Michael David Lukas article in The Forward

Michael David Lukas, Program Coordinator at UC Berkeley’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies and acclaimed novelist, has published a piece in The Forward on the history of Egyptian Jews.

"Radical empathy is, for many people, the heart of the Passover seder. But in our current political moment — a moment characterized by bombastic rhetoric and Manichean worldviews — it’s worth remembering that we were more than just slaves in Egypt.

For most of the past millennium, Egyptian Jews lived alongside Muslims and Christians in relative harmony. Yes, we may have been slaves in Egypt. But we were also doctors and tailors, midwives, merchants and scholars."

Read more: https://forward.com/culture/397911/passover-jews-in-egypt-coexisted-with-muslims-christians/

Michael David Lukas is the author of the recently published "The Last Watchman of Old Cairo."