JERUSALEM (JTA) — Carmen Weinstein, the head of Egypt’s Jewish community, has died.
Weinstein died Saturday of “natural causes,” the French news agency AFP quoted a community member as saying. She was 84.
For nearly 20 years, Weinstein headed a Jewish community of only dozens of members, mostly 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 apartments owned by the Jewish community. Her conviction and three-year prison sentence were overturned.
Weinstein was a graduate of 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.
She will be buried in the Bassatine Jewish cemetery in Cairo, AFP reported.
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