Education and activities of a jewish Rabbi

Haim Nahum Effendi (1872-1960)Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Egypt
By Victor D. Sanua, Ph.D.
Rabbi Nahum (the title "Effendi" was a Turkish title of honor within the Ottoman Empire), who was born in 1872 near Izmir in Turkey, received an extraordinarily broad education before ascending to the Chief Rabbinate. After being sent by his parents to receive a traditional religious education at a yeshiva in the holy city of Tiberias, he later went to a French Lycee for his secondary education and then obtained a degree in Muslim law in the Turkish capital city of Constantinople (now Istanbul). Thereafter, he traveled to Paris in order to attend rabbinical school and to receive his ordination. Simultaneously with his rabbinical studies, he attended the Sorbonne's School of Oriental Languages, where he perfected his linguistic abilities and also studied history and philosophy.
Upon his return to Istanbul Rabbi Nahum occupied various teaching positions including an instructorship at the Turkish Military School. There, he became familiar with the leaders of the "Young Turk" revolution, a movement which sought to modernize and strengthen the centuries-old Ottoman Turkish Empire. He was invited to serve as the Chief Rabbi of Turkey and was an adviser to the Turkish delegation during peace negotiations with European powers following World War I.
In 1923, Rabbi Nahum received an invitation from Moise Cattaoui Pacha, head of the Jewish community in Cairo, to become the Chief Rabbi of Egypt.The rabbi was appointed to serve as a Senator in the nation's Legislative Assembly and helped to found the Royal Academy of the Arabic language. One of his major scholarly works, commissioned by the King himself, was to translate into French all of the Ottoman Turkish firmans (Imperial decrees and laws) which had been sent to the rulers of Egypt since the 16th century when Egypt had first passed under Ottoman imperial rule.
From Egypt Rabbi Nahum was also active in international affairs, establishing contacts between Jews throughout the world.
Ethopia convincing they r Jew:
Early in his rabbinical career he visited Ethiopia and, convinced that the "Falashas" were Jews, arranged to have a few brought to Egypt and educated there
The Zionist movement and Zionist youth groups, which sought to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine, had indeed gained many adherents in Cairo and Alexandria, but Jews found themselves accused whether they had been active in the movement or not. Large numbers of individuals were arrested and interned for alleged Zionist activity. Jewish businesses were sequestered, Jewish bank accounts frozen, and exit visas could only be approved by a special government Agency for Jewish Affairs.
During Israel's War of Independence, he was also asked to have prayers recited at all of Egypt's synagogues for the victory of Egyptian forces. These orders he refused to follow at all.
A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul: The Formative Years, 1453-1566
By Minna Rozen
Published by BRILL, 2002
http://books.google.com/books?id=efdCXhvgB8EC&pg=PA201&lpg=PA201&dq=Nahum+efendi&source=web&ots=Kt9Pq_5gKV&sig=ohVb1MWTYJlhNVkEmq-hMr04Kb4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result
http://www.sephardicstudies.org/haim.html