Rabbi Marc D. Rudolph

On our tour of Egypt I had eagerly anticipated our visit to the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, which was recently re-opened as a tourist site by the Egyptian government. The Ben Ezra Synagogue is the place where the Cairo Geniza was discovered, a treasure trove of Jewish manuscript fragments from the 6^th to the 19^th century. Study of these manuscripts, which range from prayer books to bills of sale, from marriage contracts to amulets, tell us much about Jewish cultural, economic and religious life over a period of 1500 years. Maimonides lived a short walk from this synagogue and worshipped there.

One is not permitted to take photographs of the synagogue interior, which I found strange. The center part of the sanctuary was also roped off, making it impossible to get close to the ark. Our guide told us that the building was originally a Coptic church and the Jewish community had bought it. He did not tell us that the sale took place in 882 CE. He also did not mention that this was the home of the Cairo Geniza.

He told our group that the building we were in now was rebuilt on the original site in 1890. However, he added, it was no longer a functioning synagogue, as the Jewish community had left.

“Why did they leave?” asked a member of the tour innocently.

Our guide paused for a moment, clearly uncomfortable. Then he continued. “It is true that Jews bought land in Palestine.” (pause) “There was a massacre in an Arab village in Jordan” (pause). “Ben Gurion sent terrorists into Egypt in the 1950s”…… He left it to us to draw our own conclusions.

Later I did my own research. The massacre he was referring to must have been the Israeli attack on Qibya, Jordan in 1953, led by a young Ariel Sharon. The buildings of the village were destroyed, and 69 villagers were killed. The “terrorist sent by Ben Gurion into Egypt” is known as the Lavon Affair. In 1954 Israel recruited members of the Egyptian Jewish community to spy for Israel. Some of them had training in explosives and carried out bombings in Cairo and Alexandria. Neither was Israel’s finest hour. But they are not the reasons only 3 Jews – all women over 70 — remain in Cairo.

Another time our bus was passing Cairo University Hospital. Our guide proudly told us that this hospital was the best hospital in the Middle East. Then he added, seemingly as an afterthought, “By the Middle East, I mean Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria”.

Our guide is a wonderful person. We were with him for 13 days and toured Egypt extensively with him. He knew that my wife and I were Jewish, and that I am a rabbi. He treated us with the same love, consideration, and care that he treated everybody on the trip. I cannot fault him for not knowing more about the Ben Ezra Synagogue. He is an expert in ancient Egypt. One cannot know everything. And I cannot fault him about his view of Israel. A recent study found that 87% of the opinion pieces in Egypt’s state-controlled media portray Israel negatively. 29% of opinion and commentary articles mentioning Jews contain antisemitic content. When one grows up and lives in such an environment, what else can one think?