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Vitali Madjar Synagogue at Cairo, Egypt
Originally founded in 1917 by the philanthropist Vitali Madjar, the community erected this glorious synagogue in the middle-class Cairo suburb of Heliopolis in 1924. [1, 2] Located on El Missalah Street, this temple once served a very active Jewish community. The synagogue was adjacent to not only the highly regarded Abram Btesh Jewish community school but a home for older Jewish citizens as well. [3] Because of its proximity to the School, the synagogue is often referred to as the Btesh Synagogue. [4] Little is known about the synagogue’s founder other than that he was a Sephardic Jew who was born in Istanbul in 1868. Sometime in the following decades, he moved to Egypt. [5]
Description
Located just off of the busy thoroughfare of Nazih Khalifa, the Italianate Vitali Madjar Synagogue sits in the middle of the throbbing Cairo neighborhood of Heliopolis. [6] This area was once a middle-class suburb of the big city, but has since merged with Cairo and is now one of the most affluent areas of the Egyptian capital. The entrance to the grand stone building is lined with rich wooden panels. A quick left turn leads to the entrance of the vast main sanctuary. [7] Featuring a large domed ceiling, hanging chandeliers, decorative columns, and arched aisleways, this synagogue is a breathtaking example of Sephardic architecture. The beautiful stone bimah (pulpit) looks across the sanctuary at the steps leading to the rich wooden door of the ark. [8] The incredibly high ceilings leave plenty of room for the large women’s balcony and a section for the choir which was present on Shabbat and Holidays. “The Vitali Madjar synagogue was renovated in 2017, but its inaugural ceremony was canceled after the US moved its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018.” [9]
School and Controversy
Founded in 1928 by Abram Btesh of the Anglo-Egyptian Cotton Company, the Abram Btesh Jewish Community School is located adjacent to the Vitali Madjar Synagogue in the Heliopolis district of Cairo. [10] The school featured a curriculum that included Hebrew and other Jewish studies, though the majority of the subjects were taught in French. [11] As a result, graduates of the school were not often fluent in Hebrew [12]. Most of the families who attended the school were considered traditional, but not overly religious. They attended synagogue and celebrated rights of passage, but considered themselves cosmopolitan. [13] According to former student Robert Khalifa, during the war, the school served as a detention center. [14]
In July of 2010, the president of the Cairene Jewish community was convicted of property fraud for attempting to sell the school building. [15] The property was owned by the community and the court accused Carmen Weinstein, the president, of selling the property without legal authority. [16] Tried in Absentia, she was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail. [17] Today, the site of the school and the synagogue remain in the hands of the rapidly dwindling Jewish community of Cairo. [18]
Sources
Notes
[1] Mathilde Tagger, comp., “An Index of Jews from Egypt Prior to 1938,” accessed June 25, 2018, http://www.sephardicstudies.org/pdf/Egyptian-Jews.pdf.
[2] “JCC President Interviewed,” Bassitine News, no. 37, November 2013, accessed June 25, 2018, http://bassatine.net/bassa37.php.
[3] Levana Zamir, The golden era of ‘the Jews of Egypt’ and the Mediterranean option for a united Middle East, (University of Haifa, 2008), accessed June 25, 2018.
[4] “JCC President Interviewed.”
[5] Mathilde Tagger, comp., “Prominent Sephardic Jews living in Egypt in 1942 and 1943,” Annuiare des Juifs de Juifs d’Egypte, 1942 &1943, (Societe des ditions Historiques Juives), http://www.sephardicstudies.org/pdf/egyptjews.pdf.
[6] Andrew Baker, “Op-Ed: For Carmen, preserve Jewish heritage in Egypt,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 23, 2013, accessed June 25, 2018, https://www.jta.org/2013/04/23/news-opinion/opinion/op-ed-for-carmen-preserve-jewish-heritage-in-egypt.
[7] DiarnaInfo, “Sanctuary Video Tour, Vitali Madjar Synagogue, Cairo, Egypt, 2017,” Youtube, December 27, 2017, accessed June 15, 2018. https://youtu.be/OFEqpzzjFTc.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Floris Bosscher, “Homecoming: Alexandria’s synagogue hosts Egypt’s largest Jewish prayers in decades,” The Times of Israel, February 15, 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/homecoming-alexandria-synagogue-hosts-egypts-largest-jewish-prayers-in-decades/.
[10] “JCC President Interviewed.”
[11] Joel Beinin, The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005), accessed June 25, 2018.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Robert Khalifa, interview transcript, Sephardi Voices. https://sephardivoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Robert_Khalifa.html.
[15] Sarah Mishkin, “Undersold,” Tablet Magazine, September 21, 2010, accessed June 25, 2018, https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/45162/undersold.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
Works Cited
Baker, Andrew. “Op-Ed: For Carmen, preserve Jewish heritage in Egypt.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 23, 2013, accessed June 25, 2018, https://www.jta.org/2013/04/23/news-opinion/opinion/op-ed-for-carmen-preserve-jewish-heritage-in-egypt.
Beinin, Joel. The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora. (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005), accessed June 25, 2018.
Bosscher, Floris. “Homecoming: Alexandria’s synagogue hosts Egypt’s largest Jewish prayers in decades.” The Times of Israel, February 15, 2020. https://www.timesofisrael.com/homecoming-alexandria-synagogue-hosts-egypts-largest-jewish-prayers-in-decades/.
DiarnaInfo. “Sanctuary Video Tour, Vitali Madjar Synagogue, Cairo, Egypt, 2017.” Youtube. December 27, 2017. Accessed June 15, 2018. https://youtu.be/OFEqpzzjFTc.
Tagger, Mathilde, comp. “An Index of Jews from Egypt Prior to 1938.” Accessed June 25, 2018. http://www.sephardicstudies.org/pdf/Egyptian-Jews.pdf.
Tagger, Mathilde. “Prominent Sephardic Jews living in Egypt in 1942 and 1943.” Annuiare des Juifs de Juifs d’Egypte, 1942 &1943. Societe des ditions Historiques Juives. http://www.sephardicstudies.org/pdf/egyptjews.pdf.
“JCC President Interviewed.” Bassatine News, November 2013. Accessed June 25, 2018. http://bassatine.net/bassa37.php.
Khalifa, Robert. “Robert Khalifa.” Interview transcript. Sephardi Voices. https://sephardivoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Robert_Khalifa.html.
Mishkin, Sarah. “Undersold.” Tablet Magazine, September 21, 2010. Accessed June 25, 2018. https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/45162/undersold.
Zamir, Levana. The golden era of ‘the Jews of Egypt’ and the Mediterranean option for a united Middle East. (University of Haifa, 2008), accessed June 25, 2018.