Jewish Club hosted Dr. Elliot Abemayor (Charles ’26) to share his childhood experience of being exiled from his home in Egypt during the Nasser regime April 25 during lunch. Abemayor detailed the process of leaving Egypt and compared the antisemitism he encountered then to the antisemitism he currently sees today.

With the Egyptian government’s move to nationalize the Suez Canal in 1956, the Nasser regime forced all Jewish families to leave Egypt. Abemayor said he spoke about his experience to make sure students learned the full history of the Suez Crisis.

“Truth is in history, but history is not the truth,” Abemayor said. “I can tell you about the Suez Crisis without mentioning expulsion or nationalism. It would still be the story of the Suez Crisis, but that story would not be the truth. You have to discern what’s narrative from what’s true, and the only way to do that is to educate yourselves.”

Charles Abemayor ’26, who attended his father’s presentation, said the event was important because it introduced students to a topic in history that is often overlooked.

“My dad’s story is not familiar to many high school students,” Charles Abemayor said. “We learn about Eastern Europe and we try to follow the present-day situation in the Middle East, but many people don’t know about the Suez War, the Nasser regime and how Jews became political exiles as a result.”

Hudson Phillips ’27 said she was surprised that Elliot Abemayor’s story is not commonly shared, since it is a significant event for the Jewish people.

“I didn’t know about the Jewish expulsion during the Suez Crisis, but now I see that it’s clearly an important event,” Phillips said. “I was shocked that so little of the Nasser regime has been talked about, even though it is so representative of themes throughout Jewish history.”

Charles Abemayor said he values the way his family prospered despite the hardship they faced.

“I hope the audience was able to see that people can find success even after so much tragedy and unwanted change,” Charles Abemayor said. “I always learn something from my dad, and his talk gave me even more perspective on the experience of having to leave his home and livelihood because of his religion.”