Cicurel was born in Smyrna , in the Ottoman Empire , and was Jewish . His father was Moreno Cicurel , and he had two brothers , Solomon and Joseph . The family immigrated from Smyrna ( today , Izmir , Turkey , to Cairo , Egypt in 1870 . He was educated in Switzerland . His father first opened a textile store in Cairo , and then a department store Au Petit Bazaar , which eventually became Les Grand Magasins Cicurel , a grand emporium . After their father died in 1919 , the three sons ran the family business . Solomon was stabbed to death at home in his bed in Cairo in March 1927 . Following his brothers ' deaths , Salvator led the family business , owning Les Grands Magasins Cicurel & Oreco S.A.E. , which was a favorite shopping destination for the Egyptian royal family . . In addition to his prowess in fencing , he was also an elite Egyptian golfer . In 1933 , his niece , Solomon Cicurel ’s daughter Lili , married Pierre Mendès France who later became Prime Minister of France from 1954-55 . He was a leader of the Cairo Jewish community in the first half of the 20th century . He was President of the Cairo Sephardic Jewish Community Council from 1946-57 . In a meeting with the American Jewish Committee in New York in October 1948 , as the President of Cairo 's Sephardi Jewish community , he stated his belief about the 1948 Cairo bombings “ the recent anti-Jewish outbreaks … were connected with the existence of Israel and the defeats of the Egyptian Army there . ” During the 1956 Suez Crisis his store was placed under government control . After the war , Cicurel was forced to sell his interest to Egyptian Muslims , and he emigrated to Paris , France in 1957
1948 Cairo bombings
1948 Cairo bombings
Salvator Cicurel