the help of community and national social welfare agencies, HSJE
expects to be able to assist in improving the welfare of its members.
F) Education
Through membership dues and fund-raising functions, HSJE intends to
1) Establish various educational and cultural institutions
2) Finance and participate in qualified independent studies, in
collaboration with other institutions, within the framework of HSJE’s
constitution.
3) Organize lectures by distinguished professors
Historical
Society of Jews From Egypt
Addendum to the Objectives
Preservation of Jewish
Monuments in Egypt.
HSJE will attempt to preserve Jewish historical sites and
monuments in Egypt, jointly with other scholarly and cultural agencies in the
United States and abroad. The approach may include letters and public
announcements, informing the public of the necessity to preserve those
monuments, and appealing to the public to express their feelings directly to the
Egyptian authorities.
HSJE will not share any financial responsibility to preserve
these monuments, nor will it financially support any institution in Egypt.
Scholarships
Scholarships will be awarded to
applicants who have proven their academic abilities. All candidates will have
equal opportunity and be evaluated on a non-discriminatory basis in regards to
race, color, sex, or religion, in compliance with Affirmative Action.
Officers, members of committees, and employees of HSJE, and their relatives,
will not be eligible for scholarships.
1) Whenever scholarships are available, the HSJE will notify the public via any
medium available to it (advertisements in newspapers, brochures, radio and
multimedia etc..)
2) All scholarships categories will be defined and scheduled, as funds become
available vis a vis the number of approved applicants.
3)
Applicants must submit their
application at least three (3) months prior to the academic year.
5)
The number of eligible recipients will be based on
resources available to HSJE.
7)
Any employee or director who has been proven to
violate any of the above procedures will appear before a disciplinary committee
whose recommendations will be final.
8)
A detailed progress report will have to be submitted
by the grantee of scholarship within thirty (30) days of the termination of the
preceding academic term.
9)
In the event the grantee violates any of part of
the agreement, or does not perform academically as expected, the designated
selective scholarship committee may take appropriate action as described in the
agreement.
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