These communities consisting of British, French, Greeks, Italians, Armenians, Maltese and Jews of Egyptian descent had been established in Egypt since the 19th century.
[2] The movement of the Mutamassirun ("Egyptianized"), which included the British and French, and also Jews, Greeks, Italians, Syro-Lebanese, and Armenians, began after World War I.
[4][5][6] Following the invasion of Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel in 1956, the new president Gamal Abdel Nasser enacted a set of sweeping regulations abolishing civil liberties while implementing targeted policies, allowing the state to stage mass arrests and strip away Egyptian citizenship from any group it desired.
In the early 19th century, Greek immigrants to Egypt began cultivating the country's cotton industry, which significantly benefited the Egyptian economy.
[2] Despite their departure, the legacy of the Egyptian Greeks continues to endure through cultural institutions, traditions, and the memories of those who once called Egypt home.
[10] By the early 1960s, over 40,000 Italians had left Egypt, mostly as "repatriates" or "national refugees," seeking refuge in Italy due to their ties to the country.
[12] The diminishing public activities of Egyptian Jews after the Palestine War (1948) and the Israeli Lavon Affair (1954) further fueled skepticism towards them and their role in Egypt's economy.
The operation involved a clandestine plan by Israel's military intelligence branch, Aman, to carry out false-flag attacks in Egypt.
[15] The operation commenced with bombings targeting post offices, a railway terminal, U.S. Information Agency libraries, and a British theater in Alexandria and Cairo.
[17] Many Egyptian Jews faced increased insecurity and were arrested during the Suez War, leading to a significant decrease in their numbers in the years following the conflict.
[12] Reasons for migration among Egyptian Jews included discontent, incidents of property damage supported by nationalist and Islamist slogans,[17] and the worsening attitudes towards them following the Palestine War and the Lavon Affair.
[20] The Armenian community in Egypt boasts a rich and storied history, characterized by its distinct language, churches, and social institutions.
However, the Armenian population in Egypt has experienced a decline over the years due to various factors, including migration to other countries and integration into broader Egyptian society.
Economically, Egyptian Armenians have often pursued self-employment as businessmen or craftsmen and tend to have higher levels of education compared to the national average.