Jewish Communities Through Time 300 BCE–Present

Egypt

Explore the documented population history of the Jewish community in Egypt, with source information and confidence indicators for each observation.

Earliest observation 5,000 1840

Latest observation 40 2014

Peak observation 75,000 1948

Recorded change -99.2% 1840 to 2014

Major centre of modern Egyptian Jewish communal, religious, commercial and institutional life.

Major historic Jewish community and an important centre of modern Egyptian Jewish life.

Population values reflect the available documented or estimated observations. Gaps between years should not be interpreted as continuous measurement.

300 BCE 300 CE 900 1500 Present

c. 5th century BCE–4th century CE Community

Jewish communities become established in ancient Egypt

Jewish communities were established in Egypt during antiquity, including the documented community at Elephantine and later major populations in Alexandria. Egyptian Jewry developed into one of the most important Jewish populations of the ancient Mediterranean world.

Source: Egypt — Jewish History

c. 3rd–2nd centuries BCE Scholarship

Alexandria becomes a major centre of Hellenistic Jewish culture

Alexandria developed one of the ancient world's most important Jewish communities. Its Greek-speaking Jewish population produced a distinctive Hellenistic Jewish culture associated with major intellectual and literary developments including the Greek translation of Jewish scripture.

Source: Alexandria

c. 641 Political

Arab conquest of Egypt

Egypt comes under Arab Muslim rule following the Byzantine period.

Source: The Maghrib and Egypt

969 Political

Foundation of Cairo

The Fatimid foundation of Cairo begins a new political era while nearby Fustat remains an important Jewish communal and commercial centre.

Source: Jewish Religious and Communal Organization

11th–13th centuries Community

Fustat as a major Jewish centre

Jewish communities in Fustat participated in extensive Mediterranean commercial religious and social networks documented by the Cairo Genizah.

Source: Searching for the Last Genizah Fragment in Late Ottoman Cairo

1165 Scholarship

Maimonides settles in Egypt

Maimonides settled in Egypt and became one of the most influential Jewish scholars and communal figures associated with medieval Fustat.

Source: Who Was Maimonides?

1250–1517 Community

Jewish communal life continues under Mamluk rule

Jewish communities continued in Cairo Alexandria and other Egyptian centres under Mamluk rule. Established communal institutions survived while Egyptian Jews experienced changing political economic and social conditions during the later medieval period.

Source: The Non-Muslim Communities: The Jewish Community

late 15th–early 16th centuries Migration

Sephardic refugees reshape Egyptian Jewish communities

Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal settled in Egypt following the Iberian expulsions and forced conversions. The newcomers joined older Arabic-speaking Karaite and other Jewish populations and became influential in Egyptian Jewish religious commercial and communal life.

Source: History of Egyptian Jewry

1517 Political

Ottoman conquest begins a new era for Egyptian Jewry

The Ottoman conquest incorporated Egypt into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Jewish merchants financiers administrators and scholars participated in the new political and economic environment while Sephardic immigrants became increasingly influential within Egyptian Jewish life.

Source: History of Egyptian Jewry

19th century Community

Economic modernization brings renewed Jewish growth

Reforms and economic development beginning under Muhammad Ali created new opportunities for Egypt's Jewish communities and attracted immigrants from elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Europe. Cairo and Alexandria expanded as Jewish commercial and institutional centres and modern forms of education developed.

Source: Egypt — Jewish History

1897 Scholarship

Cairo Genizah manuscripts reach Cambridge

Solomon Schechter brought a major collection of manuscripts from the Ben Ezra Synagogue Genizah to Cambridge for preservation and study.

Source: Searching for the Last Genizah Fragment in Late Ottoman Cairo

Early 20th century Community

Cairo and Alexandria flourish as Jewish centres

Cairo and Alexandria became major centres of a diverse modern Egyptian Jewish community with extensive religious commercial cultural and educational institutions.

Source: Colonial and Post-Colonial Jewries

1948 Persecution

War and increasing pressure on Egyptian Jews

The 1948 Arab-Israeli war was accompanied by arrests violence and growing political and social pressure affecting Egypt's Jewish population.

Source: The Consequences of 1948

1956–1957 Persecution

Suez Crisis and expulsions

Following the Suez Crisis Egyptian Jews experienced arrests property sequestration expulsions and other forms of pressure that accelerated the community's departure.

Source: Leaving Zion — Introduction

1967 Persecution

Six-Day War and renewed departures

The Six-Day War brought renewed detention and pressure on the remaining Jewish community and contributed to further departures from Egypt.

Source: The Exodus of Egyptian Jews between the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition

1973 Community

Jewish population falls to about 500

Demographic estimates indicate that only about 500 Jews remained in Egypt by 1973.

Source: World Jewish Population

2014 Community

Only a small Jewish community remains

Historical demographic research reports that Egypt's Jewish population had declined to roughly forty people by 2014.

Source: A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East

Origin

➤ Direction

Destination

Routes are geographic representations of documented movements and should not be interpreted as exact travel paths.

1956–1963 Mass_Migration

Post-Suez migration to Israel

Egypt Israel

Approximately 15,723 people

Jewish Agency-assisted emigrants whose final destination was Israel. This is an assisted-migration count, not the total number of Egyptian Jews who migrated to Israel during the period.

Source: The Postcolonial Migration State

1957–1959 Refugee_Resettlement

Egyptian Jewish refugees in France

Egypt France

JDC records document Egyptian Jewish refugees receiving aid in France after the 1956 Suez crisis. No precise total for this destination is assigned in this dataset.

Source: JDC Archives — Egyptian Jewish Refugees in France

Year	Population	Type	Confidence	Source
1840	5,000	historical_estimate	medium	—
1897	25,200	census	high	—
1917	59,581	census	high	—
1937	63,223	census	high	—
1948	75,000	historical_estimate	medium	Colonial and Post-Colonial Jewries
1955	42,500	demographic_estimate	medium	—
1960	8,561	census	high	Egypt Jewish population — post-1956 estimate
1973	500	demographic_estimate	high	World Jewish Population
2014	40	demographic_estimate	medium	A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East