In English: Seminarium - Egyptens judar

A conversation about Jewish Egypt - yesterday, today and tomorrow. Historian Yoram Meital talks to Magda Haroun, Samy Arie Ibrahim and Didier Frenkel, who all have personal experiences of caring for Jewish cultural heritage - that which remains in Cairo as well as that of those who had to leave Egypt. All panelists have contributed content to the Jews of Egypt exhibition.

Introduction by: Sofia Häggman Curator at the Mediterranean museum

13.00-13.30 Keynote speech by Yoram Meital (Please note! The lecture is given digitally) 13.30-14.00 Pause 14.00-15.30 Panel discussion including questions from the audience

Presentation of the participants

Keynote speaker: Yoram Meital is a professor of Middle East studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Parallel to his research on Jewish-Egyptian heritage, he has contributed with content to the exhibition on the Jews of Egypt

Panel:
Magda Harun Head of the Jewish Community in Cairo (JCC) and Director of the Haroun & Haroun Law Office, specializing in trademarking and registration. Since assuming leadership of Egypt’s dwindling Jewish community, she has made big strides in the preservation of the country’s Jewish heritage. She has revived the JCC’s Drop of Milk Association DOM), adding heritage preservation to its charter and gathered a core group of trusted members around her who volunteer with DOM to clean up synagogues, the Jewish cemetery, give tours to visitors and students, and organize celebrations of religious holidays and other events in the synagogues.

Samy Arie Ibrahim representative of the Drop of Milk Association, the oldest Jewish charity in Egypt. Has contributed with objects to the exhibition. He has served as deputy to the Head of the Jewish Community in Cairo (J.C.C.) since 2015 and in 2016 was appointed as Executive Director of The Drop of Milk Association, the J.C.C.’s N.G.O. for preservation and promotion of Egypt’s Jewish heritage. Both appointments are on a voluntary, non-compensated basis.

Didier Frenkel manages and organizes the archives and films left behind by the famous Frenkel brothers. Didier is the son of Shlomo, one of the Frenkel brothers who were forced to flee Egypt in the 1950s. Has contributed with objects to the exhibition.