Jbws Fight in Egyptian Army

The following report by Peter Hopkirk, printed in The Times of June os throws an interesting light on the charge that Nasser would liquidate all Jews in Israel if he were victorious: Among massed Egyptian forces confronting Israel in Sinai and Gaza there are almost certainly Jewish soldiers, I learned today. Whether there are any in the actual front line, presumably manned by regular troops, it is not possible to say, but like other Egyptians over the age of 19, young Jews too have been called to the reserves. In the event of a war between Egypt and Israel, these could find themselves fighting fellow Jews on the battlefield. The very existence of a 2,600 strong Jewish community in Egypt may come as a surprise to many people, although it emphasizes a point the Egyptians never tire of making - that it is Israel they aim to destroy not the Jews. Like other minority groups here, Jews have full Egyptian citizenship, with equal rights and responsibilities. In the Cairo telephone directory alone I found 26 Cohens. The majority of the Jews live in a poorer quarter of the city. Ninety per cent of Jews living in Egypt today are Egyptian born and regard themselves as Egyptians, I was told today by Chief Rabbi Haim Douek. I talked with him and other leading Egyptian Jews in his office in the old part of Cairo. Behind his chair, on the wall, was a portrait of President Nasser. I asked him if Egyptian Jews encountered hostility from the rest of the community. "No", he said. "Of course, there are occasional incidents but you get these everywhere, even in England. But the Government does all it can to prevent them. Anyone found guilty of causing an incicent of this kind is punished." He had not heard of any . anti-Jewish incident since the present crisis began, he said. "Most of us have Muslim friends and neighbours," he said. Although their children went to state schools there was complete freedom of worship. There were 26 synagogues in Egypt.