There are 600 Jews imprisoned on charges of “Zionism” in three camps in Egypt, it was learned here today on the basis of reports from the Arab state. At one time or another there have been more Jews in the camps, but some have been released because they are not of Egyptian nationality while others have been incarcerated.
The situation of some 50 of the Jews in one camp is particularly bad. The detention center, at El Tor, is crowded with 1,400 persons. The food is miserable and the guards are brutal. The temperature varies from 116 degrees at mid-day to almost freezing at night. There is no regular water supply and the inmates of the camp must dig holes in the ground in search of water. Sanitary facilities are primitive and most of the prisoners suffer from dysentery; there is no hospital and only one nurse for the entire camp.
The situation of the prisoners in the other two camps–at Aboukir and Huckstup–is much better. The food is fairly decent and the guards do not mistreat the prisoners. It is from the camp at Huckstup that the 50 “dangerous” alleged Zionists were transferred to El Tor.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
