Cemeterie Israelite
The Jews of Alexandria and its Cemetery
The cemetery in the neighborhood of Mazarita is one of the three Jewish cemeteries in Alexandria, Egypt; the two others can both be found in the neighborhood of Chatby . Though the cemetery’s records remain active from 1836 to 1954, the estimations for the date of this cemetery’s establishment remain incredibly broad, with most individuals simply narrowing it down to sometime prior to the eighteenth century (thus, prior to the rule of the Egyptian governor, Muhammad Ali) . On the whole, a bit of research on the cemetery uncovers the fact that the site remains, for historians, a site void of much concrete, historical information whatsoever. For this reason, exploring the potential historical context in which the site was brought up in, becomes particularly essential.
The Jewish historian Josephus has fortunately given us more clarity in the realm of the establishment of Alexandria’s Jewry. Jewish settlement in Alexandria began early in the third century B.C.E., and the community unsurprisingly harbors a rocky past, as the country has experienced an array of rulers, whether they be the ancient Greek rulers the Jews would have first met, or the Ottoman rulers of the early modern period, under which the Mazarita cemetery was most likely constructed.
As for numerous Jewish communities, patterns of harmony replaced with persecution resulted in constant population fluctuations. In exploring the potential time period of the cemetery’s birth, we find that this pattern held firm. In the epochs of Mamluk and Ottoman rule of Egypt, fifty years was enough to deliver shocking, debilitating transformations to the Jews; where the late 18th century brought the Jews the wrath of Napoleon’s financial and religious oppression, Muhammad Ali’s successes in the early 19th century carved out a place for the Jews in commerce, and Egypt’s financial progression on the whole.
Throughout the 20th century, it is likely that the Jewish community of Alexandria would discuss their position as an increasingly tenuous one. The same year that the cemetery’s records marked its last burial, tensions were heightening as President Abd al-Nasser rose to power alongside his rally cries of Arab nationalism; this nationalism being one that was never fond of the state of Israel [7]. This distaste did not stagnate amongst Israelis, but was rather transformed into an overarching suspicion against the Jews within Nasser’s own borders and beyond.
Today, with only a few, elderly female Jewish community members in Alexandria, and no Jew capable of the upkeep essential to keep these monuments alive [9], the cemetery of Mazarita does not serve many contemporary functions beyond that of a mourning site for both those community members buried there, and the historical memory it harbors.
If then, the Egyptian government finds itself lacking an interest in serving as the protectors of this Jewish site, an interesting phenomenon that occurred throughout the period of the destruction of the Alexandrian Jewry, will hopefully prompt a second thought. During the 20th century, the cemetery became increasingly attractive to historians, and not necessarily those with a focus on Jewish pasts. Excavations that began as early as 1902 revealed a hoard of both Ptolemaic and Roman tunnels, pottery, foundation-blocks, and so on. It is likely then that historians will be a driving force in the upkeep of this site in the future, as further exploration may bring further finds.