Community Register
Egypt, 1920-1925
Print, manuscript, Gelatin silver print
Museum collection
Must Know
Egyptian authorities began registering its Egyptian citizens at around 1925. Registers, unlike modern identification cards (ID), take the shape of a book where in each pages document the members of a community. The earliest forms of registers in Egypt date back to 1830 in Alexandria. Today only around 225 registers are known to still exist, containing some 60,000 pages where civil identity is documented including nationality, marriage or divorce.
Registers were of great importance for Jewish members of Egyptian communities as they were often the only proof of their Jewish identity, enabling them to enter into Jewish marriage or be granted a Jewish burial. This is especially important in maintaining a Jewish community in the Diaspora. Additionally, these registers are a rare insight into the thriving Jewish community of Egypt during the 1920s.
More Info
Some of Cairo’s remaining registers dating back to 1936 through 1947 are kept at the Yeshiva University in New York, United States. Other registers from Cairo but also from Alexandria are held at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem.
