ABSTRACT
At the inception of the State of Israel, there were about 90,000— 100,000 Jews in Egypt. Most of them lived in Cairo (around 50,000) and Alexandria (around 30,000). The rest were divided between Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. Only a, few hundred resided permanently in villages or small cities. Most of them were engaged in traditional Jewish professions: e.g. wholesale and retail trade, liberal professions, banking, teaching, clerical work, handicrafts. The majority were average middle class and lived quite comfortably. Only a few accumulated great wealth and belonged to the economic and political elite. On the other hand, a few thousand were in a difficult economic situation (not to say poor) and lived very modestly. They concentrated mainly in the Jewish quarters in Cairo and Alexandria (Haret al Yahoud) in the heart of the Muslim working-class districts.
