Elise Mirna Legziel was born in Benghazi in 1939, into a Jewish family with deep roots in Libya, but with historical ties to the Jewish communities of Livorno and Istanbul. In a context marked by colonial rule, the family embraced Italian culture while holding French passports, which they had acquired in the nineteenth century through their commercial relations with France.
Elise Mirna’s early years were marked by instability and uncertainty. Her birth coincided with World War II, which disrupted the country. The situation for Jewish communities worsened with the introduction of fascist racial laws, which imposed increasingly severe restrictions and discrimination. Adding to this were violent military clashes that turned Benghazi into a battlefield, as the city was repeatedly contested between Italian and British forces. This atmosphere of danger and instability forced the Legziel family to leave Libya in search of safety abroad. In 1941, the family followed the retreating British army to Egypt, staying first in an assembly camp in Alexandria, then in Cairo, and eventually moving to Palestine.
We lived in Tel Aviv, on Rehov Dizengoff, in a nice wooden shack
Trascrizione
Elise Mirna Legziel: I was born at the end of 1939, just as World War II broke out. I know that in 1941, we fled Libya because the Germans were advancing, and the British were retreating toward Egypt. So, we followed the British. First, we went to Egypt, to Cairo, where we stayed for several months, and then to Palestine for nine months. We lived in Tel Aviv, on Rehov [Street] Dizengoff, in a nice wooden shack. Then we returned to Egypt, where my father contracted typhoid fever. After he recovered, we returned to Benghazi to see what had happened to our belongings and homes. We found our houses looted, but at least the buildings were still standing.
The Legziel family returned to Benghazi in 1943, after the Allies conquered Libya and the British occupation began. This period brought significant changes for the local Jewish community, supported by the arrival of Palestinian Jewish soldiers serving in the British army. These soldiers, along with international Jewish organizations like the Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee), played a crucial role in reconstructing the Libyan Jewish communities, providing aid to those in need and helping to reorganize social and religious life.
In addition to providing material aid, the soldiers organized educational programs, teaching Hebrew and promoting ‘aliyah (emigration to the Land of Israel) as part of the Zionist awakening. For a year, Elise Mirna attended a Jewish school that the soldiers had founded, but her parents later decided to enroll her in an Italian school, anticipating possible emigration to Italy.
Most of the Jews of Benghazi left in 1948
Trascrizione
Elise Mirna Legziel: [My father] told us how ‘aliyah was organized because most of the Jews of Benghazi left in 1948, after the founding of the State of Israel, with the help of the Joint. Speaking of the Joint, I remember that after the war, when we returned to Benghazi and there was very little to eat, packages from the Joint would arrive with clothing and food: the famous Dutch Gouda cheese and cod liver oil, which all of us children were forced to drink. That horrible cod liver oil remedied many situations. I must say the Joint helped us a lot, as did the Sochnut [Jewish Agency]. The soldiers of the Jewish Brigade came to Libya to organize the mass aliyah of the Jews of Benghazi. I’m not sure how it was in Tripoli. They worked as quickly as possible because they understood that the longer Jews stayed there, the greater the risks they faced. Almost all the Jews of Benghazi left in 1948 —only two or three families remained, no more.
Jewish communities in Libya endured two devastating pogroms: one in 1945 and another in 1948. These events deeply affected the community and convinced many families, including the Legziels, to leave the country. In 1949, the family relocated to Italy, settling in Milan. There, Elise enrolled in the Jewish school on the Via Eupili, where she found a welcoming environment. Thanks to the support of her teachers and classmates, she integrated quickly and participated in the activities of Jewish scouting associations, which became an important touchstone in her life.
