"The Jews of Egypt, 1920-1970 constitutes a major contribution to what we know about a now vanishing community that was highly respected and prominent in the economic and cultural life of Egypt. . . . [Laskier] has drawn our attention to one of the most tragic consequences of the Arab-Israeli conflict."
—Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr.The Pennsylvania State University
"The Jews of Egypt, 1920-1970 . . . provides perhaps the first comprehensive account of the fate of the Egyptian Jewish community under the new revolutionary regime . . . . Informed by an impressive range of Israeli archival as well as published Egyptian materials, the work is a valuable contribution to modern Egyptian and Jewish history."
—James Jankowski, University of Colorado at Boulder
Jews have lived in Egypt almost continuously for two millennia. In the period beginning with the aftermath of Wold War I until the death of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in September 1970, the social and political status of Egyptian Jewry changed considerably, and Jewish communal life virtually came to an end. During the fifty years that this study spans, the Jews of Egypt were exposed to diverse challenges stemming from European-style anti-Semitism in the 1930s, the perils of World War II, Zionism as it was promoted locally and by emissaries for the Yishuv, and activities after 1948 related to emigration to the newly created Jewish state. Michael M. Laskier details the events that were central in shaping the Middle East as it is today.
