Summary
Al-Kalim (The spokesperson — the Arabic term refers to Moses), the Arabic bimonthly of Egypt’s Karaite community, published by the Young Karaite Jewish Association from 1937 and appearing regularly until 1956; in The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry it is the principal evidence that “the Karaite community was deeply imbued with Egyptian Arab culture while remaining fully Jewish in its own terms” (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 534-574).
Details
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The Young Karaite Jewish Association (YKJA) was formed in 1937 by educated youth seeking a modern identity for their community; al-Kalim promoted its program of communal reform, including the study of Hebrew and modern forms of sociability — the Karaite boy scout troop, the Karaite youth orchestra, theater performances, sports activities, and outings of young men and women to the Pyramids, Saqqara, the Barrages and Ma’adi — and campaigned to improve the status of women (Chapter 2, note 33). Maurice Shammas, a protégé of Murad Farag, wrote for al-Kalim after writing for the Rabbanite Arabic newspaper al-Shams in 1946–48, before emigrating to Israel in 1951 (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 87-109, 534-574).
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Its editor Eli Amin Lisha’ criticized the Karaites’ social isolation, reproached Tuvia Babovitch for failing to visit the newly appointed shaykh of al-Azhar in 1946 or to greet King Faruq when he returned to Cairo, and urged the community to participate in Egyptian national holidays “because our Egyptian citizenship requires this” — to win the affection of “our Egyptian brothers” (Chapter 2, note 35). Lisha’ acknowledged that “some have French or Russian citizenship even though they and their fathers have never left the country, and this is because citizenship used to be sold, and a Karaite may have bought it though he is 100 percent Egyptian” (wa-huwa masri lahman wa-daman) (Chapter 2, note 45) (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 534-574).
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The front page often featured the cartoon figure “Abu Ya’qub” — the Jewish counterpart of ‘al-Misri Effendi, the symbol of the modern, educated Egyptian nationalist — sometimes shown arm in arm with him; the paper repeatedly referred to Karaites as “abna’ al-balad” (sons of the country). It noted proudly that Karaite dialect and usage were indistinguishable from those of other Cairenes (note 36), used Arabic rather than Hebrew names even for contested localities — “Nablus” (Shkhem), “al-Quds al-sharif” (Jerusalem), “Filastin” (note 37) — and published poetry in colloquial Egyptian (zagal), “an art commonly considered a marker of cultural authenticity” (note 38) (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 534-574).
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Its editor-in-chief, Yusuf Kamal, was the son of Da’ud Husni (1870–1937), a major figure in modern Arabic music; each year on the anniversary of his death al-Kalim celebrated Husni’s artistic accomplishments, sometimes reprinting articles from other Arabic publications affirming the nationalist contribution of his music (note 40). On the October 1949 citizenship certification incident, Kamal affirmed the Karaite court judges were Egyptians, said certificates were difficult to obtain “for reasons not hidden from anyone,” and advised the government to expedite certification for all Egyptians regardless of religion (note 44) (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 534-574).
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On the communal courts, al-Kalim reprinted an article from al-Ahram arguing that these courts were not an Ottoman innovation but “a valid Islamic institution established in the time of the Prophet” (note 43). The book cautions that there is “probably a measure of defensiveness” in al-Kalim’s representation, since articles stressing the community’s Egyptian character appeared after threatening events (the November 2, 1945 Balfour Declaration anniversary riots; May 15, 1948) — “But many such articles were unconnected to any crisis,” and as an Arabic publication and “the only organ of the Karaite community from 1945 to 1956,” it gave substance to the claim (note 46) (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 534-574).
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In Chapter 3, al-Kalim is the only Jewish communal periodical still publishing after 1948; its November 1949 article protested that Jews born in Egypt, even some of families resident continually for 500 years, had difficulty establishing their citizenship and obtaining passports (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 1219-1221).
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After the June 20, 1948 bombing of the Karaite quarter, reports and commentary in al-Kalim were heavily censored, and the editors left blank spaces in several issues to protest the government’s handling of the incident and the censorship (Chapter 3, note 22) (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 1187-1189).
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Much of its May 16, 1951 issue was devoted to celebrating the wedding of King Faruq and Narriman Sadiq, printing a qasida by Murad Farag and colloquial azgal [as printed] by two other poets, avoiding any hint of the public’s disgust at Faruq — a demonstrative loyalty that was itself an expression of the community’s Arabic cultural affinity (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 1221-1222).
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Its pre-1948 articles on the Karaite quarter’s condition, proposing the communal council seek paving and street lights or that residents carry them out themselves, are contrasted in Chapter 3 with al-Ahram’s later language of state stewardship over a dependent population (The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, lines 1234-1237).
Related pages
The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora, Karaites, Murad Farag, Tuvia Babovitch