Jewish Morocco

Set List - Jewish Musicians in North Africa at 78 RPM

2012-01-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

I had a great session at the JCC last night. Thank you to everyone for coming out. The next session is next Thursday, February 2nd. There was a request for the set list so I have included below. Also, I will be posting a piece on Jo Amar very soon so stay tuned.

Messaoud Habib (Tunisia)
Taksim Ochak
Columbia – Late 1920s?

Cheikh Zouzou (Algeria)
Ghnayet Bensoussan
Philips - 1938

Salim Halali (Algeria)
Bine Elbareh Oua L’youm
Pathe – 1937

Lili L’abassi (Algeria)
Ezhiro
RCA – 1940s

Samy Elmaghribi (Moroccco)
Hobb El Bnet
Pathe – 1948

Zohra El Fassia (Morocco)
Zraa Ouel Matar
Pathe - 1956

Samy Elmaghribi (Morocco)
Allah, Ouatani Oua-Soultani
Samyphone – 1959

Jo Amar (Morocco)
Wine Hbabi Wine Shab
R. Zaki – late 1950s (Israel)

Blond Blond Sings Samy Elmaghribi + Upcoming Gigs

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Lady, Your Robe is Open!

I'm heading out of town for the holidays but didn't want to leave everyone hanging. I just digitized the B side of the Blond Blond EP I posted for Hanukkah. This is Blond Blond performing Samy Elmaghribi's scandalous classic - Kouftanek Mahloul (your robe is open in Maghrebi Arabic). In this song, the singer flirts with a woman (Ya lalla - as you will hear throughout) who clearly belongs to someone else. This song has mythic origins and was rumored to be a response by Samy Elmaghribi to accusations that he was having an affair with a member of Morocco's royal family. He vehemently denied this and said that in fact almost the opposite was true - it was he who was being pursued! Whatever the truth is, this was his comeback and it packs a punch. Many a North African musician has performed this song but there is something about Blond Blond's delivery that just makes you want to dance. Go for it.

Blond Blond - Kouftanek Mahloul - Dounia 1278 (1970s) by CBSilver

Upcoming Shows

January 14 and 15 at Limmud NY

January 14: Sheikh it Baby: Arabic Music, Jewish Musicians
January 15: Israel's Arabic Singing Jewish Musicians

January 26 and February 2 at JCC Manhattan

January 26: Jewish Musicians in North Africa at 78 RPM: 1904–1956
February 2: The Untold Story of Israel's Arabic Singing Jewish Musicians

Finally, I will be in Los Angeles from January 18 - 22. If you have ideas for venues where I can spin this music, let me know / email me.

Happy Hannouka from Jewish Algeria and Blond Blond

2011-12-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

Albert Rouimi aka Blond Blond

I know it looks misspelled but El Bonco – Hannouka is one of the greatest Hanukkah songs that you’ve never heard – courtesy, of course, of the master Algerian Jewish singer BlondBlond. Albert Rouimi, who was given the moniker Blond Blond due to his Albinism, was born in 1919 in Oran, Algeria. From a young age he frequented the cafes that featured legendary Orani musicians like Saoud L’Oranais, Maurice ElMedioni’s father, and Reinette L’Oranaise. His influences ran across both sides of the Mediterranean, he was deeply affected by the music of Charles Trenet and Maurice Chevalier for example, and he found himself going back and forthbetween France and Algeria for much of his career. In 1937, he left for Parisonly to return to Oran two years later. It’s unclear how the rise of Vichy France played intothis but needless to say Blond Blond left Paris in 1939 and returned only after end of WorldWar II.

Back in Oran, he became known as l’Ambianceur for his uniquestyle of singing and his staccato-like spoken word that interspersed his music.While Blond Blond could make an audience laugh there was also no doubt that hewas truly a master musician with significant technical knowledge. He was fluentin the Andalusian repertoire, nailed it in French, commanded chaabi (especiallythe musical styling of Lili L’abassi) and pioneered the Francarabe style, amixture of French chansons and Arabic chaabi.

Blond Blond. Kouftanek Mahloul et El Bonco Hannouka. Dounia. #1278. 1970s

He released dozens of records throughout his career,including many on 78 rpm, and recorded for everyone from Pathe to Samyphone toDounia. He not only performed from his own work and with his own orchestra butalso collaborated with some of the finest musicians of his day like ReinetteL’Oranaise, Samy Elmaghribi and Line Monty.

Thanks to Phocéephone for this great digitization of BlondBlond’s El Bonco – Hannouka below. Notice that BlondBlond quickly switches languages at the beginning of the track and will do sothroughout including when he sings about Hanukkah. Listen carefully at the beginningwhen he sings, “le mazal c’est la chance.” Mazal is Hebrew for luck.

Blond Blond - El bonco Hannouka by Abiâd

Blond Blond was one of the few Jewish Algerian musiciansthat performed in Algeria post-independence and gave two memorable performancesat the Koutoubia music hall in Algiers in 1970 and 1974. Blond Blond, l’Ambianceur,died in 1999 at the age of 80.

Happy Hanukkah to everyone and please make sure to spreadthis around.

Simon Levy, Director of the Museum of Moroccan Judaism, Dies at 77

2011-12-02T10:05:00.001-05:00

Simon Levy at the Jewish Museum in Casablanca

I'm very sad to announce that Simon Levy, Secretary General of the Foundation and Director of the Museum of Moroccan Judaism, died last night at the age of 77. It is hard to imagine that this comes almost exactly a year after the death of Abraham Serfaty, another influential Jewish Moroccan. This is a tremendous loss for all who are interested in Moroccan Jewry. It should be noted that it was Simon Levy's dream to one day restore the El Fessain Synaogogue in Fez's mellah. I hope one day that this dream will be realized. Simon Levy's funeral will be held on Sunday, December 4th, 2011 at 3:00 pm at the Jewish cemetery in Ben Sik.

From Morocco World News:

http://moroccoworldnews.com/2011/12/simon-levy-sg-of-foundation-of-jewish-moroccan-cultural-heritage-passes-away/17397

December 2, 2011

Simon Levy, Secretary General of the Foundation of Jewish-Moroccan CulturalHeritage and the director of the Jewish Museum of Morocco, passed away onFriday morning at a hospital in Rabatfollowing a long illness, people. He was 77. Levy was Morocco’sforemost authority on Moroccan Jewish cultural. His work will continue to guidefuture generations, academia, and researchers all over the world.

Mr. Levy was born in Fezin 1934. He was a professor in the Spanish Department of Mohamed V Universityin Rabat since1971. Mr. Levy went to prison during Morocco’scolonization period because of his resistance to the French and demands togrant Moroccoindependence. Mr. Levy was also in prison during the years known as “Years ofLead” because of his demands to grant citizens more individual liberties andrights.

Mr. Levy was a leading figure and active member of Morocco’sCommunist party (which, later on, became known as PPS) in which he held key positionsfor more than 30 years (up until 2011). He was also the Secretary General ofMoroccan Judaism Foundation and the Director of its Museum in Casablanca (the only museum of this city).

Mr. Levy supported the Palestinian case and showed strong support towardsthe right of Palestinians to establish a sovereign and independent state. Mr.Levy was a major supporter of Mimouna Club since it was first set up in spring2007. In this sense, Mr. Levy has been present, kindly, and constantlyavailable to help the club organizes its events and use his contacts network toprovide any possible assistance to club’s mission.

"God, Country, King" in Song - The Music of Esther Elfassy, Albert Suissa & Samy Elmaghribi

2011-11-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

Morocco's motto: God, Country, King

From time to time I have small groups over at my apartment for listening sessions. These listening sessions allow me to share old recordings and the overall listening experience in an intimate setting while also providing me with a laboratory to demonstrate certain themes or try out new ideas. At a recent session, I decided to play some pieces that reflected the theme of “God, Country, King,” the official motto of Morocco. What I love about this theme is that it allows me to showcase some unexpected music from some well known artists including Esther Elfassy, Albert Suissa and Samy Elmaghribi. At first I thought that for readers / listeners familiar with Moroccan music and the role that Moroccan Jews played in the music industry that perhaps these tracks wouldn't be so unexpected but on second thought I'm not so sure. Even if the themes are expected - nationalist, religious - the singers, timing and styles aren't. A young Esther Elfassy singing about the oneness of God in haunting Arabic in Israel in the 1970s or Samy Elmaghribi singing a marche Marocaine shortly before his departure from Morocco - especially when contrasted with his other music.

Nonetheless this music is very different from what I have posted previously. Below I've including some biographical information on these three great singers and some of their dynamite tracks. As you'll see, there is some biographical information missing, especially with Esther and Albert. I would love for readers to help me fill in these gaps.

Esther Elfassy

Esther Elfassy performing in Paris

Esther Elfassy began recording for the Azoulay brothers under the Koliphone and Zakiphon labels in Israel in the early 1970s. She mostly recorded songs written by Moshe Ben Hamo but did also write some of her own work. She sang chaabi and incorporated some Hebrew in her music from time to time. What I love about her in many ways is her Arabic (of course in addition to her killer voice). She reminds us of course that Moroccan Jews have historically expressed even Jewish religious concepts in Arabic. One of my favorite tracks of hers is called Zoro El Kotel (Visiting the Western Wall in a combination of Maghrebi Arabic and Hebrew).


Esther Elfassy. Zakiphon. 1970s

The track below is religious / devotional in nature. It is a song about the oneness of God and the repetitiveness is rhythmic. Judging from some of her other work and her picture, it's not what one would expect from her but that's what I love about it.

Esther Elfassy - Elwahid houwa Alah - Koliphone by CBSilver

Albert Suissa

Albert Suissa performing at a Bar Mitzvah celebration in Morocco. 1950s

Albert Suissa was a giant of Moroccan music. He recorded dozens of records (including many 78s) for a half dozen labels including N. Sabbah, Casaphone, Boussiphone, Koliphone and Zakiphon. He was a killer singer and oudist.

Albert Suissa. Koliphone. 1960s

Below is a song called Hasan Tani Ala Slamtic Sidna. Suissa uses the honorific "sidna" for King Hassan II, a Moroccan title used for royalty and the exaltation of saintly figures. The song pulls you in from the very beginning. The song in many ways is about power and protection and conveys both those feelings from the start through pounding singing and instrumentals. Check it out below.

Albert Suissa - Hasan Tani Ala Slamtic Sidna - Zakiphon by CBSilver

Samy Elmaghribi

Advertisement for Samyphone records. Le Voix des Communautés (Rabat, published 1950-1963). March 1, 1963, pg. 3.

I'm not going to give his entire bio here but needless to Samy Elmaghribi was one of the all time great Moroccan musicians. At the height of his popularity there wasn't a person in Morocco who didn't know his name or who hadn't heard heard his music. Even to this day, mention the name Samy Elmaghribi in Morocco and elsewhere and you will get a big smile.

Samy Elmaghribi (center with oud) signing records after a performance

Born Solomon Amzalleg in the coastal city of Safi in 1922, he was already a singing sensation by the 1940s and throughout the course of his early career he recorded dozens of 78 records for Pathe. In 1955-56, he established his own record label Samyphone and by 1959 he had moved to France. He sang in a variety of styles including in the various Moroccan and Algerian Andalusian traditions, his own sometimes scandalously secular work and classic popular tunes. By 1962 the Azoulay family began exclusively distributing Samy Elmaghribi's recordings under the Koliphone and Zakiphon labels. The Azoulays were also the first to bring Samy to Israel to perform and managed his career there. In 1967 he settled in Montreal, served as the cantor at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue and continued to perform around the world. In 1987 he moved to Ashdod, Israel where he lived until 1996 when he returned to Montreal. He died on Mary 9, 2008 at the age of 86.

The track below is one side of one of his rare Samyphone 78s and his 8th release on his label. It is an upbeat anthem that invokes the Moroccan motto of God, Country, King. He sounds young here but nonetheless is clearly in command of his band known affectionately as "Samy's boys." Here he sings in praise of all things nationalist Moroccan - the Moroccan military, King Mohammed V, King Hassan II and of course the people. Listen to it a couple of times - it's much different than anything you've heard him sing.

Samy Elmaghribi. Samyphone. 1956

Samy Elmaghribi - Allah, Ouatani Oua-Soultani - Samyphone (78 rpm) by CBSilver

Between Forgetting and Remembering: Charli Elmaghribi and the Other Artists

2011-11-04T10:50:00.001-04:00

I recently read a comment on a Youtube video that stirred something inside me. If I recall correctly, the video was of an old recording of the great Moroccan oudist Sliman Elmaghribi. After watching the video I scrolled down to see that one commenter on the video was looking for more information on Sliman. Another commenter said something to the effect of: “It’s sad that barely a generation after many of these artists have passed away…no one remembers them.” In many ways, I feel the same sentiment but in other ways when I look at my own record collection or meet other collectors I realize that not all is lost. Perhaps it just needs to be gathered.

It seems that in every generation North African music is forgotten, rediscovered and recovered to some extent. To get a sense of this historically, I recommend reading Jonathan Glasser’s excellent work on the concept of Andalusian musical patrimony in Algeria in the early 1900s. I have to say that these preservers of this patrimony, whoever it belongs to, often did and continue to do a decent job. There is hoarding to be sure and reluctance to share but thanks to the work of individual ranging from Edmond Nathan Yafil in Algeria to Rafael Azoulay in Israel to Tounsi El Kahlaoui in France, a good deal of North African music is out there somewhere, in some form, waiting to be rediscovered and ripe for new listeners. When I speak about this music publicly, I often ask myself the rhetorical question, “Why does any of this matter?” My first answer - and in many ways the best answer - is that this music is good. It moves the listener. Like that video, it stirs something inside us. For a moment, we share space and time with musicians who gave their heart and soul to this craft and thus it is a part of us.

Charli Elmaghribi (third from left). Le Guerre de Yom Kipour. Koliphone. 1973

I say all this because I want to share some music of a lesser known artist whose work begs to be rediscovered. There are a number of artists who I make frequent mention of on this blog due to how talented they were, how prolific they were and to my dismay how quickly I feel they have been relegated to historical amnesia. But we must remember them because for every Zohra El Fassia there was an Esther Elfassy - also talented, prolific but who likely came of singing age in a different time (the 1970s) and the wrong place (Israel and not Morocco or other parts of the Maghreb) and thus didn’t have the same chances of success. And so for every Jo Amar there was a Sami Amar and for every Samy Elmaghribi there was a Charli Elmaghribi.

