8 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, August 3, 1979 Jewish Community `Slowly Dying in Alexandria CASH ron JEWELS Highest dollars paid for your diamonds, gold, or antique jewelry!!! CALL FOR APPOINIMENT )1 851-7333 Lisc. by State of Mich T.N. rant, . moo 5 . 1 ALEXANDRIA (JTA) — A little old man with clear blue eyes interrupted the flow of conversation sud- denly and asked: Is there a way to bring Jews here?" For a moment it seemed as if he was joking. Sitting at the quiet Eliahu Hanavia Synagogue shortly after Premier Menahem Begin held the mincha prayer last week, one might have ex- pected a different question, about prospects of allowing the 250 Jews of Alexandria to immigrate to Israel or at least come for a visit. The main concern of Elli Danon, 75, was the future of the PTHE SOURCE FOR ALL WINDOW COVERINGS With Competitive Prices On Quality Products And A Reputation That Speaks For Itself FREE ESTIMATES Since 1952 HURTIG INTERIORS 559-8209 CUSTOM DRAPES VERTICAL and SLIMLINE BLINDS PLASTIC VIEW "SEE THRJ" SHADES - WOVEN WOODS MOVING? Priced Sale of Household Contents Conducted In Your Home Estates Liquidated EDMUND FRANK & CO. Liquidators and Appraisers 368-4044 875-7650 Jewish community in Alexandria. He wants it to survive after him, but he can see plainly that it_ is slowly dying. The Jews of Alexandria do not suffer because of the government nor their Arab neighbors, said Danon. It is time that is their worst enemy. The rabbi is almost 90, "and he is not of much use. We have to accept him, as they say in Frei-loll, for the mieux" — the time be- ing. Danon describes him- self as a "Yom Kippur Jew." Although he is one of the six members of the local Council, he does not care much for religious ceremonies. Perhaps this is the reason that he speaks in very down to earth terms. He mentions the beautiful 19th Century synagogue, the old-age home the community main- tains and other buildings and says: "All these are worth millions. What will become of them when we disappear? Something should be done." He does not know, though, just what should be done. "Perhaps they should send -us rabbis. . . . Perhaps we can turn the old-age home into a rabbinical sem- inary." He does not know who would teach there but then he says, "I could give them free lessons of law." Danon is a member of the first graduating class of the Hebrew University Law School in 1924. When Act- ing Foreign Minister Butros Ghali of Egypt was once asked about him, he re- We Are In Our Final Rental Phase OVER 75% OCCUPANCY! 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Now he lives on his pension, alone in an eight-room apartment in downtown Alexandria. A bachelor, he has no family in Egypt. He does not hold Egyp- tian citizenship but says he has no purpose in leav- _ ing the country. He is happy here with his friends, none of them Arabs. "I am the only Jew in the building. When I first moved in they were all Europeans but they have slowly moved out and now all my neighbors, as well as the landlord are Arabs. My landlord lives on the third floor. Once a year I go up to him, pay my rent in ad- vance, and that's it." His friends are either Jews, Italians or Greeks, remnants of the large Euro- pean community that used to live in Egypt. In the morning he meets in a coffee house with a group of pen- sioners and cracks jokes. In the evening he goes to the French Cultural Center. He is also a member of the At- talier, a center for artists and writers. He himself wrote three books in French. "I feel as a for- eigner," he admits, after almost 55 years in Egypt. We have a quiet peaceful life here," said Clement R. Setton, president of the Jewish community. "But it is boring. We feel too alone, too separated from the Jewish world." The Jewish community of Alexandria used to be one of the more flourishing Jewish communities outside of Is- rael. Jews first settled in Alexandria at the begin- ning of the Third Century BCE, according to Josephus Flavius, in the time of Ale- xander the Great. They have always been a driving force behind the city's economy, which as the country's main seaport, was based on trade with the out- side world. But in recent times the Jewish community suf- fered three waves of de- partures. On the out- break of Israel's War of Independence in 1948, re- lations with the Arabs worsened. Several Jews were placed in detention camps and there were several assaults 'on the Jewish community by the local population. A bomb was thrown into a synagogue