Deputy leader of Egypt's dwindling and aging Jewish community buried

Egyptian Jewish community leader, Magda Haroun, mourns during the funeral ceremony of his sister Nadia Haroun, outside the Jewish synagogue, Shaar Hashamayim in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Haroun, the deputy head of the dwindling Jewish community in Egypt, died of a heart attack last week. She was 59. Haroun, among the youngest in the aging and shrinking community, was a lawyer and an architect. (AP Photo/Ahmed Gomaa) (The Associated Press)

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An Egyptian woman mourns during the funeral ceremony of Nadia Haroun, at the Jewish synagogue, Shaar Hashamayim in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Haroun, the deputy head of the dwindling Jewish community in Egypt, died of a heart attack last week. She was 59. Haroun, among the youngest in the aging and shrinking community, was a lawyer and an architect. (AP Photo/Ahmed Gomaa) (The Associated Press)

Egyptians carry the coffin of Nadia Haroun, the deputy head of the dwindling Jewish community, outside the Jewish synagogue, Shaar Hashamayim in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Haroun, died of a heart attack last week. She was 59. Haroun, among the youngest in the aging and shrinking community, was a lawyer and an architect. (AP Photo/Ahmed Gomaa) (The Associated Press)

CAIRO – The deputy head of Egypt's dwindling Jewish community has been buried.

Nadia Haroun, lawyer and architect, was 59.

Haroun's sister Magda, leader of the community, led the ceremony in Cairo's downtown Gates of Heaven Synagogue Tuesday. It was attended by a handful of the remaining members of the aging community along with several Egyptian public figures.

Longtime friend Nevin Amin said Haroun died Thursday of a heart attack. She is survived by a son and daughter.

Most of Egypt's once-thriving Jewish community left more than 60 years ago. Today, less than 40 remain.

Haroun was a daughter of prominent politician Chehata Haroun, known for his anti-Zionist politics. He defended Egyptian Jews against accusations that they had more loyalty to Israel than Egypt, at the peak of the Mideast wars.