Charli Elmaghribi. Koliphone. 1980s.

Charli Elmaghribi recorded for Koliphone/Zakiphon from at least the early 1970s. He is a fantastic oudist and has a distinct voice. He performs everything from Algerian to Moroccan and Andalusian to piyyutim. I want to thank my fellow collector Eilon for pointing out this Youtube video of Charli Elmaghribi in Morocco that seems to date from the late 1980s or early 1990s.

I have digitized the first side of a Charli Elmaghribi cassette from the early 1980s. The little background information I know on Charli is that he is still alive and performing and lives in France. He comes to Israel throughout the year to perform. I wish I could tell you more (his real last name, the city he hails from in Morocco, who his musical influences were) but for now his name and music will have to suffice.I want to stress one more thing.

Charli Elmaghribi - Yamslmin kalbi - Koliphone by CBSilver

Charli Elmaghribi - Ya kalbi chali el hal - Koliphone by CBSilver

In case of I haven’t made this abundantly clear; much of this music still exists in the Azoulay brother’s shop in Jaffa. I strongly recommend stopping there on your next trip to Israel and purchasing what you can before this music once again becomes lost to time.

Jewish Morocco Now on Twitter!

2011-10-12T11:49:00.000-04:00

Follow Jewish Morocco on Twitter for more updates, photos and links to music. Also, stay tuned for a dynamite upcoming post on Samy Elmaghribi, Esther Elfassy and Albert Suissa.

Follow @JewishMorocco

Raoul Journo, Memories of Tunisian Jewish Music and Kol Nidre

2011-10-03T08:59:00.001-04:00

It is impossible to ignore the influence of Algerian andTunisian music on Moroccan music and vice versa. That is why in the years Ihave been collecting records, I have moved from focusing only on Moroccan musicproduced in Israel to Moroccan music in general and on to Algerian and Tunisianas well. I have also concentratedon North African Arabic music as performed by Jews but when I’m so moved I alsowill pick up something performed in Hebrew or even Aramaic like Kol Nidre.

Raoul Journo et Alain Scetbon. Kol Nidre: Chantent à l’orientale 3 mélodieshébraïques.

FestivalRecords (FX45-1543). 1970s

So today, Jewish Morocco goes to Tunisia via France. I havedigitized both sides of a Raoul Journo and Alain Scetbon EP entitled Kol Nidre: Chantent à l’orientale 3 mélodieshébraïques produced by FestivalRecords (FX45-1543) in France circa 1970s. Raoul Journo and Alain Scetbon are accompaniedby Victor Zeitoun on the qanun. “This record represents the first time thatRaoul Journo and Alain Scetbon have performed together,” says the liner noteson the back cover of the record. Journo and Scetbon use the “most authenticTunisian synagogue melody and thus this disc is an indisputable document.” Thenotes also express hope that the talent of the musicians on this disc might“rescue from oblivion the important cultural wealth of the once prosperousNorth African Jewish communities.”

Raoul Journo was born in 1911 in Tunis, Tunisia to a Jewishfamily. By his twenties he was already recording for Polyphon and Pathe. Heleft Tunisia in 1965, a full 9 years after Tunisian independence, and latercontinued to record for Pathe, Dounia, Bel Air and others. He was truly one ofthe greatest Tunisian vocalists, if not thegreatest, of the modern era. It is said that the Egyptian singer Mohammed AbdelWahab sought him out frequently and even attended his concert at the Olympia inParis. Raoul Journo died in 2001 and is buried in Jerusalem.

Alain Scetbon, also known as Rabbi Mikhael-Alain Scetbon,was another Tunisian-born singer known for his piyyutim while Victor Zeitoun,the qanoun player on this EP, was also born in Tunisia. There are somefantastic Youtube recordings of Alain Scetbon out there but I have seen littleto nothing written of Victor Zeitoun. I will work on getting some informationon him. It always amazes me that only a few years after the deaths of many ofthese great musicians, so little is written about them. I hope in some smallway that this blog can contribute to their memory.

The first side of this record is the Kol Nidre prayer. KolNidre is recited every Yom Kippur and is one of the most awe-inspiring (andcontroversial) pieces of Jewish liturgy. It is most often described ashaunting. This is a very different Kol Nidre. It is less haunting, morerhythmic and to me more spiritually uplifting. The qanun accompaniment isincredibly powerful. Listen to Raoul Journo, Alain Scetbon and Victor Zeitoun performKol Nidre here.

Raoul Journo et Alain Scetbon. Kol Nidre (Festival Records - FX45-1543). 1970s. by CBSilver

The second side is two different prayers – Kilou Nahi and IlNora Alila. Kilou Nahi is a hymn to the glory of God and his reign while IlNora Alila (also El Nora Alila) is apiyyut, a liturgical acrostic poem set to music, which is part of the closingNeilah service for Yom Kippur. Listen to Raoul Journo, Alain Scetbon and VictorZeitoun perform Kilou Nahi and Il Nora Alila here.

Raoul Journo et Alain Scetbon. Kilou Nahi, Il Nora Alila (Festival Records - FX45-1543). 1970s. by CBSilver

New Jewish Morocco Books, Resources and Music

2011-09-12T00:16:00.000-04:00

Books

A number of new, important books have been published recently that deserve the attention of anybody interested in Jewish Morocco.

The first is Jewish Culture and Society in North Africa, an edited volume put together by two top scholars - Emily Gottreich at Berkeley and Daniel Schroeter at Minnesota. Of particular interest is Abdellah Larhmaid’s Jewish Identity and Landownership in the Sous Region of Morocco, Aomar Boum’s Southern Moroccan Jewry between the Colonial Manufacture of Knowledge and the Postcolonial Historiographical Silence, Susan Miller’s Making Tangier Modern: Ethnicity and Urban Development, 1880-1930 and Stacy Holden’s Muslim and Jewish Interaction in Moroccan Meat Markets, 1873-1912.

The volume also contains valuable chapters on Algeria and Tunisia. Hadj Miliani’s Crosscurrents: Trajectories of Algerian Jewish Artists and Men of Culture since the End of the Nineteenth Century will provide readers of this blog with familiar names of Algerian musicians from the first half of the 20^th century and is a welcome scholarly addition to this field although it also feels very much like the beginning of research rather than the culmination of efforts. Jewish Culture and Society North Africa will also serve as a welcome companion to the volume The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times edited by Reeva Spector Simon, Michael Laskier and Sara Reguer.

Brill recently released The Martyrdom of a Moroccan Jewish Saint by Sharon Vance, a contributor to Jewish Culture and Society in North Africa. I have not had a chance to read this yet but I have included a description of the book below:

Tomb of Sol Hatchuel, Fez Jewish Cemetery, 2008 (c)

This work gathers texts that tell the story of the martyrdom of Sol Hatchuel, a young Jewish girl from Tangier, who was executed in Fez in 1834. It discusses narratives in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Spanish, French and Spanish written in the first century after her death, placing them in historical and literary historical context and showing how authors in each language interpreted her martyrdom. The book also includes a historical analysis of the event itself in the context of Moroccan and Moroccan Jewish history in the 19th Century.

Resources

The Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center at Beit Hatefusot in Tel Aviv recently received a donation from the Raphael and Georgette Cohen Collection of Family Trees of a searchable database of 22,000+ individual names, organized in family trees, of Jewish families from Meknes, Morocco. The link has been included below.

Music

I also want to draw your attention to Jonathan Ward’s excellent new four CD set Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM. Ward of Excavated Shellac fame (the excellent 78 rpm blog he runs) has incorporated a number of rare tracks by Jewish North African artists on the first CD including Sassi, Cheikh Zouzou, Cheikh Elafrit, Messaoud Habib and Zohra El Fassia. The CD set is now available for pre-order.

Links

To access a complete list of Jewish Morocco books, click here.

To purchase Jewish Culture and Society in North Africa, click here.

To purchase The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times, click here.

To purchase The Martyrdom of a Moroccan Jewish Saint, click here.

To access the Meknes database, click here.

To pre-order Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM, click here, and make sure to check out Excavated Shellac.

Death of Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, Memories of Tafilalt and Cheikh Mwijo

2011-08-02T09:12:00.000-04:00

The new Jewish cemetery in Rissani (2008)

The tragic news of the murder of Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira, grandson of the Baba Sali, in Be'er Sheva, Israel last Friday, July 29 brought back memories of my travels in Tafilalt where in a way this story really begins. Tafilalt is the area of southern Morocco that borders the Sahara where the Abuhatzeira dynasty originally hails from. The area includes the shrine of Rabbi Shmuel Abuhatzeira, cousin of the Baba Sali, in Erfoud, the remnants of the historic Jewish communities of Ghirlane and other villages and of course the original home of the Baba Sali in Rissani. I'm going to write more about Erfoud, Ghirlane and Rissani in an upcoming post but first I want to start with the figure of the Baba Sali and some music that will help situate this story.

As you will recall from a post I put up in January, Cheikh Mwijo, the legendary singer from Meknes, and the Abuhatzeira family have long had a history. At the time I recounted the following, "First, it should be noted that Mwijo has a number of songs that exalt Moroccan tzaddiqim. One of these songs is a tribute to Rabbi Yaakov Abu Hasira, the grandfather of the Baba Sali, who died on a pilgrimage to the Land of Israel and was buried in the Nile Delta in Egypt. Abu Hasira’s tomb became a site of pilgrimage and has recently attracted media attention due to local Egyptian opposition to the annual influx of Israelis and Jews. When the Baba Sali caught wind of this song and of Cheikh Mwijo he invited Mwijo to visit him in Netivot in the Negev. Mwijo couldn’t make the journey from Kiryat Ata right away but eventually would come to pay his respects. The Baba Sali couldn’t understand how Mwijo knew so much about his grandfather. Mwijo revealed to the Baba Sali that he was a Meknesi at which point the Baba Sali exclaimed that everything now made sense as Meknes was a city of great torah scholars. To honor Mwijo, Baba Sali asked Mwijo to drink arak from the same cup as Rabbi Y. Abu Hasira, his grandfather (it was unclear whether the cup was used by his grandfather or if the arak had actually been partially consumed by his grandfather). Mwijo drank dutifully but was forced to hold his nose while doing so for he hated arak. As Mwijo told this story animatedly, I remembered the arak I had left in the car and thought that somehow the Baba Sali must have been watching over me."

I have digitized Cheikh Mwijo's Rabb Abouhassira off of his 14th LP. It dates from the 1970s. It is fascinating ode to the Baba Sali and his grandfather and recounts, in Judeo-Arabic, the history of the Abuhatzeira family and the Jews of the Sahara.

Cheikh Mwijo. Rabb Abouhassira. #14. Koliphone. 1970s

Take a listen.

Rabb Abouhassira - Cheikh Mwijo (Koliphone, 1970s) by CBSilver

Videos from the Tahala Jewish Cemetery

2011-07-27T11:10:00.000-04:00

I've added a couple of short videos from the Tahala Jewish cemetery. If anyone has any updates on the status of the cemetery, please send my way. It is surreal to once again see these videos after having been away from the region for too long.

Here is some of what I wrote back in October 2008:

I arrived in Tahala and quickly found an amicable old man who pointed me in the right direction. Tahala is a small village about 15 km outside of Tafraoute. It was a Saturday and even quieter than usual. If I saw anyone around I asked them to point me in the direction of the cemetery and the happily did so. I finally arrived to a construction site. The Moroccan equivalent of a McMansion was being built in Tahala and seriously blemished the landscape. The construction workers motioned me forward past the site and to what looked like construction materials at first glance. But at second glance it was much more than construction materials. It was the remnant of the Tahala Jewish cemetery...

...There were about 12-15 visible graves with visible, clearly written Hebrew on about 6 of the graves. Some of the graves lied under construction materials and many had been destroyed. There was broken pottery, mostly tagine lids, strewn about and a good number of the graves that were still in good condition had been desecrated from the top. A number of people I have spoken to on this matter seem to think that local Berber traditions have identified Jewish cemeteries as sources of certain powers and the broken pottery and even the desecration is part of these rituals. As construction moved along and as I moved on it seemed to me that this cemetery only has a few years left before it is totally destroyed. Sadly it was one of the most moving cemeteries I have seen since arriving in Morocco and was at a loss of what to do. If the Hebrew inscriptions are not moved to a museum (perhaps in Casablanca) then they will completely disappear in the near future.

Tahala and the study of the Jews of the Sous are continuing to gain interest among historians and anthropologists. Read Abdellah Larhmaid's excellent chapter on Jewish Identity and Landowndership in the Sous Region of Morocco in the excellent and recently released Jewish Culture and Society in North Africa.

Images from the Tahala Jewish Cemetery

2011-07-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

Jewish cemetery in Tahala (2008)

There is more music on the way soon but I want to start uploading my photos from past trips to the blog and thought I would start today before Shabbat. Below are a few more photos from the abandoned Jewish cemetery in Tahala, a small village outside of Tafroute in the Ameln Valley that once had a sizable Jewish community (as a percentage of the entire village). At the time the photos were taken there was significant development occurring adjacent to the cemetery and no wall to protect it from the new construction. I'm unfortunately not sure what the current state of the cemetery is.

Read about my travel to Tahala here and here.

Tombstone from Jewish cemetery in Tahala (2008)

Ya Nas, Ya Nas – Zohra El Fassia Digitized

2011-06-22T11:04:00.000-04:00

The recent draft constitution put forward by King Muhammad VI describes Morocco as, “a nation whose unity is based on the fully endorsed diversity of its constituents: Arab, Amazigh, Hassani, Sub-Saharan, African, Andalusian, Jewish and Mediterranean.” I thought I would take this opportunity to write about the great Moroccan Jewish singer Zohra El Fassia who embodies much of that diversity.

The Morocco Years
Zohra El Fassia was born in 1907 to a Jewish family in Fez. She recorded dozens of records in her career in Morocco and at least 17 albums just between the years 1947 and 1957 for Polyphone, Pathe and Philips in both Arabic and Chleuh. She was a favorite of the King and of the people and took pride in the fact that her music was enjoyed by both Muslims and Jews.

Zohra El Fassia – Aita Moulay Brahim (Chant Chleuh) – Pathe, 1950s
I just digitized one of her 78s. To my knowledge no version of this exists online or in CD form. Take a listen. This is a different Zohra El Fassia then the one you will hear later in this post. Rapid paced singing. Chant Chleuh as Pathe describes it – Zohra El Fassia singing ‘aita.