in July 1951. Many_ left for Israel. When President Gamal Abdel Nasser assumed power in February 1954, many Jews were arrested on charges of Zionism, Communism and cur- rency smuggling. After the Sinai campaign in 1956, there was a large exodus of Egyptian Jews. The 1960 census showed only 2760 Jews in Alexan- dria of a community that once numbered 100,000 Jews. After the Six-Day War about 350 Jews ; includ- ing Chief Rabbi Nafusi, were interned in the Abu Za'Bal detention camp, known for its severe condi- tions. Today there . are only 100 men and 150 women; many of the men married non- Jewish women. "There is no Jewish life here," said Da- non. "Even though I am a member of the Council, I come here every fortnight." The benches in the synagogue are marked with the names of members oft community. Each Jew h his own seat, but they hardly ever occupy it. Danon carefully avoided any political comments. . Danon was well ac: quainted with Israeli poli- tics, although not quite up to date. Only minutes after Begin stood in the synagogue praying, Danon commented: "Abba Eban and the other group (Labor Alignment) deserve to take part in the peace process. They have worked on it for years." Danon observes the scene from afar, from the point of view of a Jew who has lived with Arabs most of his life. Yes, he would like to come to Jerusalem, visit the fam- ily, see the city he was born in — but he would not stay. He feels like a foreigner. But he wants to stay in Alexandria. His only real concern is the community, what will be- come of the community? Danon walks out of the synagogue, and poses for a photograph for the record, a little old man, with lively blue eyes, a symbol of a once great community that is slowly disappearing. JWB Prepares for High Holidays NEW YORK — The High Holy Days this year will be observed by U.S. Jewish military personnel and their families throughout the world through ar- rangements made by Jewish chaplains and the Jewish Welfare Board's Commission on Jewish Chaplaincy. "There are only 55 full- time Jewish military and Veterans Administration chaplains," sayd Rabbi Judah Nadich, commission chairman. "The commission will help mobilize civilian and reserve rabbis to con- duct Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services at every base where there are Jews." This year, Rosh Hashana will begin at sundown Sept. 21. Yom Kippur will begin at sundown Sept. 30. Both JWB's Commis- sion on Jewish Chap- laincy and JWB's Women's Organizations' Services have sent ship- ments of prayer books and prayer shawls, yar- mulkes, Torah scrolls, shofars, Jewish calen- dars and literature for use during Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah. Services will run the gamut for large assemblies in base chapels to small gatherings on isolated sites or ships at sea. The first services will take place on Guam, just across the International Date Line, and starting times will follow the sun. Pearl Harbor is the last to finish, its post-Yom Kippur shofar blast signaling the end of the High Holiday period. The Chaplaincy Commis- sion of JWB will work with the placement services of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Rab- binical Assembly and the Rabbinical Council of America in helping to ar- range civilian rabbinical coverage at the many mili- tary bases and VA facilities that lack permanent Jewish chaplains. Selihot Traditional prayers and liturgical melodies of the High Holy Days and Sukkot are avail- able on three commission- produced tape cassettes. "While ambulatory patients generally attend hospital services," Rabbi Nadich notes, "the cas- settes are often played over VA hospital net- works so that bedridden Jewish patients can par- ticipate as well." Jewish chaplains arrange spe- cial "break-the-fast" suppers for those patients who fast on Yom Kippur. Holiday leave policy for Jewish servicemen is tradi- tionally liberal. Those serv- icemen who can't get home for the holidays are offered home hospitality by local Jewish families. Single milk and women are often gue&W of military families on their bases. Local Jewish communal organizations cooperate in holiday arrangements with the Jewish chaplains, the JWB Chaplaincy Commis- sion and JWB's Women's Organizations' Services. Gelb to Chair Conference CLEVELAND — Victor Gelb of Cleveland has been selected as chairman of the United Jewish Appeal East Central Region Leadership Conference which will be held at the Marriett East Hotel in Cleveland from Oc- tober 19-21.