Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on April 19, 2013

Miss Weinstein took over from her mother as head of the Jewish community council, which represented the once 80-100,000-strong minority. A mixture of Sephardic Jews and European immigrants, in the early years of the last century they went to school and worked alongside Egyptian Muslims and Christians, mainly in Cairo and Alexandria.

The body of Carmen Weinstein is laid to rest at Cairo's Jewish cemetery in the Al-Basaten district (EPA)

While they were found in all classes of society, some only speaking Arabic, others were prominent businessmen and at least two were cabinet ministers under the last king, Farouk. Most emigrated following anti-Jewish violence and later outright persecution after Egypts wars with Israel in 1948, 1956 and 1967.

Miss Weinsteins father owned a print shop, which she and her mother, Esther, ran together after his death. She herself was educated at Cairo University and the American University. She was widowed, with no children.

In later years she became best known for promoting the restoration of the Cairo yeshiva, or school, and synagogue of Moses Maimonides, the celebrated 12th century theologian and personal physician to Saladin. It was paid for by the Egyptian government.

She also contributed to the restoration of the mock-pharaonic Chaar Hachamaim Synagogue in Downtown Cairo, where her funeral took place, and, with sadly only temporary results, the Bassatine cemetery, where she was buried.

Magda Haroun, a 62-year-old lawyer who was elected this week to replace Miss Weinstein, used the funeral to pay tribute to her predecessors efforts. I promise I will take care of the heritage of the Egyptian Jewish people and hand it over to the Egyptian people, she said, acknowledging that the community had little long-term future. The Jewish heritage is the Egyptian peoples heritage also.

She also thanked President Mohammed Morsi, Egypts new Muslim Brotherhood president, for a statement offering his condolences. She was a dedicated Egyptian who worked tirelessly to preserve Egyptian Jewish heritage and valued, above all else, living and dying in her country, Egypt, that statement said.

Mrs Haroun said, to applause from the congregation: I want to break the barriers that have been created between people from different religions and different beliefs.

Mr Morsi, like many Brotherhood leaders, has been accused of anti-semitism, referring in an interview in 2010 to Zionists as descendants of apes and pigs".

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Egypt's remaining Jews gather to bury one of their own

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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