Zohra El Fassia - Aita Moulay Brahim (Chant Chleuh) (Pathe, 1950s) by CBSilver

The Israel Years
By 1962, Zohra El Fassia – at the height of her career in many ways - moved to Israel. She lived in Jewish Agency housing in Ashkelon, in conditions strikingly different from the ones she enjoyed in Morocco. Upon arrival in the country, she began recording in Arabic for the Koliphone (Zakiphon) label.

I want to take a moment to point out something interesting here and it is really a point that Ammiel Alcalay made in the past but that hasn’t been resolved. Erez Bitton, the important Moroccan-Algerian poet, who writes about the North African experience in Israel, penned a poem in 1976, a tragic poem, on Zohra El Fassia’s life in Israel and deserves mention here:

Zohra El Fassia’s song
Erez Bitton, 1976

Zohra El Fassia

Singer at Muhammad the Fifth’s court in Rabat, Morocco
They say when she sang
Soldiers fought with knives
To clear a path through the crowd
To reach the hem of her skirt
To kiss the tips of her toes
To leave her a piece of silver as a sign of thanks

Zohra El Fassia

Now you can find her
In Ashkelon
Antiquities 3
By the welfare office the smell
Of leftover sardine cans on a wobbly three-legged table
The stunning royal carpets stained on the Jewish Agency cot
Spending hours in a bathrobe
In front of the mirror
With cheap make-up –
When she says

Muhammad Cinque

Apple of our eyes

You don’t really get it at first

Zohra El Fassia’s voice is hoarse
Her heart is clear
Her eyes are full of love

Zohra El Fassia

Back in 1993, Ammiel Alcalay pointed out in After Jews and Arabs: Remaking of Levantine Culture that the compendium the Modern Hebrew Poem Itself makes a serious error about Zohra El Fassia. Several poems by Erez Bitton are included in the the Modern Hebrew Poem Itself including the poem “Zohra al-Fasiya.”

Alcalay points out that one of the compendium’s editors, Ezra Spicehandler, writes, “Erez Biton (b. in Algiers, 1942), more than any other poet of this younger group, strongly reflects his Middle Eastern heritage. Much of his poetry springs from a childhood spent in the slum world of Moroccan immigrants in Israel. Typical is his ballad of “Zohorah al-fasiah,” a fictive [emphasis mine] Jewish favorite of King Muhammad V of Morocco.

Until this day The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself continues to print in all its editions that Zohra El Fassia was fictive. It’s all the more astonishing to consider that Zohra El Fassia lived, recorded and performed in Israel. Furthermore, her impact on Moroccan music has long been acknowledged in Morocco including most recently at the 2009 music festival in Essaouira .

Zohra El Fassia – Laarosa – Zakiphon, 1960s
I just digitized this 1960s release of Laaroosa by Zohra El Fassia. This EP was released by the Koliphone (Zakiphon) label in Israel. Check it out. A very different sound then the ‘aita on 78. You can hear her voice strain here but it is still a dynamite track. In fact, when writing about this music I always think it’s important to consider whether this music had any impact at all in Israel…

Laarosa - Zohra El Fassia (Zakiphon, 1960s) by CBSilver

Here is the former Sderot-based band Sfatayim doing their rendition of Laarosa. Not as good but interesting.

Zohra El Fassia died in 1994 in Ashkelon at the age of 87. Erez Bitton, along with the singer Shlomo Bar, of Habrera Hativit and born in Rabat and the Mayor of Ashkelon were some of the very few who attended her funeral.

Two months before her death, Zohra El Fassia said the following in an interview with Maariv: “When I made aliyah to Israel they [the Jewish Agency] gave me a horrible apartment. I suffered from loneliness, no one visited me…Do you know why I cried? I wasn‘t afraid of death, I knew one day I would die but I was afraid that after my death no one would remember who Zohra El Fassia was.”

Spread this music around. I’ll be digitizing more of her 78s soon. Let’s not forget the great Zohra El Fassia.

Moroccan Jewish Music at JCC Manhattan - June 7, 2011

2011-05-26T17:04:00.001-04:00

Zohra El Fassia. Laarosa. Zakiphon. 196?

Come check out my sessions at JCC Manhattan

Here is the schedule:

12:30 am
Koliphone Records: The Untold Story of Israel’s Arabic Singing Jewish Musicians

1:45 am
Sheikh it Baby: Arabic Music by Jewish Musicians

I know it's technically June 8 but come on the 7th and stay through the 8th :)

Felix el Maghrebi - A Life in 45s

2011-05-17T12:40:00.001-04:00

Felix el Maghrebi was a mainstay of the Moroccan pop scene in the 1960s. His real name was Felix Weizman - Weizman being a somewhat popular Moroccan Jewish last name not related to its Ashkenazi counterpart. He died on March 6, 2008, right before the death of Samy ElMaghribi

I've been listening to a number of his 45s recently which I have only found on the N. Sabbah label, an indigenous Moroccan label produced in Casablanca. Interestingly, I have only seen / heard N. Sabbah 78s and 45s but no 33s. It seems as though N. Sabbah recorded mostly Jewish artists although as you will see from the back of this Felix el Maghrebi EP, the label also produced Muslim artists.

Felix el Maghrebi. El Frak & Khel Laiounne. N. Sabbah. 196?

Felix el Maghrebi. Kaftanec Mahlou & El Mlaine. N. Sabbah. 196?

The first record is in my possession but I grabbed the second record image from the Jewish Moroccan Heritage site based in Belgium. If you click here, you can see a bunch of Moroccan Jewish 45 album covers. The Botbol cassette I recently uploaded can be seen in its record form as well as an Albert Suissa EP on Casaphone. I wish there were a way to bring these to the forefront of the site a bit more but a little searching does the trick.

I'll be uploading some more album art soon but in the meantime enjoy.

Schedule Posted for Jewish Morocco Symposium at American Sephardi Federation - May 15-16, 2011

2011-04-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

ASF just posted the schedule for their two day symposium (May 15-16) on Moroccan Jewish life. Incredibly impressive array of scholars on a variety of topics. I encourage you to attend if you are in the New York area.

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

2,000 YEARS OF JEWISH LIFE IN MOROCCO: AN EPIC JOURNEY

The symposium is being held under the High Patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco
and made possible through the generous support of the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation

May 15 & 16, 2011

Symposium Brochure Page One | Symposium Brochure Page Two

Click here to purchase tickets: asf.charityhappenings.org

5/10 at UCLA: Between Memory and Extinction: The Moroccan Jewish Quarter in the Twentieth Century

2011-04-27T14:03:00.001-04:00

Lots of Morocco related events happening lately. If you are in the LA area on May 10th, this is a must attend event. Prof. Miller is a top scholar.

Between Memory and Extinction: The Moroccan Jewish Quarter in the Twentieth Century

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm, Royce Hall - Room 306

See below for additional information.

Admission

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Email cjsrsvp@humnet.ucla.edu or call (310) 267-5327 to RSVP.

Contact

Center for Jewish Studies
(310) 267-5327
cjsrsvp@humnet.ucla.edu

Website

http://www.cjs.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_events&tas...

Additional Information

Between Memory and Extinction: The Moroccan Jewish Quarter in the Twentieth Century Susan Miller (UC Davis) Maurice Amado Seminar in Sephardic Studies The Jewish quarter or mellah was the physical and symbolic center for Jewish life in Morocco for centuries. Historians, anthropologists, and architectural historians have closely studied the mellah and its people in an effort to understand the role of the Jewish quarter as a historical "stage" for Jewish survival practices in the face of dire existential threats.

Prof. Miller will concentrate on the trajectory of the mellah in the early 20th century, when its inner structure unraveled under the twin pressures of a European-induced modernity and the imposition of harsh racialist policies under the fascist Vichy regime (1940-44).

Cosponsored by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies

Jewish Morocco Symposium at American Sephardi Federation - May 15-16, 2011

2011-04-14T11:06:00.000-04:00

The American Sephardi Federation is conducting a two-day international symposium entitled: Jewish Life in Morocco: An Epic Journey at its home at the Center for Jewish History in New York City. The symposium will feature international scholars from Morocco, France, Canada, Israel and the U.S., who will present the history, contributions and contemporary story of Jewish Morocco.

Specific topics will include, among others: Evolution of Jewish Life, Moroccan Jews and the Arts, Moroccan Rabbis and Jewish Thought, Relationships Between Jews and Muslims, Moroccan Jewish Diaspora and the Jews of Morocco Today.

The symposium, open to the public, is part of the year-long series: 2,000 Years of Jewish Life in Morocco: An Epic Journey, which is being held under the High Patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco.

For more information and to RSVP, click here.

Andalusian (Ala) Music in New York on 4/30: Orchestra of Fes with Françoise Atlan

2011-04-14T10:58:00.000-04:00

World Nomads Morocco
Opening Concert & Reception
Orchestra of Fes
with Françoise Atlan

Saturday, April 30, 2011
8:30pm
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall

Presented as part of World Nomads Morocco
in partnership with Essaouira Mogador Association
with the Festival Andalousies Atlantiques and Fondation Esprit de Fès
with the Festival of World Sacred Music

World Nomads Morocco opens with an evening of Judeo-Arab Andalusian music performed by the acclaimed Orchestra of Fes, under the direction of eminent musician and conductor Mohamed Briouel. This rich musical tradition dates back to medieval Spain and is loved by Muslims and Jews alike, throughout the Arab world and in the Sephardic diaspora.

The concert will feature renowned Jewish vocalist Françoise Atlan, who is considered one of the most beautiful voices of this tradition.

All concert attendees are invited to a Moroccan-themed reception following the concert.

To purchase tickets, click here.

Two More Digitized Haim Abitbol Tracks!

2011-04-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

Another two tracks from Haim Abitbol. I have two more to upload from this cassette but waiting to get a new external hard drive so I can transfer a bunch of files.

Harket dana mouhjati - Haim Abitbol (Koutoubiaphone, 1970s) by CBSilver

Frak ghzali - Haim Abitbol (Koutoubiaphone, 1970s) by CBSilver

More Haim Abitbol Recordings Up

2011-04-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

Below are two recently uploaded recordings (from a 1970s cassette) of Haim Abitbol on Koutoubiaphone. Enjoy.

Oulayni haya by Haim Abitbol (Koutoubiaphone, 1970s) by CBSilver

Karmelitta - Haim Abitbol (Koutoubiaphone, 1970s) by CBSilver

Zohra El Fassia Documentary Premiers at 15th NY Sephardic Film Festival

2011-02-25T22:28:00.001-05:00

Zohra Elfassia (2010) by Haim Shiran will be shown at 5.30 pm on Sunday, March 13 in New York.

Here is the description of the documentary: Zohara Elfassia was born in Fez in 1908 and was one of the greatest singers among the Jewish singers that came out of Morocco. Her presence in every home in Morocco, Jews and Muslims, attests to her popularity. She sang both Jewish and Muslim songs, and her career extended over many years in Fez and other cities in Morocco and Algeria. After she emigrated to Israel in the 1960's, her voice was not heard on public stages and the radio, yet you can still hear her singing on old records and tapes in the homes of Moroccan Jews.
(Israel, 2010, 20 mins.)

Check out this listing and other listings on the Sephardic Film Festival's website.

I haven't seen this yet but am very interested. Has anyone had a chance to watch this? Let me know.

Cheikh Mwijo # 23 Digitized - Classic Recordings

2011-01-20T22:58:00.001-05:00

More Cheikh Mwijo - this time on cassette. The quality isn't perfect but I'm on a tape kick right now. I'm fairly positive that the album cover was shot in Mwijo's current home - I recognize the red vinyl.

Cheikh Mwijo. #23. Ze lo halom. Koliphone/Zakiphone

Cheikh Mwijo. #23. Goulouli fine. Koliphone/Zakiphone

Cheikh Mwijo. #23. Gzali houwa sbabi. Koliphone/Zakiphone

Cheikh Mwijo. #23. Lbnat. Koliphone/Zakiphone

Meeting the Legendary Cheikh Mwijo

2011-01-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

Cheikh Mwijo. #12. Koliphone/Zakiphone. 1970s

When you google Koliphone, the Israeli record label started by the Azoulay brothers in Jaffa in 1953 that pioneered and produced Arabic music sung by Jews from North Africa and the Middle East, a couple of things come up. One is my blog and other is the work of Uri Wertheim in Israel. Knowing I would be in Israel in December, I sent Uri a fairly benign Facebook message about record digging for North African LPs in Haifa and Jerusalem. Our conversation quickly moved beyond finding records and soon involved tracking down and interviewing the remaining Arabic singing musicians from the 1960s.

In December, we met in person for the first time. I was greeted by Uri and his dog Fred in the Florentine section of Tel Aviv not too far from the Central bus station. We headed to Hummus Abu George for lunch. We ordered two bowls of hummus with ful. We spoke about Koliphone records, the Azoulay brothers, how Uri got into collecting (he started working for one of the Azoulay brothers earlier in his career), record digging and everything in between. On our way out we ran into the other members of his band The Apples.

We headed to Uri’s apartment with Fred. Uri’s record collection really blew me away. Outside of the Azoulay brothers themselves, I would venture to say that Uri has the most complete collection of Koliphone records in the world. My personal interest in Koliphone stems from my interest in Moroccan Jewish music and North Africa in general but Uri has done an excellent job focusing on this label and the various associated labels (Zakiphon, Pianophon, etc.) and building a collection. Amongst other things, Uri had 45s that I had never seen before – for instance, before I arrived in Israel I knew of two Zakiphon 45s entitled Alass Ya Nasser (Why O Nasser) songs in Moroccan Judeo-Arabic on Israel’s 1967 victory - but Uri had a whole series of these EPs. He also had a nice collection of Albert Suissa, Cheikh Elafrite (Tunisian), Geoula Barda (Libyan), Raoul Journo (Tunisian) and anything else you can imagine – it was really unbelievable. We listened to some records including some 78s on an old portable phonograph that we weren’t sure was going to work (it did). We then listened to some Cheikh Mwijo.

