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Mazarita Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt

Description

(Collection of images from the cemetery of Mazarita)

 

The Jews of Alexandria and its Cemetery

The cemetery in the neighborhood of Mazarita is one of the three Jewish cemeteries in Alexandria, Egypt; the two others can both be found in the neighborhood of Chatby [3]. Though the cemetery’s records remain active from 1836 to 1954, the estimations for the date of this cemetery’s establishment remain incredibly broad, with most individuals simply narrowing it down to sometime prior to the eighteenth century (thus, prior to the rule of the Egyptian governor, Muhammad Ali) [4]. On the whole, a bit of research on the cemetery uncovers the fact that the site remains, for historians, a site void of much concrete, historical information whatsoever. For this reason, exploring the potential historical context in which the site was brought up in, becomes particularly essential.

The Jewish historian Josephus has fortunately given us more clarity in the realm of the establishment of Alexandria’s Jewry. Jewish settlement in Alexandria began early in the third century B.C.E., and the community unsurprisingly harbors a rocky past, as the country has experienced an array of rulers, whether they be the ancient Greek rulers the Jews would have first met, or the Ottoman rulers of the early modern period, under which the Mazarita cemetery was most likely constructed [5].

As for numerous Jewish communities, patterns of harmony replaced with persecution resulted in constant population fluctuations. In exploring the potential time period of the cemetery’s birth, we find that this pattern held firm. In the epochs of Mamluk and Ottoman rule of Egypt, fifty years was enough to deliver shocking, debilitating transformations to the Jews; where the late 18th century brought the Jews the wrath of Napoleon’s financial and religious oppression, Muhammad Ali’s successes in the early 19th century carved out a place for the Jews in commerce, and Egypt’s financial progression on the whole [6].

Throughout the 20th century, it is likely that the Jewish community of Alexandria would discuss their position as an increasingly tenuous one. The same year that the cemetery’s records marked its last burial, tensions were heightening as President Abd al-Nasser rose to power alongside his rally cries of Arab nationalism; this nationalism being one that was never fond of the state of Israel [7]. This distaste did not stagnate amongst Israelis, but was rather transformed into an overarching suspicion against the Jews within Nasser’s own borders and beyond [8].

Today, with only a few, elderly female Jewish community members in Alexandria, and no Jew capable of the upkeep essential to keep these monuments alive [9], the cemetery of Mazarita does not serve many contemporary functions beyond that of a mourning site for both those community members buried there, and the historical memory it harbors.

If then, the Egyptian government finds itself lacking an interest in serving as the protectors of this Jewish site, an interesting phenomenon that occurred throughout the period of the destruction of the Alexandrian Jewry, will hopefully prompt a second thought. During the 20th century, the cemetery became increasingly attractive to historians, and not necessarily those with a focus on Jewish pasts. Excavations that began as early as 1902 revealed a hoard of both Ptolemaic and Roman tunnels, pottery, foundation-blocks, and so on. It is likely then that historians will be a driving force in the upkeep of this site in the future, as further exploration may bring further finds [10].

The Jews of Egypt

“It is difficult to think of Jewish history as in any way separable from Egypt”

          -Simon Schama

Ancient: The significance of the region of Egypt in piecing together the story of the Jews cannot be overstated. At the birth of Judaism, glory and transcendence was found in a rejection of Egypt, and the memories of foreign enslavement for those future-Israelites who, as the first testament explicates, had been freed from this land both by Moses and the law that had been bestowed upon him by YHWH. As the Bible has it, Jews could not be molded until their exodus from Egypt had been completed, and thus, “to go back to Egypt…was a fall, a descent to brazen idolatry” [11]. But, even so, for many Jews, this retreat to Egypt felt unavoidable when tragedies such as attacks by Assyrians or Babylonians devastated either the southern kingdom of Judah or the northern kingdom of Israel. It thus becomes clear that the land of Egypt has never really been free of a Jewish population; the young identity of the Jewish community that was developing on the Nile island of Elephantine was just as valid and essential as that development occurring amongst the Jews that had remained in Samarial and Judea. A symbol of this is found in the Temple erected in Elephantine. Though Jeremiah, the “weeping” prophet’s apprehensions concerning a return to Egypt rung clear with statements such as “’it shall come to pass that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt…and there you shall die’”, it is impossible to ignore the long history of refuge that this region has supplied. When Israel suffered, its Jews could find and be welcomed into established Jewish colonies which popped up in the ancient Egyptian cities of Tahpanhes, Memphis, and Pathros, for example [12].

Middle Ages: Due to the endless presence of Jews in Egypt, the region has served as an immense treasure trove for Jewish Historians, perhaps most notably so for scholar Solomon Schechter who, in the late 19th century, stumbled into a world of Jewish life in Egypt throughout medieval times. As a result of the Jewish tradition which keeps Jews from discarding any documents that have YHWH written on them [13], the Ben Ezra Synagogue located in current day Cairo, Egypt has become a massive archive of diverse Hebrew writings[14]. Its contents date from the 9th century and continue for around a thousand years. The manuscripts are in no way limited to religious text and scripture, rather they give an intimate look into the daily dealings of a Jewish community in Egypt (much of it involving life under a Muslim Caliphate), from children’s homework, to business documents, pleas for divorce, and so on [15]. The significance of these 10,000 manuscripts is striking. First of all, many of the documents prove the lack of authority that the Pact of Umar held in many cases [16]. For example, writing about the complexity of Jewish fashion directly opposes the rules based on Dhimmi dress in the Pact [17]. Secondly, business documents reveal how Jews and Muslims really did live intimately among one another, and that this coexistence obviously must have been peaceful enough to allow seemingly unfettered synagogue adherence. Lastly, the Cairo Geniza serves as an example of combatting the notion that Jewish history has always retained a lachrymose nature. These documents are windows into periods of mundane daily life prompted by periods of tolerance and extensive, integral relationships between Jews and Gentiles.

Modern: With the continued emphasis on the fact that Egypt isn’t quite itself without its Jewish population, and the Jewish community isn’t quite itself without Egypt, the reality of the current state of Egypt’s Jewry is both unfortunate and doleful. Following the 1948 war that involved Egypt and a newly declared state of Israel, Egypt’s Jewry could not continue to thrive as it had previously. Throughout approximately four years of conflict between Arab states and the state of Israel, 20,000 Jews fled Egypt. Occasional Egyptian aggression against its Jewish population, exemplified through the imprisonment of hundreds of Jews due to President Abd al-Nasser’s suspicion that they may be spies for Israel during both the Suez crisis of 1956 and the 1967 war, prompted a continued flow of Egyptian Jews to Israel [18]. Today, less than forty Jews remain in Egypt, most of which being elderly woman. Furthermore, with the recent death of the community leader, Nadia Haroun, a once flourishing minority is grasping desperately for survival [19].

Alexandria, Egypt