Egypt's government applied physical and economic pressure on Jews to leave the country. In 1956-57, the government nationalized Jewish property, gaining assets totalling $2.5-billion
B'nai Brith Canada Launches Series in Tribute to Jews from Arab Lands
From the 1940s until the 1970s, and heightening with the founding of Israel in 1948, nearly 1-million Jews were expelled from their homes across Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Algeria and Iran.
In Egypt, the government arrested and charged Jews with being part of Zionist or Communist plots. They seized Jewish assets, businesses and property valued at $2.5 billion (U.S.) and set fire to the Jewish quarters in Cairo and Alexandria. In Syria, the Jewish community (which also dates back to Biblical times) was subjected to abuse and draconian laws. According to historian Martin Gilbert, Jews were “ forbidden to own radios or telephones, or to maintain postal contact with the outside world” and all Jewish properties were “confiscated by the state when the owners died.”