Cheikh Mwijo. #7. Koliphone/Zakiphone. 1970s

Somehow in the course of our messages and emailing before I arrived in Israel, Cheikh Mwijo had come up. Cheikh Mwijo, (real name: Moshe Attias), had long occupied my imagination. Of all the Moroccan Jewish performers he was one of the most recognizable and perhaps the most flamboyant. The album artwork on his records was unmistakably him. There is the one where he gazes admiringly at a record, the one where he wears a fur coat and holds a cigarette in one hand and a violin in the other, another where there are four different images of Mwijo – one in traditional Moroccan garb, one wearing a yarmulke and studying text, one in a suit and one by a video camera. Above all else, Mwijo’s voice is distinct and that is what makes him stand out. Before arriving in Israel we (mostly Uri) worked on tracking down Mwijo so that we could interview him and record him. Most of the musicians of Mwijo’s era have passed – many in recent years (Samy Elmaghribi, Jo Amar, etc.) and that was part of the reason why this was so important.

Back of Cheikh Mwijo #7. Album Covers. Koliphone/Zakiphone. 1960 - 70s

We called Cheikh Mwijo from a landline. The phone was on speaker. It was a tremendous feeling to hear the voice that I only knew from 60s and 70s LPs. Mwijo told us he welcomed our visit, we hung up the phone and Uri and I got to planning.

I met Uri and Uri’s brother Noam at the car rental agency, stopping by a liquor store on the way to buy a nice bottle of arak for Cheikh Mwijo. We left Tel Aviv by late morning and headed toward Kiryat Ata, Cheikh Mwijo’s adopted city. The journey took a couple of hours with a stop for lunch. We made our way north through areas recently devastated by fire.

We pulled into Kiryat Ata and began to look for Mwijo’s home address. As we slowly crept up his street I spotted Mwijo sitting at a café wearing his signature tarbush. He looked like he had always looked. My heart raced. We were originally supposed to meet him at his house but there he was sitting in the café by his apartment smoking a cigarette. This was a future album cover. We parked the car and tried not to overwhelm him with our enthusiasm. He knew we wanted to meet him but he wasn’t sure what the point was. Moroccans the world over already knew Mwijo, he told us. We told him that not everyone knew his story and that this was an important endeavor we were embarking on. We showed him my blog (the whole thing was very meta) and the recently posted clip from Haim Abitbol. He wasn’t impressed. Mwijo had performed with Marcel Abitbol. He told us to follow him to his home.

Mwijo looked sharp – slacks, dress shirt and tarbush. He was much shorter than I ever imagined. Ani ben adam pashut, he kept saying in Hebrew. I am a simple man. It was true. He lived very simply. His home was small and exhibited touches of Morocco (a Moroccan style couch for example). He had a single picture on his living room wall and it hinted at a once great musical career - a framed, color copied image of Mwijo in front of the Eiffel Tower with his name spelled Cheikh Moizo (there are a number of ways his name has been spelled throughout his career) and superimposed above his head. We sat not in the living room but in the dining room. Images of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Baba Sali and Moroccan tzaddiqim adorned the walls. We sat around the dining room table. His chair was a white plastic chair with a leather car seat attached to it for comfort.

The room filled with cigarette smoke quickly. We asked some questions when we could but mostly he spoke. Mwijo was born Moshe Attias in Meknes in 1937. He came from a family of musicians. His father, Yaakov Attias, a musician, died young at the age of 32. Yaakov Attias was originally from Fez and married Mwijo’s mother in Meknes. Mwijo spent some time growing up in the Fez mellah on Rue du Mellah, the main drag. When I asked him where exactly, he asked me in Arabic if I was Arab or Jewish and how I knew about Morocco. He then recalled an incident in the 1940s (he would have been very young) where a Vichy officer recorded his family’s name – anti-Semitism was something that would come up periodically throughout our conversation with Mwijo and this incident, in particular, stuck with him. Mwijo’s grandfather had also been a musician. Mwijo has a number of brothers who are still alive and who he still performs with. He then showed us an unbelievable black and white photo (below):

In the picture (left to right): Sliman Elmaghribi, Sliman’s father Mordechai, Muallem David Ben Haroush, Mimoun Turjeman, Yaakov Zerad and Mwijo’s father Yaakov Attias.

Mwijo first learned music by listening to this band of Jewish musicians. In Israel, Muallem (an honorific title like cheikh) David Ben Haroush would soon become Mwijo’s main influence.

Mwijo moved to Israel in Israel in 1962 at the age 35. His profession, which if I understood correctly, was an embroiderer of military uniforms and was not needed in Israel (with their scaled back, simple military uniforms and their ranks made of medal) and he showed us the 1962 letter from the Security Services Office to prove it. He touched on his experiences in the ma’abarot, the transit camps for Jews from North Africa and the Middle East, and on what he described as racism towards Moroccans in Israel then and now.

Muallem Ben Haroush would eventually also settle in Israel, in Kiryat Haim, where Mwijo would support him during his final days. As a gift to Mwijo, Ben Haroush left him his songbooks, which had also been handed to down to him. The songbooks would prove to be the source from which Mwijo drew his strength. I can’t stress enough what these songbooks represent. It is incomprehensible what is tied up in these songs – the heritage of Moroccan music, Moroccan Jewish history -- history that can be found nowhere else but buried somewhere in Mwijo’s modest apartment. Apparently, when Professor Joseph Chetrit of Haifa University became aware of the books he asked Mwijo if he could photograph them for his research. Mwijo refused. He thought Chetrit was just out to make money (clearly not the case and not the case with books published by academic presses) and that Mwijo wasn’t going to get his cut. So for now, only one man has studied and mastered those songs since Ben Haroush and that man is Mwijo. It is because he committed the songs in the books to memory – a dramatic turnaround from his earlier years when he could only ever remember parts of songs – that Mwijo maintains the honorific title of Cheikh – the master of 1,000 songs. In a final odd musical twist, we learned from Mwijo that Muallem David Ben Haroush is buried in Haifa near Mike Brant, the 1970s Israeli pop star who committed suicide at the height of his career.

At this point in Mwijo’s life, a number of things happened in tandem. Mwijo discovered that his profession was no longer needed in Israel and that he had been given two gifts – the songbooks and a voice. Sitting in a café in Haifa one day, Mwijo began to sing and this, he recalled, literally brought unsuspecting patrons to tears. All of these factors – a lack of employment, a mastery of songs and a unique voice helped launch Cheikh Mwijo’s career in the music industry.

Mwijo began his music career singing and playing the mandolin but he would eventually switch to the violin, played in the upright North African style (he would later deride Western style violin playing for not being sufficiently difficult). He never learned to read music. Between 1962 and 1970, Mwijo estimates he wrote and sold about 40 songs to Sliman Elmaghribi, the young musician pictured at the far left of the black and white photo he had showed us earlier.

By 1969, Mwijo had started his own recording career. Zaki Azoulay, one third of the Azoulay trio, came to Mwijo in his home with reel-to-reel tape and recorded him live. It sold very well. Later Mwijo would record dozens of records and cassettes for the Azoulay brothers and their Koliphone/Zakiphon label at their studio on Raziel Street in Jaffa, across the street from where the current Azoulay brothers’ store now stands. The recording sessions were all “live to tape” sessions but today, he told us, he prefers multi-track recording.

In the course of conversation he shared with us a few stories that correspond roughly to the height of his career. At this point I’m not entirely sure how to describe these stories. They are demonstrative of a number of things – Mwijo’s religious zeal, his relationship to other Moroccans and Jews, how Mwijo sees himself in history, his feelings on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism – or perhaps they are just anecdotes that are interesting.

First, it should be noted that Mwijo has a number of songs that exalt Moroccan tzaddiqim. One of these songs is a tribute to Rabbi Yaakov Abu Hasira, the grandfather of the Baba Sali, who died on a pilgrimage to the Land of Israel and was buried in the Nile Delta in Egypt. Abu Hasira’s tomb became a site of pilgrimage and has recently attracted media attention due to local Egyptian opposition to the annual influx of Israelis and Jews. When the Baba Sali caught wind of this song and of Cheikh Mwijo he invited Mwijo to visit him in Netivot in the Negev. Mwijo couldn’t make the journey from Kiryat Ata right away but eventually would come to pay his respects. The Baba Sali couldn’t understand how Mwijo knew so much about his grandfather. Mwijo revealed to the Baba Sali that he was a Meknesi at which point the Baba Sali exclaimed that everything now made sense as Meknes was a city of great torah scholars. To honor Mwijo, Baba Sali asked Mwijo to drink arak from the same cup as Rabbi Y. Abu Hasira, his grandfather (it was unclear whether the cup was used by his grandfather or if the arak had actually been partially consumed by his grandfather). Mwijo drank dutifully but was forced to hold his nose while doing so for he hated arak. As Mwijo told this story animatedly, I remembered the arak I had left in the car and thought that somehow the Baba Sali must have been watching over me.

In the 1970s, Mwijo often performed abroad and frequently in France. One time, while in France, a Moroccan (unclear whether this Moroccan was Jewish or Muslim) invited him to perform in Germany. Mwijo adamantly refused to play in Germany because of the Holocaust – even after an offer of 10,00 Deutschmarks from his host which he explained was a lot of money at the time. He was impassioned when telling us this story. His voice rose and sank as he progressed. After the refusal, Mwijo immediately headed to a casino, pulled the handle on a slot machine and won the equivalent of 10,000 Deutschmarks. This was divine intervention, he argued and said rhetorically that if this wasn’t a sign (from God) then nothing was.

Mwijo then transitioned to telling us more about his career in Israel. Mwijo never received any royalties for his music instead he began by earning 10 Israeli lira per song (he would share some of this with Sliman when they performed together) and payment for each record produced. It is unclear what exactly his relationship is today to Zaki Azoulay as a result of their financial arrangements although I would guess based on what I understood from Mwijo and the nature of producer-artist relationships that it is strained at best.

Mwijo feels that he is unique among Moroccan performers. He does not like the style of Salim Halali or a number of other artists. In fact, he prefers Algerian (djiri) music to Moroccan (chaabi) and describes his singing style as djiziri, which he says is more delicate and sweet than other North African styles. To that effect, he says he performed with the Algerian National Orchestra in France in 1981, which to me underscored his complex relationship with North Africa. He has returned to Morocco once and only to perform at a Jewish celebration.

In the course of our time with him he shared with us other fascinating anecdotes. He seems to have been present at all the major life cycle events of Aryeh Deri, the former head of Shas, including his brit milah in Meknes. Mwijo’s connection to Deri, whether ideological or otherwise, is incredibly potent. In fact, Mwijo penned him a song in 2000 as Deri headed to prison on a bribery conviction.

Chris Silver. Cheikh Mwijo. Uri Wertheim. Noam Wertheim - 2010

There was a point when it became clear that it was time for us to leave. We took a picture with Mwijo and exchanged pleasantries. Uri asked Mwijo if he could visit him again. In 10 years – Mwijo said. He had grown tired and preferred to look forward rather than back. For nearly 50 years Cheikh Mwijo has made good Moroccan music. As we exited the apartment, he told us to check him out in March when he would perform at the Dead Sea.

Jewish Morocco Nominated for Best Morocco Culture Blog

2011-01-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Vote for Jewish Morocco here.

Great New Photo Essay on Jewish Morocco

2011-01-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

Great new photo essay on Jewish Morocco on Burnmagazine.com. Aaron and I spoke before his trip to Morocco. Check it out - Exodus: Jewish Morocco.

Haim Abitbol Digitized: Rare Recordings from the Koutobiaphone Era

2010-12-21T23:37:00.000-05:00

Haim Abitbol. Abitbol. Koutoubiaphone. 1970s

Ok. I have been meaning to post this for some time. I first discussed Haim Abitbol (also sometimes listed as Botbol, it changes from album to album) over a year and half ago. I then posted some information about him here.

The short of it is is that Haim Abitbol was born in Fez in the 1930s to a musical family. By the 1950s he was collaborating with Salim Halali and others. I picked up this cassette in 2009 in Casablanca and was blown away. Really great chaabi music. Many of Abitbol's albums appeared on the now defunct Koutoubiaphone label. He continues to perform to this day. Abitbol represents part of the long tradition of North African Jews performing unparalleled North African popular music. I digitized this cassette last week and I am providing the first track Toumobile jaya below. I will add the others soon.

A personal account of the funeral of Edmond Amran El Maleh

2010-12-21T16:17:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, Megan MacDonald, a Fulbrighter in Morocco focusing on the role that Francophone / Moroccan novels play in Morocco and who is completing her dissertation on comparative literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo, contacted me about the death of Edmond Amran El Maleh and details for his funeral. Megan ended up attending the funeral in Rabat and wrote a beautiful piece (below). She also took some great pictures. I think these pictures speak volumes to complicated relationships in Morocco.

Megan MacDonald
20 December, 2010
mgn.macdonald@gmail.com

I first heard of the passing of Edmond Amran El Maleh at the age of 93, on Monday night via Twitter. Moroccan writer Laila Lalami reflected: “With the passing of Edmond Amran El Maleh, it feels as if a part of the literary, cultural (and yes, Jewish) history of Morocco has passed.” There was to be a tribute to this giant of Moroccan literature the next morning (Tuesday November 16, 2010) at the Jewish cemetery in Rabat, and then he would be brought to Essaouaira, his final resting place.

I wasn’t familiar with a Jewish cemetery in Rabat, so I turned to Google maps. I found two Jewish cemeteries in Rabat--one in between l’Océan and the Medina, and the other in Agdal. I emailed Chris Silver to ask him what he thought, having stumbled upon his blog while searching online for information on Jewish life in Morocco. My first instinct was that the older cemetery, the one near l’Océan and the medina, would be the spot for a tribute. In his email Chris reminded me “things in Morocco are never as they appear.” He also thought the medina would be the correct location. I asked IbnKafka on Twitter which he thought it would be. He was not aware of a Jewish cemetery in Agdal. I decided to ignore both of our first instincts, and head to Agdal. When I emailed Chris later on that day to tell him the cemetery was in Agdal he quipped, “Of course it was--I knew I should have trusted my opposite instinct.”

Exterior of Jewish cemetery in Agdal, Rabat (2010)

My taxi driver knew where the cemetery was, and asked me if I knew the word for cemetery in derija and fusha, which he promptly shared with me: (qbr) is a term in both derija and fusha that he said everyone would know, and (arodha) is specifically derija. He dropped me off at a semi-open gate, which turned out to be the cemetery for “the French”, according to the woman watching the door, with whom I exchanged some awkward derija, and which I later on found out is a Christian/European cemetery. She said that the Jewish cemetery was one door down.

Interior of Jewish cemetery in Agdal, Rabat (2010)

There were around one hundred people there milling about and talking in small groups when I arrived at 10am, with more trickling in over the next half hour. I heard a woman ask her companion in French, “Is the body here?” The crowd was made up of Moroccans and non-Moroccans, Muslims, Jews, Christians, those visually presenting as religious people, and those who were not, men and women, young and old, and several people wearing kaffiyehs with bright Palestinian flags on the borders.

