Bar Kokhba Jewish Society

Founded in Cairo in 1896 by Joseph Marco Baruch (1872–1899), the Bar Kokhba Jewish Society was the first formal Zionist organization in Egypt—indeed, in the islamic world in general. Its membership included Arabic-speaking, Ladino-speaking, and Ashkenazic Jews alike; by 1901, it had opened branches in other Egyptian cities. It disbanded in 1904 due to the challenges of internal politics, but its alumni continued to have prominent roles in Zionist activism and the Egyptian Jewish community.