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Comboni College, Khartoum, Sudan

Description

A HISTORY OF JEWS IN THE SUDAN

Jewish history in the Sudan can be traced back to a small community formed in the late nineteenth century [2]. There were eight Sephardic families living in the Sudan under Turkish and Ottoman rule [2]. It is unknown how these families originated in the Sudan; however, they were free to practice Judaism throughout the mid-to-late 1800s until Ottoman rule was overthrown and the Sudanese Mahdiyya was established in 1885 [1]. Under Mahdist rule, the Sudanese Jewish community was forced to convert to Islam under threat of death [1]. In 1898, the British claimed the Sudan as a colony, opening up new trade and travel opportunities that brought more Jews into the country [2].

After British rule had been established, the eight Jewish families reverted to Judaism and were quickly joined by more Jewish families seeking new economic opportunities in the Sudan [3].  Many Jewish textile and silk merchants from all over the Middle East and North Africa settled along Nile River towns. 

In 1926, the community opened a synagogue on a central street in Khartoum. The Jewish community of the Sudan was overseen by the Egyptian Beth-Din (Jewish law courts) and the Moroccan Rabbi Malka. Between 1930 and 1950, the community reached its peak membership, with 250 families totaling around 1,000 Jews [4]. Though the community was spread out across four towns, it was tight-knit and centered around the synagogue in Khartoum.

The Sudan gained its independence in 1956; however, the Suez Crisis later that year contributed greatly to a rise in antisemitism. As antisemitism intensified, many community members began to leave the Sudan for Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland [6]. Much of the community had left by 1960. In 1967, Jewish men were arrested en masse, and Sudanese newspapers advocated for the arrest and torture of Jewish community leaders [6]. Jewish emigration intensified, and the last members of the Jewish community left Sudan in the early 1970s [5].

DESCRIPTION

Comboni College sits across the street from the Ohel Shelomo Synagogue in Khartoum. The synagogue was the center of the Sudanese Jewish community, and nearly every Jewish family would send their boys to school at Comboni [9]. 

Founded by Catholic missionaries in 1929, Comboni College was greeted with enthusiasm by the expatriate community in Khartoum, which was desperately in need of secondary schools [10]. The school was in the city center, across the street from the Jewish synagogue [11]. The college was immediately successful, expanding with new buildings to host their growing student population only four years later [10]. The institution prided itself on creating a community that was inclusive and accepting of students from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Students at Comboni College hailed from Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Greece, Italy, Palestine, Iraq, India, and Ethiopia [12] . English was the primary language of instruction, and Jewish and Muslim students were exempt from Catholic religious instruction [13].

Khartoum, Sudan

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