Jewish, Muslim and Christian mourners of El Maleh (2010)

The body was brought out, draped in a Moroccan flag, and everyone gathered around as prayers were sung and tributes made. A cameraman showed up, filming the speakers and the body. In the cement enclosure the emotional words of the speakers were occasionally broken up by shuffling feet, sniffling, and ringing cellphones. One speaker highlighted the Moroccan Jewish community, which he said must continue to live on, as he cited El Maleh’s support of the Palestinian struggle, and his desire that Palestinians and Israelis should live in peace. El Maleh was described as a man rooted in his history, a history of Morocco. A man of conviction who had fought against the French occupation in Morocco. The speakers expressed gratitude for El Maleh’s compassion, his willingness to listen patiently to questions from others--even if they were not ‘good’ questions, or ‘intelligent’ questions. A man of grace who respected others. A man characterized by an incredible dynamism and honesty.

Scholars write about El Maleh as someone who constantly challenged idées reçus and official histories through his fiction and other writing. These remain a testament to the memory of his disappearance, while also serving as texts that bear witness to historical memory, and to a re-writing of official and unofficial Moroccan histories. This work of excavation was also one of re-layering: pointing at pluralisms that have existed in Moroccan society while looking towards a future with one finger on these historical sediments. His literature re-examined forgotten realities of Moroccan history, doing so in a polyphonic manner. Writing in Le Magazine littéraire in March 1999, El Maleh put forth:

« Écrivant en français, je savais que je n’écrivais pas en français. Il y avait cette singulière greffe d’une langue sur l’autre, ma langue maternelle l’arabe, ce feu intérieur. »

El Maleh was man who leaves us with his writing, a body of work that will be there for our children, and for their children. A man whose work speaks to all Moroccans, described by one speaker as Berber, Arab, Jewish, Muslim, francophone, arabophone. He was, according to one speaker, a man who knew how to laugh.

As is the case with premonitions that reveal themselves clearly in hindsight, it is fitting to end with the words of El Maleh’s friend Abdellah Baïda, writing just before his passing in Le Soir: “Ce cher Edmond a encore des cartouches dans sa besace; on entendra certainement reparler de lui.”

For El Maleh’s part, he felt: "Quand je quitte le Maroc, je me déplace sans me déplacer."

References:

--Mary B. Vogl. “It was and it was not so: Edmond Amran El Maleh remembers Morocco” International Journal of Francophone Studies, 6 (2) 2003: 71-85.

--Edmond Amran el-Maleh, Le Magazine littéraire, mars 1999.

--http://www.aufaitmaroc.com/actualites/culture/2010/11/15/lettres-orphelines

--http://www.lesoir-echos.com/2010/11/05/edmond-amran-el-maleh-cette-obsedante-question-de-culture/

Abraham Serfaty Eulogized in JTA

2010-12-21T14:45:00.000-05:00

JTA is starting a new blog called the Eulogizer. The first eulogy was dedicated to Abraham Serfaty and others. Hopefully we'll see something on El Maleh soon.

APPRECIATION
The Eulogizer: Holocaust survivor, Florida businessman, Moroccan dissident, Israeli firefighter

By Alan D. Abbey · December 20, 2010

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The Eulogizer is a new column (soon-to-be blog) that highlights the life accomplishments of famous and not-so-famous Jews who have passed away recently. Learn about their achievements, honor their memories, and celebrate Jewish lives well lived with The Eulogizer. Write to the Eulogizer at eulogizer@jta.org. Read previous columns here.

...Lifelong Moroccan dissident, anti-Zionist

Abraham Serfaty, a lifelong Moroccan dissident whose opposition to repressive governments led to exile and imprisonment, died Nov. 17 at 84, 10 years after returning to his homeland in safety.

Serfaty was born in Casablanca to a middle-class Jewish family originally from Tangier. He joined the Communist Party in 1944, returned to Morocco in 1949 after receving an engineering degree in France, and participated in the fight against French colonialism.

In 1952 he was arrested and exiled to France under house arrest by the colonial authorities for his role as a nationalist activist. He returned home in 1956, when Morocco became independent, and worked in high-level government positions until he was removed from office for showing solidarity with a miners' strike. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he collaborated on an anti-establishment magazine, which led to his imprisonment, torture and then exile.

In 1991, following a campaign that included appeals from Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the French president, Serfaty was released from prison after 17 years, but his Moroccan citizenship was revoked and he again was exiled to France.

King Mohammed VI pardoned Serfaty and reinstated his citizenship, and Serfaty returned home to a villa and a modest income in 2000. He was later appointed adviser to the Moroccan National Office for Research and Oil.

A Dubai newspaper called Serfaty "a thorn in the side of the authorities in Morocco, both during the days of the French protectorate … and, later, under the repressive reign of King Hassan II."

"Serfaty was an activist who dedicated his life first to the anti-colonial struggle and then against the anti-democratic regime of King Hassan II," Moroccan Human Rights Association vice president Amine Abdelhamid said.

Serfaty was an anti-Zionist Jew who demanded abolition of Israel's Law of Return and supported the creation of a Palestinian state. In one of his books, "Prison Writings on Palestine," Serfaty wrote that Zionism is a racist ideology. His other books included "Anti-Zionist Struggle and Arab Revolution" and "The Insubordinate: Jew, Moroccan and Rebel."

Abraham Serfaty, Jewish Moroccan Democracy Activist and Communist, Dies at Age 84

2010-11-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

Funeral at Casablanca Jewish cemetery of Abraham Serfaty

Abraham Serfaty, another influential Jewish Moroccan, died this week. Again very little English language press. Of course as this generation of Moroccan Jews moves on, we lose more and more information about how the Jewish communities of Morocco once were. I can't stress enough of how time is of the essence in capturing stories and memories.

From AFP:
Moroccan democracy activist Abraham Serfaty dies aged 84

(AFP) – 22 hours ago

RABAT — Leading Moroccan rights activist Abraham Serfaty died Thursday aged 84 after a lifelong campaign for democracy, first against the French colonial rulers and then King Hassan II's absolute monarchy.

Serfaty died in a clinic in the southern city of Marrakech, his wife Christine-Daure Serfaty said.

"Serfaty was an activist who dedicated his life first to the anti-colonial struggle and then against the anti-democratic regime of King Hassan II," Moroccan Human Rights Association vice president Amine Abdelhamid told AFP.

A long-time member of the communist party, Serfaty was first jailed by the Moroccan regime in 1972, when he accused the authorities of torturing him.

In 1977 he was sentenced to life in prison for plotting against state security but he was freed in 1991 after an international campaign.

He was immediately expelled to France where he became well known in political circles before he was allowed to return to Morocco in 2000.

Serfaty is due to be buried on Friday in the Jewish cemetery in Casablanca, next to the graves of his parents.

UPDATE: Amazing photos of the funeral here. More coverage coming in.

Jewish Moroccan writer Edmond Amran El Maleh dies - November 15, 2010

2010-11-15T16:37:00.000-05:00

There has been plenty in French and Arabic written about the passing of Edmond Amran El Maleh, the Moroccan James Joyce, but here is some news in English from Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse:

Rabat - The great Moroccan writer and intellectual, Edmond Amran El Maleh, died on Monday in Rabat at the age of 93.

A tribute will be paid to Amran El Maleh on Tuesday at the Jewish cemetery in Rabat.

According to his wishes, his funeral will take place on the same day in Essaouira (western Morocco).

You can read more about El Maleh in one of my previous posts.

French language press can be found here.

Jewish themed films at 1st ever Moroccan Film Festival in NY - Oct. 29-30, 2010

2010-10-29T10:44:00.000-04:00

A number of Jewish themed films will be included in the first Moroccan Film Festival, presented by the High Atlas Foundation, on October 29 and October 30. The entire program can be found here and I'm including Moroccan Jewish themed films below:

Scene from Where are you going, Moishe?

Saturday, October 30

The Dog’s Life of Juanita Narboni @ 2:30PM Dir. Farida Benlyazid
1:48, 2005, Comedy/Drama
U.S. Premiere

The recent history of Tangier, from the 1930’s through the 1960’s, is seen through the eyes of an Anglo-Spanish spinster. The film focuses on Juanita’s father and sister, a close Jewish friend, and her loyal Moroccan maid, but the real arc of the storyline is how their lives change as Tangier is transformed from an international zone to a truly Moroccan city. Almodóvar veteran Mariola Fuentes (Broken Embraces, Talk to Her) conveys a delicate balance of outrage, loneliness and poignancy. English Subtitles.

Where Are You Going, Moishe? @ 7:15PM
Dir. Hassan Ben Jalloun
1:33, 2007, Drama

A central Moroccan town is the setting, in 1963. Shlomo, a Jewish barber, struggles with himself and his family over emigrating to Israel. His decision will have a domino effect on his lifelong friends, who pull strings to influence him to stay. A heartfelt story that casts light on a little-known period in Moroccan history, as well as the bonds and conflicts between Muslim and Jew in the common hometown they’ve shared for centuries. English Subtitles.
Watch the film trailer

Marock @ 9:30PM
Dir. Laila Marrakchi
1:38, 2005, Drama
U.S. Premiere

A big success upon its Moroccan release, Marock focuses on three wealthy young women on the brink of finishing high school and deciding their futures. Rita falls in love with a Jewish classmate à la Romeo and Juliet, a relationship which is complicated by her brother’s burgeoning interest in Islamic fundamentalism. Part teen romance, part “Rebel Without a Cause”, part scathing social commentary, Marock is a stinging challenge to the contemporary mores of the haute bourgeoisie. English Subtitles.
Watch the film trailer

Ready for Restoration - Synagogues in Er Rachidia and Oujda - Part II

2010-10-19T18:59:00.000-04:00

Bima/Hechal in Grand Synagogue, Oujda.

I have written much already about Oujda and you can read that here. As the Grand Synagogue, also known as the Moroccan Synagogue as there was also an Algerian Synagogue, turns 80 this year (built in 1930), I thought I would take this occasion to revisit it. The Grand Synagogue is in remarkable condition despite having no congregants. It was once well served by a population of thousands. According to H.Z. Hirschberg's Hebrew language "Inside Maghreb: the Jews in North Africa", Oujda's Jewish population stood at around 4,000 by the mid-1950s. You can read more about the modern Jewish history of Oujda here. Today there are three to six Jews left. The synagogue is a perfect candidate for restoration as I've explained in the past and should be considered as one of the more beautiful, large North African synagogues that has not been converted to other purposes (e.g., mosque). I am including photos from my 2009 visit below:

Stained glass ark.

View of hekhal, main seating area, women's gallery and ark.

Ready for Restoration - Synagogues in Er Rachidia and Oujda - Part 1

2010-10-18T22:54:00.001-04:00

Exterior of Sla el Kbira in Er Rachidia (Hebrew reads Union/Unity Synagogue)

Around the Jewish high holidays a number of articles come out talking about the most beautiful synagogues in the world. The authors/contributers can be forgiven if they don't take every synagogue into account especially those that have fallen into disuse or disrepair. Years ago, few would have mentioned the Eldridge Street Synagogue, built in 1887 and restored in 2007, amongst the most beautiful but today it has regained its title of "jewel of a shul."

This year two synagogues in Morocco turn 80 years old or near 80 years old, both built in the 1930s, that I believe deserve mention.

Er Rachidia
The first, called Sla el Kbira, was built in the 1930s (some say 1932). It still exists today although it's roof has collapsed from heavy rains. Located in the center of Er Rachidia, it's Hebrew inscription is still visible from the outside. I will write more about this synagogue and the surrounding synagogues and cemeteries soon but please find photos and a video from my 2008 visit below:

Interior of synagogue. Bima/hekhal with hand painted decalogue back right. Light pours through the open roof.

Hand painted decalogue.

Ark. Filled with hay.

More to come on Er Rachidia and Oujda later this week including videos.

JDC in LA - 10/12: Archival Photos of Jewish Morocco

2010-10-10T17:59:00.000-04:00

Young girl at JDC supported kindergarten wearing a bib made from a flour sack. In 1955, a JDC publication reported that through its dispensaries in Morocco, "Almost 23,000 children receive at least one warm meal during the day, and for very many of them, if not for most of them, it represents the only meal they receive during the day." JDC Archives, Fez, 1960

A performance at the JDC-supported Gan Yeladim nursery school. A 1949 JDC report says, "The focus of our work is on the youngsters-- the Jewish boys and girls of the slums and the mellahs, many of whom have hitherto been forced to beg on the streets for bread. Our key weapon on this front is the school. In JDC-supported schools the youngsters are kept off the streets and are taught to read and write, to play games and to study geography and arithmetic. JDC Archives, Tangier, 1954

Jewish boys at JDC operated Aliyah camp learning Hebrew. In addition to the nutritional and medical services provided to Moroccans seeking to immigrate to the newly-established State of Israel, JDC worked to ensure a smooth transition into Israeli life and culture. JDC Archives, Casablanca, c.1954

JDC Dimensions Presents:

THEN & NOW: JEWISH MOROCCO

An exclusive photography exhibit featuring newly-released JDC archival prints alongside modern Moroccan images from local, young, Jewish artists.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 7:00 pm

8275 Beverly Blvd. The former Zune LA space (corner of N. Sweetzer Ave.)

Featuring:

Free admission (must RSVP to ShaunaR@jdcny.org)

DJ - Wine - Moroccan Hors D'oeuvres

Event Chairs: Tiffany Aryeh and Niko Toubia

Host Committee: Mimi Jakobovits, Jessica Kimiabakhsh, Lauren Klein, Vanessa Shokrian

Limited space available.

Email ShaunaR@jdcny.org or call 212-885-0811 to be added to the guest list.

Upcoming Exhibition: Jewish Life in Morocco - Oct. 14 at ASF in NY

2010-09-30T19:45:00.000-04:00

Looking Back: The Jews of Morocco

This exhibition is part of the ASF's '2000 Years of Jewish Life in Morocco: An Epic Journey'

This exhibition will provide an overview demonstrating the presence and flourishing of Jews in the ancient and modern Kingdom of Morocco. The exhibition will be presented through the implementation of artistically designed textual displays, documents, pull quotes, non-photo images (e.g. lithographs and engravings), historic photos, captions, replications of historic documents, and other visuals which demonstrate the life of the Jews living throughout this North African country. This exhibition, developed and curated by Shelomo Alfassa, has been funded in part by the New York Council for the Humanities.

