*

*

MOTOR COACH TOURS - AIR AND CRUISE TRAVEL

* WE HAVE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY INSURANCE *

I TORONTO THEATRE * *

I

"RAGTIME" (LIMITED RUN)

DON'T MISS IT!!
Feb. 7-9 & Mar. 7-9

* FLORIDA CIRCLE TOUR
*
* (Daytona, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Key *
* * West, Venice, Clearwater & Ocala)
*

* * MEALS, HOTELS, ATTRACTIONS! *
$279 * * FEB. 23-MARCH 8
$1,119

"BLAME IT ON THE MOVIES"

* *
* AGAWA CANYON SNOW TRAIN *

Croswell Opera House - Adrian, MI : * & KEWADIN CASINO (SAULT
*
(Lunch at "Hathaway House")
* * STE. MARIE)
*
Feb. 23 or Mar. 2
$59*
*
* Jan. 24-26; Jan. 31-Feb 2;
$275 *
"SHOWBOAT" - Masonic Temple * * Feb. 7-9
* *
Mar. 26; Apr. 13 & May 7
*
"FABERGE IN AMERICA"
Eat at Mario's!
Fr. $93* * Cleveland, Ohio
*
*
* *
*
"CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL"
* * April 5 or 6
$55 *
*
April
12-13
$179
*
Hamilton, Ont.
*
March 20-21
$155* * "RED, HOT AND BLUE"
*
* * Cornwell's Dinner Theater
"ITZHAK PERLMAN
*
*
Lansing - pr. 12-13
$154 * * Marshall, MI
$59 *
Meals, Capitol, Museum, Tour * * March 2

*

*
*
* REMEMBER, NOT ALL TRAVEL AGENCIES ARE CREATED EQUAL! *
* LET BERKLEY TOURS CRUISE & TRAVEL DEPT. SHOW YOU WHY! *
* "COSTA VICTORIA" (NEW SHIP!) Mar. 23-30
Fr. $1,101
* HAWAII — March 15-22 '97
Fr. $2,666 *
*
*
* * Spring Cruise/Tour May 18 (10 Days) ALASKA
*
Fr. $2,585 *

* Fall Color Cruise/Tour Aug. 23 (13 Days)

Fr. $2,999 *

CALL US TO BOOK HMHF, KEY TOUR, CRUISES, ETC. —WE ARE A FULL SERVICE TRAVEL AGENCY! *

*
* COME TO OUR JAN. 21 OR JAN. 22 "CRUISE SHOW" (R.S.V.P. ONLY! *
*
*
Prices p.p. dbl. occ. Group Discounts.

BERKLEY TOURS AND TRAVEL, INC.

559-8620 OR 1-800-875-TOUR (8687)

PASSOVER 1997

41 grr.

Volleyball
Basketball
Jogging Trail
Golf & Tennis

DORAL.

♦ Olympic-sized
Swimming Pool
♦ Lake Fishing
♦ Bicycle Rentals

GOLF RLSORT AND SPA

Unlimited Access to the World Famous Spa at Doral

MORE than just luxury...elegance!

GOLF & SPA

Luxurious Accommodations • 3 Glatt Kosher Meals Daily

Conducted & Private Seder Services • Synagogue on Premises

Entertainment • Lectures & Torah Study • Complimentary Tea Room
Supervised Children's Programs • Cocktail Parties • Much More

Universal Kosher Tours

e="‘
Universal Kosher Tours

E-Mail

to: UKT@IX.NETCOM.COM
Website: hap://www.gloweb.com/UKT

15 Front Street, P.O. Box 1050
Rockville Centre, NY 11571.1050
(516) 766.5140
Toll Frce-U.S. & Canada (800) 221.2791

Passover

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Islands

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Dorado, Puerto Rico • Cuisine by Levana

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Full Array of Resort Activities
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medicalldentalllegal
seminars available.

