Videos

Every day, tens of thousands of students study the Mishneh Torah, The Guide for the Perplexed, and dozens of medical works written by Rambam, also known as Maimonides, one of the most famous Jewish scholars of all time. Born in 1138 in Muslim-ruled Spain, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon excelled in Torah study. Life for Sephardic Jews flourished in many ways under Islamic rule. However, after the Almohad Caliphate conquered Cordoba, his family, like many Spanish Jews, was forced to flee Spain. After moving throughout North Africa, they settled in Egypt in 1168. After the death of his brother, Maimonides chose to become a doctor to support his family. He made great contributions to the medical field, but even greater ones to religion. Following in the footsteps of Rabbi Saadia Gaon, the Rambam’s unique mind explored Jewish theology alongside Islamic and Greek philosophy. Although he is revered as one of the most brilliant Jewish minds today, Maimonides was not free from critique. However,this didn’t stop him from creating some of the most read Jewish texts in history.

Discover the Rambam's Synagogue (Shul) in the heart of the Khan el-Khalili souk in Cairo, Egypt. The Maimonides Synagogue, named after famed Jewish philosopher Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon also referred to by the acronym Rambam, is an historic synagogue located in the El Gamaliya neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt. The Rambam synagogue dates back to the 10th century and it is believed by some that Maimonides' original tomb is contained within the building. In March 2010, the Egyptian government completed the restoration of the current building.

Did you know that one of the most famous actresses in Egypt in the 1940s was Jewish? In her career, Leila Murad reached nearly unparalleled fame, and left her mark on Arabic music and cinema.

It was an invaluable piece of world heritage - found by accident. The archive known as the Cairo Genizah gives unique insight on the daily Jewish life in Egypt over the centuries. It is the most complete archive of a society from the medieval world.

It's one of the most famous and illuminating collections of ancient Jewish texts anywhere in the world, and yet for centuries, it lay hidden and forgotten - in a dusty attic in Cairo.

With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, hundreds of thousands of immigrants moved to Egypt, drawn by its promise of prosperity. Among them were many Jews who joined the established community, whose origins date back to the time of the Pyramids. Until 1956, the Egyptian Jewish community experienced its golden age, contributing in all fields. A new book, Jews of Egypt, tells you everything you need to know about the Jewish community – its organisation, demographics, movements and associations, synagogues, rabbis and prominent figures. The story is brought to life with many photographs, most as yet unpublished.

'4000 years of presence in Egypt - since Moses'. Up to the 1950s tens of thousands of Jews were living in Egypt. Following the wars with Israel, most Jews left the country. Magda Haroun, head of the Egyptian Jewish Community Council speaks in the empty Sha'ar-Hashamayim-Synagogue, describing the present situation of Jews in Egypt. She is worried about what will happen to the synagogues when the last Jews in Egypt have died.

In 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran brought a twenty-five- hundred-year-old history to a close for the Jews who left their homeland for America. Uncertain about their safety and fearing religious persecution in Khomeini's Islamic Theocracy, an estimated 80,000 of Iran's 100,000 Jews fled the country. This documentary tells the story of those Jews who reestablished a tight knit community in Los Angeles.

This program retraces the history of Jews in Egypt, their contribution to the political, economic, and artistic development of the country, and the decline of the community following the birth of the state of Israel. The presentation takes you on a virtual tour of Jewish Egypt today, to show what remains of this once illustrious community, including the rededication of the iconic Eliahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria.

After decades of decline that saw Egyptian Jewry nearly disappear, there are today just 20 Jews living in Egypt, from a population that reached 80,000 in 1948.