On the Opening Night of the exhibition, Dr. Norman A. Stillman, the 'Schusterman-Josey Professor and Chair of Judaic History' at the University of Oklahoma will present the keynote address. This will also open the ASF's year-long program, 2000 Years of Jewish Life in Morocco: An Epic Journey.'

The keynote speaker is Professor Norman Stillman, the Schusterman/Josey Chair in Judaic History at University of Oklahoma. Prof. Stillman has directed the Judaic Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma since the program began. He has written many books and articles, ranging from studies of the Jews of Sefrou, a small city in Morocco, to broader studies on North African history and languages. Such work has led to his involvement with INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales) in Paris. Over the last quarter century, he has focused his scholarship on Jewish-Arab encounters in Arab lands, and he is currently finishing a book on Jews in North Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He has given lectures and conference papers all over the world and is the editor-in-chief of the recently published, five volume reference work, comprised of over 2,500 entries titled Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. He received the Distinguished Humanist Award for the year 2000 from Ohio State University. Professor Stillman received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Reservations requested: 212.294.8350 x.0 or info@americansephardifederation.org $10 at the door/ $5 for ASF members.

Who: American Sephardi Federation (About the ASF)

What: Exhibition: Looking Back: The Jews of Morocco

When: Opening October 14, 2010 - Spring 2011

Where: At the American Sephardi Federation, a partner of the Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th St. NYC

Why: This exhibition is part of the ASF's '2000 Years of Jewish Life in Morocco: An Epic Journey'

Media: To request photos for publication or interviews, please call Shelomo Alfassa at 917-606-8262.

NEH Grant to Create Digital Archive of Jewish Moroccan Documents

2010-09-30T19:37:00.000-04:00

September 9, 2010

From College of Lewis and Clark (link to article):

Oren Kosansky, assistant professor of anthropology, has earned a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a digital archive of Judaic Moroccan documents from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The online archive will open access to researchers with an interest in Jewish culture in Northern Africa and allow them to share ideas and information widely. Of even greater interest to the NEH, the project will offer a new model for intercultural and international collaboration in the creation of technological resources to share historical information.

Making a discovery

Kosansky’s fascination with Judiaism in Morocco dates back to his graduate work in the early 1990s. In 2005, a Fulbright research grant took him to Rabat, the capital of Morocco and former home to a large Jewish community. During his stay, Kosansky worked closely with leaders of Rabat’s major synagogue and community center. It was there that he discovered a genizah—a room or depository found in synagogues, where old religious documents that are no longer in use are kept and periodically buried.

“In Judaic tradition, documents containing references to God are forbidden from being destroyed,” Kosansky explained. “Most obviously books and papers on religious topics such as the Torah are deemed sacred and treated in a ceremonious fashion, but any item with religious or legal references—such as a wedding announcement or business contract—would also be kept.

“In this case, I found literally thousands of books and documents pertaining to virtually all facets of Jewish life in Morocco, especially as it was transformed during the 20^th century. My first thought was, ‘How can I save these materials from burial, so that they can be consulted by community members and scholars.’”

Kosansky noted that the Jewish community in Rabat once numbered in the thousands and had dwindled to fewer than 100, following a broader trend of emigration that brought the majority of Moroccan Jews to Israel, France, and other global destinations. As an anthropologist, he saw great potential for research materials that could serve many in his field.

“Written materials are very important in Judaism,” Kosansky explained. “It is a very textual culture. These documents offer great insight into a culture and a community of people that once thrived here. They offer an opportunity to investigate elements of a society that has not been fully explored by those of us in the academic field. For the Jewish community, it represents something perhaps even more valuable—an opportunity to reflect on how their traditions have been shaped by modern life, colonialism, technological change, and global networks of migration, communication, and commerce.”

With the approval of community leaders, Kosansky sorted through hundreds of sacks containing thousands of documents and determined which documents were appropriate for burial and which represented significant historical texts suitable for preservation. Synagogue leaders gave Kosansky the documents for preservation, and he donated them to the Jewish Museum in Casablanca.

The unparalleled collection contains many unique documents, including handwritten letters, unpublished manuscripts, and community records, as well as published materials in a variety of languages, including Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew, and French. The documents now held by the museum will be the focus of Kosansky’s NEH digitization project.

Building a model to bring disparate parties and countries together

In developing his project, Kosansky has faced many difficult questions and considerations. Despite his excitement about the opportunity to open the door further on North African culture, he wrestled with concerns about how to build such an archive—chief among them, how to build an equitable process that respects the legal, ethical, and social differences across several societies.

“There are so many issues up for consideration,” Kosansky said. “For example, what, if any, are the copyright issues for such old documents? And what are the copyright laws in Morocco? Are there private documents we shouldn’t digitize out of respect for some individuals or the Jewish community? Who should be consulted on such ethical considerations?”

Kosansky will begin the project while he is directing Lewis & Clark’s first overseas program in Morocco next spring. Over the next 18 months, he will be identifying experts both in the U.S. and in Morocco in diverse fields like digital archives, information access, intellectual property law, and Jewish history to address the legal issues, begin the digitization process, and have the website built.

Given the scope of the entire project, Kosansky feels the key to its success will be building a shared vision and understanding across languages and cultural differences.

While the circumstances for any future project will be unique to the people and part of the world it is happening in, NEH will be better prepared to fund and assist comparable projects based on Kosansky’s experience and the lessons he takes away.

“This is about far more than an archive,” Kosansky said. “And it will be more than a list or set of images. It will be organic in its process and in its outcomes. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to learn how to effectively bring a cross-cultural project to fruition and to develop a model for academicians and laypeople to share information and ideas about the documents that they access.”

Samy Elmaghribi - New York

2010-07-12T21:04:00.000-04:00

When I was last in Israel, I visited a number of record stores and made a number of contacts who had Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian and Libyan vinyl that they were willing to part with. I'm listening right now to some Samy Elmaghribi. The first title on this Koliphone/Zakiphon produced album is called New York. On New York, Samy sings about the boroughs and ends that line with talking about how the boroughs are well known (m3roofeen). He then lists the boroughs and ends with Brooklyn (Brookleen) to make a great rhyme and then sings about people in New York coming from many different religions (kul deen) to complete it. Great song. Great album. Very upbeat. If anyone has a full translation of New York, please let me know.

Azoulay Bros - Jaffa, Israel

2010-05-21T17:08:00.000-04:00

Have been off the internet for a while and thus haven't posted. Will be back on the internet come this Thursday. In the meantime, I've posted some videos below. Pretty amazing.

I recently went to Israel with work. I took some personal time after the trip and went to Jaffa to the Azoulay Bros. shop to talk to them about Koliphone and of course to do some shopping. A few months ago I spoke about a fire that tore through their recording studio in the late 80s that destroyed most (if not all) of their master copies of some of the great North African Jewish musicians. They have no Koliphone or Zakiphon records for sale although they do hang some 7's around the store (see videos below).

They are working on recovering records but these records are now sold for too much money to really buy back in large quantities. They do sell some great CDs though for those interested (Cheikh Mwijo, Raymonde, Sami Elmaghribi, Line Monty, etc.).

I ended up buying some Zakiphon produced tapes (Cheikh Mwijo, Maxim Michali, Charli Elmahgribi, etc.). Really great finds.

In general, I got to know the used record scene in the Tel Aviv area. Email me if you need any recommendations.

Brill to Release Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World

2010-04-27T17:55:00.000-04:00

Went to this event last night. The Encyclopedia is 5 volumes and has great editors (Norman Stillman and Daniel Schroeter among them). Here is a link to the Brill page for the Encyclopedia. It sounds like there are a lot of great Morocco related articles (synagogue architecture, music, small villages in the south). Schroeter mentioned an article on Ighil N'Oro which got at least a few folks in the audience excited. Brill is still working on finishing the index BUT the entire Encyclopedia will be available online at the New York Public Library through July 1, 2010.

Benchimol Hospital Update

2010-04-27T17:42:00.000-04:00

Ynet reprinted the following and I think it gives a good overview. I wonder why there isn't the same concern for much older structures in Morocco that have either been converted to other uses or are falling into disrepair.

Jewish hospital in Tangiers torn down

Moroccan Jewish communities around the world outraged after ancient structure, which has been abandoned for 10 years, demolished before Passover, blame president of Tangiers Jewish community for current troubles, ask him to either take steps to prevent further actions or step down
Elad Benari

Moroccan Jewish communities around the world are upset after the Jewish hospital in Tangiers was torn down.

According to reports, the Benchimol Hospital in Tangiers which has been standing for more than 110 years was torn down Friday night before Passover at 2 am. “There is a law in Morocco that you cannot enter any private property between 10 pm and 6 am,” explained a concerned member of the Moroccan Jewish community in Toronto. “There was no warning about it.”

The community is now concerned that further action against Jewish institutions may be taken by the authorities in Morocco and wishes to make the public aware of the situation. Although the Tangiers Jewish community now only consists of about 40 Jews (at its peak there were 22,000 Jews in the community), there are still important Jewish landmarks in the area, such as a Jewish nursing home and two cemeteries.

“The new cemetery which is in the outskirts of Tangiers is on the highway going to Rabat. At one point it was really let gone. You could hardly go inside the cemetery because there were snakes; there were bushes in between the tombs,” said the concerned individual. “It was not maintained at all. Last year we sent e-mails and finally they got their act together and they cleaned it completely, and I do have to admit that they did a very good job. But it took years of pounding and pounding until they did it.”

The second Jewish cemetery in Tangiers is commonly known as the old cemetery, and was in operation already in the 1910s. There are many righteous individuals buried there, but it has not been maintained for the last 60-70 years. As a member of the local Moroccan Jewish community explained, the cemetery faces the port of Tangiers and the Moroccan authorities have their eyes on it. The community fears that if nothing is done, the authorities will take over that property and remove all the corpses.

Members of the Moroccan Jewish community, both in Canada and around the world, have begun to send e-mails to the president of the Tangiers Jewish community, whom they say is responsible for the current troubles, asking him to either take steps to prevent further actions or step down. “The Jewish community in Tangiers is run by Mr. Azancot. He’s the president,” explained one member of the Moroccan Jewish community in Toronto. “He was elected many years ago when the Jewish community was numerous. He’s hardly ever in Tangiers and doesn’t run things properly.”

'Main concern is Jewish cemetery'

According to the sources in the community, Azancot was given a year’s notice by the Moroccan authorities to fix up the hospital, which has been abandoned for about 10 years. The hospital has given care to Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the years. The members of the community explained that the problem arose when the president of the Jewish community went to the authorities with a plan to tear down the hospital and build an apartment building on that property. This opened up “a Pandora’s Box” as they put it, since the Moroccan authorities said that obviously, if the Jews want to build something on that property, that means they do not care about the building and it can be torn down.

They added that Azancot had no authority to decide to tear down the building since the Jewish community does not own the land. The land is owned by the Benchimol family and the deed has been deposited in the French Consulate. This means that only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France has a say on the fate of that building.

Besides bringing attention to Jewish communities worldwide, letters have been sent to Azancot by many Moroccan Jewish around the world. So far, said the sources, the e-mails have gone unanswered. Representatives of the Jewish communities in Madrid, Montreal, and Toronto have already been in contact with Azancot. Now, contact is also being made with the Canadian ambassador of Morocco.

A letter written by one of the communities here in Canada to the Moroccan ambassador in Canada said that “Morocco represents the paragon of coexistence in the Arab world. At a time when we are targeting a Jewish-Muslim reconciliation, measures such as those taken in anger in Tangiers leave us puzzled.” The letter urges the ambassador to convey the Jews’ dismay to the Moroccan authorities.

“The hospital is done and there’s nothing we can do to reconstruct the building. Our main concern is the Jewish cemetery. They can go anytime and take over. There’s a lot of tzadikim in that cemetery and that is our major concern,” said the community members. “The representative of the Jewish community has been warned already: Either do something or step down. Mr. Bardugo, who is the secretary of the entire Jewish community in Morocco, has advised him the same but unfortunately the Jewish community in Tangier does not answer to the general communities of Morocco. It’s a separate entity and has always been that way so nobody can do anything against that.”

Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life

The Ynet article uses a photo totally unrelated to the article (of the Benarrosh Synagogue) which is of course part of a bigger problem of a lack of photo documentation of sites throughout Morocco.

Diarna has provided some good photo documentation of the site and a personal touch. Read about it here.

Morocco's Oldest Jewish Hospital Demolished - Benchimol Hospital, Tangier

2010-04-21T17:18:00.001-04:00

Article from Point of No Return:

Morocco lost one of its historic landmarks when the oldest hospital in the land, the Jewish Benchimol hospital in Tangiers, was rased overnight on 2 April. And the Jewish cemetery might be next.

Why did the demolition squads choose the dead of night and the middle of the festival of Passover to do the deed? And who ordered them in? The Moroccan newspaper Liberation, lamenting the destruction of Morocco's heritage, blames not just the local municipality for this act of historic vandalism, but the local Jewish community, which ostensibly 'sold' the pre-colonial, 110-year-old hospital in order to raise money for its poor - in spite of objections from the Fondation du Patrimoine Culturel Judeo-Marocain, whose aim is to safeguard Morocco's Jewish heritage. (Another report, however, says that the community did not own the site, which was the property of the Benchimol family, French nationals. Only the French consulate would have been able to give approval for the hospital to be torn down.)

Historian Ralph Toledano prefers to speculate that a rogue Wali is to blame, who acted without the knowledge and consent of the king. The deed was done while the few members of the tiny Jewish community were away.

"It is not just that this was a Jewish building which upsets me. All destruction of historic heritage is an irredeemable loss. A heritage cannot be reconstituted," Toledano writes. He admits that he had heard rumours that the local authorities had been wanting to demolish the building for some time. The (bizarre) aim was to turn the site into a public park, adjoining the ancient palace of Sultan Moulay Hafid. "One must never despise rumours, they often become fact."

Hence must be taken seriously a rumour that the municipality has next set its sights on the Jewish cemetery of dar el San’a, on rue du Portugal, opposite Bab America. The cemetery was an 18th century concession negotiated between the Sherifian king's representative and the Jewish community on the site of an old Portuguese fort.

The site measures more than a hectare, and commands a beautiful view over the straits. Mr Toledano is horrified at the thought that a site where venerable rabbis and community dignitaries are buried might be bulldozed. The 15th century Castille cemetery in Tetuan has a similarly breathtaking view.

