Carmen Weinstein, head of Egypt’s Jewish community, dies
Published April 14, 2013
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Carmen Weinstein, the head of Egypt’s Jewish community, has died.
Weinstein died Saturday at the age of 84. She died of “natural causes,” the French news agency AFP quoted a community member as saying. She will be buried in the Bassatine Jewish cemetery in Cairo, the news agency reported.
For nearly 20 years, Weinstein headed a Jewish community of only dozens of members, most of whom are women. Elections will be held to name a new community head, a community member told AFP.
Weinstein was known for her efforts to preserve Egyptian synagogues, the Jewish cemetery in Cairo and other Jewish heritage sites in the country, according to reports.
In 2010 she was convicted of fraud for selling Jewish-community owned apartments. Her conviction and three-year prison sentence were later overturned.
Weinstein was a graduate of both Cairo University and the American University in Cairo where she studied literature, the Associated Press reported, citing a biography of Weinstein found on the community’s website.
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