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(800) 950-1240

(outside NY) or

(718) 332-3900

B-- y our edia

with the

EBRATION CONNECT

DIRECTORY

in our Classified Section

AIRLINE TICKETS
from DETROIT
ROUNDTRIP valid

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TEL AVIV

$629 TILL 3/31

TEL AVIV

$990 4/8-6/13

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$1170 6/14-8/11

TEL AVIV $990 8/12-0a.

ATHENS

$850 Summer

LONDON

$612 Summer

PARIS

$730 Summer

CALIFORNIA $250 All Year

PHOENIX

$176 All Year

ITALY

$868 Summer

HONOLULU $560 Mid Week

AND MORE!

Rate excludes tax and are
subject to change.

Okemos Travel
800-798-7040

Traditional.
Spiritual.
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MIAMI, FLORIDA
April 21-30, 1997

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DISCOUNTED

PHOTO BY JACK HAZU T

•

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OUR WINTER
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ISRAEL

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(810) FLY EL-AL

Shar Hashamim Synagogue in Cairo.

The Vanished Jews
Of Cairo, Egypt

KAREN KOTZMANN AND JACK HAZUT SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

I

t is sad to think about the

great Jewish communities of
the past that have all but van-
ished, leaving us only their
legacies. Many of these thriving
communities existed within Arab
countries and contributed a great
deal to Jewish tradition and
scholarship.
Coming from an Israeli fami-
ly with its roots in such soil, I
grew up with tales of life as a Jew
in a Muslim country. In talking
with my parents, I became in-
terested in what has become of
the synagogues and the people
who remain behind. Now that it
is possible to travel to Egypt, I de-
cided to visit the Jewish commu-
nity in Cairo.
Before World War II, there
were 150,000 Jews living in
Egypt. The largest congregations
were in the cities of Alexandria
and Cairo, which had a Jewish
population of 80,000. The Ot-
toman Turks, who ruled Egypt
from the 1500s, protected the
Jews, finding their internation-
al family connections and lan-
guage skills useful in trade and
finance. In the Turks' far-flung
empire where many languages
existed, Jews were important as
bankers and customs collectors.
The Cairo community's afflu-
ence grew in its secure state and
it was able to develop institutions
that assisted the larger populace
as well, through schools and hos-
pitals. Major trading families de-
veloped charitable organizations
that were principally for the less
fortunate of Jews but also spread
their assistance to their neigh-
bors.
All this came to a halt during
the war years with the rise in
Egyptian nationalism. Jews were
arrested and their property tak-
en away. Most of the prominent

Jewish families left Cairo after
the war of 1948 between Israel
and Egypt.
Today, only one congregation
of 80 exists, mostly elderly, peo-
ple left behind as the younger
generation left the country. Shar
Hashamim Synagogue is situat-
ed in the new city of Cairo. The
building blends into the residen-
tial neighborhood where it re-
sides, so much so that it was
difficult to find until I noticed the
Jewish stars that adorned each
corner of the building.
Egyptian soldiers guard the
building and clear each visitor
through a checkpoint. I present-
ed them with my passport and
asked them to direct me to the
caretaker. They pointed the way
around the back of the building
as assured me that I would find
her there.
I found her in the synagogue
office, sitting behind the desk.
She was a tiny, elderly woman,
wearing a scarf over her head
and a plain, dark dress. She re-
minded me of my grandmother.
I asked her to tell me something
about the building and the Jew-
ish people in Cairo today.
"There are very few of us left
here now and there is no one
younger than 60," she told me.
"We can barely make a minyan
on the High Holidays and that
with foreigners coming from the
Israeli Embassy."
She cares for the synagogue,
opening the doors for the few
faithful and making sure that it
is swept and clean. In exchange
for this service, she lives in a
room within the building. She
has never married and has no
family left in Cairo.
She opened the sanctuary for
me to view and to take pictures.
The hall is enormous, able to hold