Article in Liberation Magazine:
http://www.libe.ma/Responsables-de-tous-bords-respectez-le-patrimoine-national--L-hopital-Benchimol-de-Tanger-rase_a10530.html

Interesting back and forth on the demolition and other demolitions/destruction/vandalism: http://www.darnna.com/phorum/read.php?13,171291,171342
(Pay attention to situation of cemetery at Tinghrir)

More updates soon.

On Raphael Elmaleh - TelQuel Article

2010-01-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

It's been way too long since I have posted and have lots of posts planned for 2010 but in the meantime please enjoy this article. If you are interested in having Raphy as your tour guide in Morocco, please let me know. Scroll to the bottom for the link to the article and an English translation.

Tourisme culturel. Suivez le guide!

Raphi au musée du judaïsme marocain de Casablanca.
(R.R. / TELQUEL)

Organisateur de circuits touristiques et défenseur du patrimoine judéo-marocain, Raphaël Elmaleh accueille la communauté juive internationale qui vient au Maroc découvrir un pan de son histoire.

Hors des quartiers juifs de Casablanca, Raphaël Elmaleh, alias Raphi, passe inaperçu. Peu connu de ses compatriotes, ce quinquagénaire aux cheveux grisonnants, tirés en queue de cheval, est pourtant le seul guide touristique juif dans le monde arabe. Raphi, né à Casablanca au

début des années 1960, aime à se définir comme un Marocain juif et non un juif marocain. Des grandes cités impériales aux petits villages berbères, il fait visiter à ses clients les synagogues, cimetières et quartiers communautaires. Ces touristes particuliers l’écoutent expliquer (en anglais, français ou en hébreu) comment les juifs sont arrivés au Maroc, pourquoi la plupart en sont partis et comment ceux qui sont restés vivent en harmonie avec la majorité musulmane.

Retour aux sources
Raphi adapte ses circuits au souhait de ses visiteurs. Au menu : Casablanca et son musée du judaïsme marocain, Rabat, Meknès, Fès ou Marrakech et leurs mellahs plusieurs fois centenaires. Il propose également des pèlerinages sur les tombes de rabbins enterrés dans des petits villages judéo-berbères dans le sud du pays. Certains clients d’origine marocaine demandent à être emmenés sur les traces de leurs ancêtres. Ce qui rend les circuits de Raphi spéciaux, c’est qu’ils mêlent passé et présent, démontrant que les juifs constituent toujours une communauté active au Maroc. Au programme des visites, il n’y a pas que les synagogues et les cimetières, mais également les écoles, les clubs juifs et même les commerces dits casher. “Ce que je cherche à montrer, c’est que l’histoire juive n’est pas terminée au Maroc, explique-t-il. D’ailleurs la relève est là”. Raphi emmène ses clients visiter une classe d’hébreu à l’école Neve Shalom à Casablanca. Les touristes discutent avec le professeur, observent les étudiants et évaluent même les connaissances en grammaire d’une élève tremblotante. “C’est touchant de voir comment une petite communauté juive maintient ses traditions”, commente une touriste française, visiblement émue par la visite. Le groupe entier en reparlera d’ailleurs tout au long de la journée.
Quand il se met à raconter l’histoire judéo-marocaine, Raphaël Elmaleh a les yeux qui brillent. Un thème lui tient particulièrement à cœur : la cohabitation des deux communautés marocaines. “C’est la peur qui nous a chassés, et c’est la peur qui a créé la méfiance, bien que les juifs n’aient jamais été expulsés du Maroc”. Si un des touristes français retient de son voyage que “les juifs sont libres de vivre leur religion sans se cacher”, d’autres restent sceptiques. “Sans dire que cette bonne entente est artificielle, je doute qu’elle résiste demain, si la situation empire au Proche-Orient”, observe une autre touriste. Cette cohabitation, Raphi l’applique pourtant dans son entreprise même en prenant sous son aile Youssef Benjlil, un jeune du quartier Aïn Chock de Casablanca, en qui le guide voit son successeur. Leurs clients ne cachent pas leur étonnement que ce soit un musulman qui les renseigne sur l’histoire des juifs. “Je n’avais jamais rencontré un juif avant Raphi, admet de son côté Youssef, mais j’ai trouvé son travail fascinant”. Sa famille et ses amis soutiennent sa décision de poursuivre dans cette voie. “Je rêve de travailler aussi avec les étudiants marocains. Il est important qu’ils prennent connaissance de ce pan de l’histoire nationale”.

Travail de mémoire
Raphaël Elmaleh a justement été aux premiers rangs de l’histoire de cette communauté. Comme des millions de Marocains de confession juive, il a pris le chemin de l’exil en 1969, soit deux ans après la guerre des Six jours qui leur a laissé un véritable sentiment de malaise. Alors âgé de neuf ans, il est envoyé seul en Angleterre dans un internat religieux. Il rentrera au Maroc près de vingt ans plus tard, appelé au chevet de sa mère souffrante. Le jeune homme devient “travailleur social” au sein du Joint Distribution Committee, un organisme américain de soutien aux juifs en situation de précarité, facilitant notamment leur réinstallation en Israël.

C’est à partir de là qu’il commence à s’intéresser à ses origines, voyageant, pendant huit ans, aux quatre coins du pays pour recueillir les témoignages des derniers juifs du royaume. “Je me suis tout de suite rendu compte du profond respect qui existait entre les communautés juive et berbère”, affirme-t-il. Il s’installe dans le sud et supervise les chantiers de restauration d’au moins dix synagogues. Aujourd’hui encore, il œuvre à la rénovation de deux lieux de culte à Errachidia et à Ighil-n-Ogho (région du Siroua). “C’est à la communauté juive de conserver ses trésors culturels qui se détériorent”, explique Raphi. Il a trouvé, au cours de ses voyages, plusieurs antiquités judéo-marocaines ainsi que des livres anciens. “Je n’ai jamais pensé à les envoyer à l’étranger, puisqu'ils font partie du patrimoine marocain”. En 1997, lorsque le musée du judaïsme a ouvert ses portes à Casablanca, Raphi y dépose toute sa collection. “On travaille ensemble, raconte Zhor Rehihil, conservatrice du musée. Comme il se déplace souvent, c’est lui qui nous informe des nouvelles découvertes. Raphi fait beaucoup pour la communauté et la culture juives au Maroc”. Pourtant, certains universitaires lui reprochent de ne pas être un vrai historien. Mais l’intéressé n’a jamais prétendu le contraire. Sa reconnaissance, il la tire de la satisfaction de ses clients, à qui il offre son savoir et prêche la tolérance. La tête haute, l’enfant de Casablanca conclut à la fin de chaque circuit : “Je suis fier d’être juif dans un pays musulman”.

http://www.telquel-online.com/407/mag3_407.shtml

English translation of Tel Quel article

Koliphone/Zakiphon LP Covers

2009-11-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

A while back I posted about an article in Haaretz that discussed Zohra El Fassia and the Koliphone/Zakiphon record labels. I was doing a little bit of searching in Hebrew today and came across the Hebrew version of the same article which included the above photo. Check out a very young looking Raymonde (who just performed in Essaouira) all the way to the right. You can also see the album covers of Jo Amar, Sami Elmaghribi (from the Ben Soussan LP - which I recently acquired) and Zohra El Fassia amongst others.

Raymonde Abecassis Performs at Moroccan Jewish Music Fest in Essaouira

2009-11-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks to J from Juifs Berberes for this:

http://www.lematin.ma/Actualite/Journal/Article.asp?idr=115&id=122420

Le Matin

Musique
Raymonde El Bidaouia, une légende hors pair!
La ''Perle orientale'' a enchanté le public du Festival andalousies atlantiques d'Essaouira.
Publié le : 05.11.2009 \| 14h59

Pendant trois jours s'est tenue à Essaouira la 6e édition du Festival Andalousies Atlantiques, dont l'un des temps fort était la prestation de la grande chanteuse de ''châabi'' et de ''melhoune'', originaire de Casablanca, Raymonde El Bidaouia, surnommée la ''Perle orientale''.

Elle a donné deux concerts en compagnie de l'orchestre Zyriab d'Ahmed El Fakir, qui est un groupe de douze musiciens spécialisés dans le style ''gharnati''. Au grand plaisir du public, elle a joué à deux reprises: un concert acoustique à Dar Souiri et une belle prestation à l'ouverture de la magnifique soirée de clôture. A Dar Souiri, l'assistance a été nombreuse et il y a ceux qui ont suivi le show debout. Tout le monde a vibré durant le concert. Les youyous ont donc accompagné le chant de la ''Perle orientale''.

La grande dame du cœur a offert un grand hommage à la chanteuse disparue Zohra El Fassia. En chantant des pages du répertoire de la pionnière du ‘'malhoune'', Raymond El Bidaouia a charmé son public. Elle a tout simplement impressionné l'assistance avec des tubes de ''chaâbi'' et '‘gharnati''. Lors du concert de clôture, elle a rendu un grand hommage aux Casablancais en interprétant ‘'Bidawa…Bidawa''. Une chanson que le public marocain connaît très bien. Un tube que l'on diffusait assez souvent à la RTM aux années 80. Il est à noter que Raymonde El Bidouia est l'une des chanteuses marocaines les plus populaires dans les styles tant du ''châabi'' que du ''melhoune'' ou de la musique juive marocaine en général. C'est l'une des plus fantastiques représentantes de la tradition populaire musicale au Maroc. Le public a apprécié tout particulièrement la délicate sensualité de sa voix grave et puissante. Cette particularité a aussi enchanté le nombreux public présent à ce festival de l'ancienne Modagor, où l'artiste était ''portée'' par le somptueux accompagnement de l'orchestre Zyriab d'Oujda, conduit de main de maître par son chef Ahmed Fakir. Une de ses admiratrices affirme: «Tous les Marocains aiment Raymonde El Bidaouia! ».

Et d'ajouter : «Son répertoire nous a plongés dans notre enfance passée au Maroc avant d'aller en France. Ma mère et mes tantes chantaient ses chansons lors des réunions et des cérémonies familiales». Et une autre spectatrice qui déclare : «Elle a bercé l'enfance de plus d'un d'entre nous». La chanteuse, de son vrai nom Raymonde Cohen Abecassis, est très attachée à son pays d'origine, le Maroc; ce qu'elle démontre en chantant partout dans le monde pour y porter bien haut les couleurs de notre tradition musicale et notre patrimoine judéo-marocain. Ses talents sont d'ailleurs multiples, vu qu'actuellement, elle se produit aussi dans une pièce de théâtre en dialecte marocain «darija», et c'est un succès tout particulièrement aux États-Unis et en Israël, où elle réside à Ashdod.

Parmi ses très nombreux titres qu'il est possible de trouver en disques, signalons le représentatif ''Lâaroussa de Zohra El Fassia'', inspiré des chants traditionnels des festivités de mariage, où elle chante, avec des instruments traditionnels, sur le rythme appuyé de battements de mains du cœur qui lui répond, rythme s'accélérant, puis se ralentissant pour laisser toute la place à plusieurs de ses amples solos. Ses grands succès sont ‘'Dak lahbib'', ‘'Choufi ghirou'' et l'inoubliable morceau ‘'Aloulide''.

Plusieurs instruments y ont cependant pris une place de choix tels les violons à l'envers ‘'kamanja'', les percussions et les ‘'takassim'' du luth de la main du maître et chef d'orchestre Ahmed Fakir.

Les musiciens ont eu droit chacun à quelques solos ‘' nouba'' qui sont parfois même ponctués et accompagnés de youyous des femmes présentes : un véritable moment de bonheur traditionnel qu'ont pu vivre les spectateurs privilégiés du Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques.
------------------------------------------------------------------

Raymonde rend hommage à Zohra El Fassia

Ce Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques a rendu un vibrant hommage au répertoire musical judéo-marocain, né d'une fusion datant de plusieurs siècles, et tout spécialement à Zohra El Fassia.
Raymonde El Bidaouia a chanté quelques morceaux d'une étoile bien représentative de cet art métissant deux cultures. La célèbre chanteuse des années cinquante Zohra El Fassia fut l'une des figures emblématiques et pionnières du style ‘'malhoune''.
En effet, elle a milité par ses œuvres pour la cohabitation judéo-musulmane au Maroc. Elle est née à Sefrou en 1905 et est décédée à l'âge de 89 ans, en 1994, à Ashkelone en Israël. En 1960, elle habitait alors à Casablanca, à la rue Sarah Bernard, et avec plaisir, on «entendait sa voix dans tout le quartier».

For an English translation, click here.

P.S. I'm moving apartments but as soon as I am settled I will upload some great, old images of Raymonde from her classic Koliphone/Zakiphon LPs.

Essaouira: Jewish-Muslim music fest is lesson in tolerance

2009-11-03T16:11:00.001-05:00

By Brett Kline (AFP) – 1 day ago

ESSAOUIRA, Morocco — A music festival bringing Jews and Muslims together in this windy, walled fishing port, long a crossroads of civilisation, is a step in breaking down political divides, says festival founder Andre Azoulay.

Azoulay, a high-profile businessman and advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI, who is a player in the Middle East peace process, is the driving force behind the Andalousies Atlantiques festival of Judeo-Arab music, whose sixth edition ended this weekend.

"Essaouira throughout its entire history and its entire way of living was a synthesis between Muslims and Jews," Azoulay told AFP. "It was not something artificially constructed, it was natural."

"And this festival is a reconstruction of that reality as it was historically. It is not cosmetic, it is real."

The opening concert at the three-day fest improbably featured an 80-year-old singer-rabbi, Haim Louk, backed by a Moroccan band who drew thunderous applause from the audience -- people of all ages and social class, women wearing headscarves and others in western gear, tourists, foreigners, Jews and Arabs.

Azoulay grew up in the town, which then had a big Jewish community, and returned after a successful banking and communications career in France with the idea of reviving the local economy.

An obvious path was to turn the town into a cultural hub to reflect its past, and a number of festivals including the world's leading festival of pulsating Gnaoua (or Gnawa) music now take place in the town.

"The changes in the town have been tremendous," Azoulay said. "Twenty years ago there was no airport. The hotels here now employ hundreds of people."

Azoulay grew up in a building in the kasbah where a Jewish family lived on one floor and a Muslim family on the next.

"It was so normal that it was banal."

"When you see a concert such as Haim Louk, it is very moving," he said. "It is a reflection of what was and what is today in Morocco, and it is a step in the right direction in terms of our values.

