A number of persons living in the United States, thoroughly familiar with the economic structure of Egypt, examined the published lists of 486 persons and firms whose properties were seized under Military Proclamation No.4. They attested that at least 95 per cent of them were Jews. It is noteworthy that these directives issued under Military Proclamation No.4 did not refer to properties owned by British and French subjects which were sequestered under Military Proclamation No.5 - also affecting a number of Jews - but exclusively refer to assets of Egyptian citizens, stateless Jews, and Jews of nationalities other than British and French. All in all, it is estimated that between November 1956 and March 1957 assets of at least 500 Jewish-owned firms were sequestered and their bank accounts frozen; 800 more enterprises under Jewish proprietorship were placed on an economic blacklist and their assets frozen.(11)
The persons and firms affected by this measure represented the bulk of the economic substance of Egyptian Jewry, the largest and most important enterprises, and the main sustenance, through voluntary contributions, of the Jewish religious, educational, social and welfare institutions in Egypt. The resulting paralysis of these institutions substantially aggravated the uprooting effect of the government's anti-Jewish policies and greatly intensified the pressure for Jews to leave the country.
In addition to depriving owners of their properties and income, the sequestration measures indirectly affected the livelihood of a much broader circle of Jews, those employed by firms placed under custodianship. It was reliably reported that all sequestered firms received instructions to discharge all employees of the Jewish faith and acted accordingly. Nor was the elimination of Jews from Egyptian economic life confined to sequestered firms and assets. There were other measures, mostly unofficial, which prevented a large, additional group of Jews from earning a living. For example, most Jews had already lost their positions in public companies and many private firms which were not subject to sequestration. At the same time, many Jews in independent private enterprises were prevented from doing business by the denial of trade permits, export and import licenses, foreign currency allocations, and other administrative facilities essential to the continuation of business. As a result, Jews were either forcibly excluded or voluntarily withdrawing from business. Likewise, a steadily growing number of Jewish physicians, lawyers and engineers were, by various means, prevented from practising their professions.(12)...
Egypt's policy of getting rid of its Jewish population was implemented through both expulsion and 'voluntary' emigration. But the two methods were not entirely distinct. It is estimated that as early as the end of November 1956 at least 500 Egyptian and stateless Jews had been expelled from Egypt, not including a considerable number of Jewish citizens of Britain and France. Most of the expellees were heads of families. They were ordered to leave the country within two to seven days. Whereas, in most cases, the individual served with a deportation order was responsible for supporting his family, all members of the family had to leave the country. Thus, this measure indirectly forced out of Egypt several times the number of those who received expulsion orders. However, official deportation orders were by no means the most effective instruments for thorough forced emigration. In fact, around the end of November 1956, direct, individual expulsion orders ceased, only to be replaced by the more subtle, potent techniques of intimidation and psychological warfare against the Jewish population as a whole. Under these pressures and the simultaneous economic harassment of Jews, a much larger and steadily growing emigration movement began. Jews 'voluntarily' obliged themselves, in formal declarations to the authorities, to leave the country and, in the case of Egyptian nationals, to relinquish their citizenship.(13)
Both the formal expulsion orders and the 'voluntary' pledges to expatriate oneself struck Jews of every status - citizens, stateless persons, and foreign subjects alike. All laissez-passer documents issued to them expressly stated that the person leaving Egypt would not be permitted to return, and that they voluntarily renounced all claims against Egypt.(14) More than 20,200 Jews emigrated between 22 November 1956 and 30 June 1957. In all, between 23,000 and 25,000 out of the 45,000 Jews were estimated to have left Egypt.(15) These included more than 6,000 (until June 1957) who left on ships chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) whose headquarters were in Geneva, with funds provided by the United Jewish Appeal.(16) The ICRC, as we shall see, rendered invaluable service in evacuating Jews unable to pay for their passage as well as in assisting needy Jews still in Egypt...
We have already seen that in November 1956 the regime modified its citizenship and nationality laws in order to keep Jews - and other minorities - from becoming Egyptian citizens. Then came the 1958 nationality law which included similar provisions and, while not specifically excluding non-Muslims from citizenship, was even more clearly of an ethnic-religious and political nature. It showed that the Nasser regime desired an Arab-Muslim country. Thus, Zakariyya Muhieddin, the Minister of the Interior, was permitted - by law - to accord 'Arab nationality' to aliens who have 'rendered eminent service to the State, to Arab nationalism or to the Arab fatherland', as well as to certain categories of people 'whose religion is Islam'.(30) The 1958 law emerged at the time when Egypt and Syria had combined under the name of the United Arab Republic (UAR), and was clearly a measure to promote Arab unity.
As for the Jews, the new law made it rather easy for Egypt to deprive any Egyptian Jew of citizenship at will. Whereas Article 18 of the November 1956 Law provided that 'Egyptian nationality may be declared forfeit by order of the Ministry of the Interior in the case of persons classified as Zionists', the new law was explicitly anti-Jewish. The new law was issued as a decree of the Minister of the Interior published in the Journal Officiel of 15 April 1958. Under the heading 'Prohibition of Access', it stipulated:
(Article - 8) Jews who possess ordinary or special residence as well as Jews deprived of Egyptian nationality will be inscribed, in case they depart from the country for good, on the list of persons to whom access to the national territory is denied. (Emphasis added - ML)...
In applying this measure, Egypt did not permit the return of British and French Jews who wanted to come back to look after their assets or for other reasons, although treaties had been signed with both Britain and France which ensure the fight of expellees to return. In fact, in August 1958, a Franco-Egyptian agreement was concluded in Zurich, providing for desequestration of, or reimbursement for, properties and businesses of French citizens expelled from Egypt. A similar agreement was signed in February 1959 with Britain. We also know of an Egyptian-Italian agreement regarding assets of Italian citizens.(31) Stateless Jews who left or were expelled were in a worse situation, since no government could or would present their case or negotiate on their behalf. They left behind assets estimated at $28 million.(32) Many Egyptian and stateless Jews who remained in Egypt, as we have seen, had their properties returned to them in 1957. Yet those who left were deprived of their assets.(33)
THE JUNE 1967 WAR AND ITS IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH: THE POSITION OF THE JEWS IN EGYPT 1967-70
Egypt's defeat in 1967 created serious problems for the remaining 2,500 Egyptian Jews. Two or three days after the start of the war, the police rounded up the great majority of Jewish males. Rumours circulated that Chief Rabbi Hayyim Douek and Albert Romano were under arrest and that Rabbi Jacques Nefussi of Alexandria had been imprisoned.(91) In all, at least 425 Jewish males were arrested. Within a week, 75 Jews of foreign nationality were taken from prison, packed into army trucks and driven directly from Cairo to Alexandria where they boarded ships together with non-Jewish foreigners who were leaving Egypt or being expelled.(92) Until 19 September 1968, Jews who had not been imprisoned were permitted to leave the country once they had renounced Egyptian citizenship and pledged never to return. They were obliged to leave all their assets behind. By the end of 1968, only 1,000 Jews remained.
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