"I would challenge anyone to take that social and cultural cohesiveness away from us, because of a political situation in which people are at odds with each other," he added.

Describing himself as spiritually Jewish, but also a Berber who is strongly influenced by Arab-Islamic history and culture, Azoulay said this meant he could enjoy Mahler, Um Kalthoum and Andalusian music.

"When people can sing and play together on stage in Hebrew and in Arabic, it is beyond symbolic, it is real. It is about reconciliation," he said.

"And when you see the standing ovation that a Moroccan Muslim public gave a Moroccan Jewish artist, you see maybe they could pay attention elsewhere."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g63RwqsJxdcHcFJZ-NzLjhcukGdw

Moroccan Jewish Music in Essaouira - Oct. 29 - Nov. 1, 2009

2009-10-12T20:49:00.000-04:00

From AFP:

Thu Oct 8, 12:03 pm ET

RABAT (AFP) – This year's festival of the Atlantic Andalusias, held in the Moroccan port of Essaouira, will focus on a Moroccan Jewish musical tradition known as Matrouz, organisers announced Thursday.

During the festival, to be held from October 29 to November 1, there will be concerts to gather together "our poets, our musicians and our singers, Muslims and Jews, to sing and dance together," Andre Azoulay, festival chairman and an advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI, told AFP.

The north African country's Jewish art is a "major component of the cultural wealth and identity in Morocco," Azoulay said. "It shouldn't just be reduced to folklore (...). It gives the best example of how to make mentalities evolve by going out to meet other people."

Matrouz is a tradition that dates back several centuries. One example of the art form will be a concert in which the rabbi Haim Louk will sing accompanied by the Zyriab orchestra from Oudja in east Morocco.

Azoulay said that the Franco-Algerian pianist Maurice El Medioni, "one of the great masters of the Jewish Arab tradition," will perform with the Jewish Moroccan singer, Raymonde El Bedaouia.

In the future, there will be a prize for the preservation and performance of Matrouz music, Azoulay added.

The festival will pay a posthumous tribute to 1950s singer Zohra Fassia, who was a militant for the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Muslims in Morocco.

Evenings of Spanish flamenco and music from India are also on the programme for the festival, which is the sixth of its kind.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091008/wl_africa_afp/moroccomusicfestivalreligion

D. R. Cowles Photographs of Jewish Morocco in NYC

2009-08-29T14:28:00.000-04:00

D.R. Cowles has photographed extensively in Morocco and his photographs will be on display at the 92nd Street Y starting on Friday, Sept. 4. For some of his photographs of Jewish Morocco click here and here. His Morocco photos were taken in 1993 and 1995. I have visited most of the Jewish sites that he photographed - some have been restored (like the synagogue in Arazan) and some have almost completely deteriorated (like the Mansano Synagogue in Fes). This exhibit is a must see. Information is below: D. R. COWLES—PHOTOGRAPHS, 1993-2008 Using a hundred-year-old photographic process, D. R. Cowles has spent the last fifteen years turning it to contemporary purposes: documenting vanishing architecture and artisanal traditions, reinterpreting art antiquities and exploring the untapped potential of his nearly-obsolete medium to advance a modern aesthetic. In his choice of subject matter as in his means of rendering it, the past is given new life: human history, art history and the history of photography converge in images equally informed by the present. This exhibition traces an artistic journey, representing several phases of Cowles’ work with key pieces. Fri, Sep 4—Wed, Oct 21, 2009 Viewing hours are 12–4pm on the following days unless otherwise stated: 9/4 9/8 9/9 (12:15 start) 9/18 9/21 9/25 9/29 10/7 (12:15 start) 10/8 10/13 10/15 10/20 About D. R. COWLES Born in Boston, David Cowles studied at New York University's Graduate Institute for Film and Television and later at Concordia University where he majored in European and Jewish history. In 1993, fusing historical with photographic interests, he made the first of numerous trips to North Africa to document remaining Jewish sites in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. In the course of this project, Cowles also photographed Islamic and traditional Moroccan architecture, Roman ruins, and art antiquities. Since 2002, he has moved from artistic documentary to making photographs as pure art, refining his late 19th century printing process and applying it to semi-abstract still life studies and multiple-print composite images. Cowles has lived in Montreal since 1976. His work is represented in numerous private and public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Tel Aviv Museum and the Jewish Museum of Casablanca.

All prints are courtesy of the artist. D. R. Cowles is represented by Yosefa Drescher Fine Art,www.ydfa.com.
*For more information regarding this exhibit, please call 212.415.5740. General Viewing and Contact Information for the Weill Art Gallery The Milton J. Weill Art Gallery is open to patrons of Kaufmann Concert Hall during regularly scheduled events. For viewing at other times please call 212.415.5563 to schedule an appointment. Milton J. Weill Art Gallery, 92nd Street Y* 1395 Lexington Avenue , New York City 92YTribeca Gallery Click here to visit the 92YTribeca Gallery at the 92YTribeca site.

Jewish Cemetery in Asilah: Connecting with Levy Roif’s Great-Great Grandson

2009-08-11T20:13:00.000-04:00

Nearly a year ago I wrote about the Jewish cemetery in Asilah. I mentioned two tombs that caught my attention. One of them was of Levy Roif who died in 1926 at the age of 110.

Last week I received a note in my inbox from Rinaldo in Brazil. It was a surprise that only the internet could have enabled.

Rinaldo wrote:
It was quite a wonderful surprise to read about the location of the tomb of Levi Roif. He was my great-great-grandfather. His son Abraham Roffe, or Roif, emigrated with his family in the late XIXs [19th century] to the city of Belem, in northern Brazil where he died in 1931 and was one of the leaders of the local Jewish Sephardic Community. My grandmother, Miriam Roffe Athias commented about her grandfather Levi Roif whom she knew personally, lived almost 110 years old, and was buried in Asilah.

He continues:
In the late XIX’s [19th century] and early XX’s [20th century] there was a massive migration of Moroccan Jews to the Amazon region during the rubber boom, they came from the cities of Tangier, Tetouan, Larache, Rabat and Asilah. The three sons of Levy Roif moved in the wake of that migration and settled in the city of Belém where there is a Synagogue since 1848. Around 300 Jewish Sephardic families still live there. The eldest son, Abraham Roffe, my great-grandfather came with wife and younger children. His eldest daughter, Miriam Roffe my grandmother, stayed in Azilah for a few years more, living with her grandparents Levy Roif an Honoria (The same name of my mother); she died in Belém in 1956.

Even more astounding - Rinaldo was kind enough to send me possibly the only photo in existence of Levy Roif (date unknown) taken in Asilah, Morocco. He also included a photo of the extended family taken in Brazil in 1922.

I am including both photos below. I am also including never before seen photos from my September 2008 visit to the Jewish cemetery in Asilah.

Levy Roif (date unknown)
Asilah, Morocco

Abraham Roffe, Wife and Family (1922)
Belem, Brazil

Tomb of Levy Roif (2008)
Asilah, Morocco
(c) Chris Silver

Jewish Cemetery and Geniza (2008)
Asilah, Morocco
(c) Chris Silver

A Guide to Accessing the Jewish Cemetery in Asilah
Take a train or bus to reach Asilah. The cemetery in Asilah lies just down the coast from the city center. It is easily accessed by foot and most locals will be able to point you in the right direction. There is a cemetery gate that remains unlocked. There is a family that lives on premises. The fourth wall that should close the cemetery off from the sea has come down which makes for a breathtaking, unbelievable view/juxtaposition but of course should be repaired to prevent further deterioration of the cemetery. To repair the wall would cost approximately $500. If anyone is interested in financing the repair, please contact me. A geniza still exists in the cemetery unlike other abandoned cemeteries across Morocco.

Asilah As Inspiration – the Case of Edmond Amran Elmaleh Edmond Amran Elmaleh is known as the Moroccan James Joyce. He was born in Safi and began his writing career much later in his life. His 1979-80 visit to the Jewish cemetery in Asilah inspired his first book Parcours Immobile.

He writes:
When, around the years 1978-1980, the emotion, the shock felt in a visit to the Jewish cemetery in Asilah, a small town forty miles from Tangier, determined the birth of Parcours Immobile, my first book.

Here is a little more about Parcours Immobile which takes place in the Jewish cemetery in Asilah.

Here he artfully describes Nahon, the last Jew to die in Asilah.

There is much more to write about the cemetery in Asilah (including its foundation story which involves a shipwrecked refugee ship from Spain in 1492), Jewish Asilah, and Elmaleh but I will leave it here for now.

Cheikha Zohra El Fassia

2009-08-04T19:28:00.000-04:00

Haaretz ran an excellent piece the other day that highlighted some of what I discussed with the Jo Amar entry - namely that Moroccan musicians continued to record (in Arabic) upon arrival in Israel.

Here are a couple interesting notes from the article:

Israeli musicians "discovering" Moroccan music
Some of the Moroccan music produced in Israel has been lost forever (due to a fire in the 1980s that destroyed the master copies of this music)

The article also discusses the the later years of her life. Here is some more background on Zohra El Fassia (also known as Cheikha Zohra El Fassia due to her mastery of a number of popular genres and traditional styles including gharnati, aita and melhoun).

A link to her "Ya Warda" can be found here. For a video of her performing, click here.

On a personal note, I have been working to collect the old LPs of Zohra El Fassia and other Moroccan Jewish artists including Sami El Maghribi, Cheikh Mwijo and others. As the above article discusses, this music is quickly being lost and we need to preserve it.

Here are a couple of excellent compilation CDs that feature (prominently) North African Jews:

Pay close attention to - Raoul Journo, Louisa Tounsia and Cheikh Zouzou.

Jo Amar Passes Away at 79

2009-07-02T14:47:00.000-04:00

There have been a few articles about the passing of Jo Amar last week. One of the best I’ve read so far has been the Ben Harris piece at JTA. Simple and well stated - a fitting tribute. Harris describes Amar as a Moroccan singer and Israeli icon and perhaps this is the best description of this man of many worlds. Other articles have aptly described Amar’s contributions to Israeli and Hebrew music and most notably to Mizrahi music but have neglected to mention his contribution to Moroccan and Arabic music. Just as Amar was an Israeli icon, he was also a Moroccan singer. He sang in Hebrew and in Arabic. Upon emigrating to Israel, Amar, like other immigrant singers, recorded music in Arabic at Koliphone (with the Azoulay Brothers) in Jaffa.

Yesterday on my way home from work I stopped by the post office to pick up a package that was waiting for me. I had ordered some old records from Israel and among them was an Arabic language LP entitled Kdam Drssd Ala - sung of course by Jo Amar. Once home I carefully unwrapped the package and removed the record from its sleeve. I placed the record on my turntable and placed the needle on the vinyl and there he was - Jo Amar in all his glory singing in Arabic.

Jewish Cemetery in Tangier

2009-06-30T21:21:00.001-04:00

Excellent new resource on Jewish cemetery in Tangier. The cemetery is being mapped and a fund has been set up to help with restoration. Here's the English translation to the French site. I will post more on the Jewish community of Tangier shortly and how best to access cemetery.

My Search for Haim Botbol

2009-06-03T18:45:00.000-04:00

Before I last left Morocco in Aprl, I happened on a fantastic Abitbol cassette. I have been working on verifying the identify of this Moroccan Jewish singer since then. It should have been obvious to me who he was but my searches yielded far too many unrelated results. It's amazing how a few changes to a Google search (think: Botbol instead of Abitbol and Chaabi instead of Musique) can make all the difference.

So it appears that since leaving Morocco, I have been listening to the chaabi stylings of Haim Botbol whose photo is above. Botbol was born in Fes and has been performing for decades, you can find his translated bio here.

Click here for a link to some of his videos. Here he is performing with Vanessa Paloma at the Laredo Old Age Home in Tangier. I will work on scanning and then posting the cover of the cassette I purchased.

The Jew in Us - At the heart of Moroccan identity

2009-05-18T21:58:00.000-04:00

"The origins of our flag

The original flag of Morocco, first used in the 10th century by the Almoravid Ruler Youssef ibn Tachfine, was white ... without any ornament. Three centuries later the Merinid dynasty added the seal of David, a star with six branches. Even if today, "the Star of David" is universally regarded as the hallmark of the Jewish people (it appears on the flag of Israel), we must remember that David, or Daoud, is a biblical prophet, revered as much by Jews than Muslims. So without discomfort or ambiguity the Merinides chose the six pointed star for their emblem…The currency in use in Morocco also remained until the early twentieth century the six pointed star." (My partial translation)

As I left Morocco last year (November 2008) I grabbed a few magazines and newspapers at the airport. I was blessed with the above article about Jewish identity as Moroccan identity. I meant to scan the article and post but never did. I have included the cover of the Tel Quel issue above and a partial translation of the opening paragraph. A Google translation of the article can be found here.

Indeed there was a time when the flag of Morocco and the currency of Morocco both displayed the seal of Solomon or Star of David.

Silent Prayer

2009-05-03T12:51:00.001-04:00

Interior, Grand Synagogue in Oujda

Prayer and Hebrew books, Grand Synagogue in Oujda

Diagramming Oujda

2009-05-03T12:47:00.000-04:00

Today, from the outside the Grande Synagogue in Oujda is still noticeably a synagogue with two stained glass Star of Davids and a sign above the entrance that reads Beit T'fila or House of Prayer. The synagogue is here and you can see in the Wikimapia link that a former Jewish school lies just north of the synagogue on the map.

Oujda: Modern Jewish History

2009-04-29T18:31:00.000-04:00

Oujda is the largest city in Eastern Morocco today and once was the home of a large Jewish community. The Grand Synagogue, the pride of the community, was built in 1930 and has served as the main synagogue in Oujda for the last 80 years. By 1936 the Jewish population stood at 2,048. In the early 1940s, the Vichy administration made life difficult for Jews in Oujda - Jews were dismissed from government work and from French schools. In the late 1940s, Oujda served as the scene of significant anti-Jewish violence and the final departure point to Israel. On June 7, 1948 a pogrom in Oujda (and Djerada) resulted in the murder of 43 Jews. By 1951 the Jewish population remained at about 2,000 persons.

The Grand Synagogue in Oujda will turn 80 next year

2009-04-27T20:14:00.000-04:00

It was built in 1930. Here is the building from the outside (I will diagram this in the next couple days).

CTM is the official transport company of Morocco. Their Oujda office is housed underneath the synagogue.

Questions

1. Is it possible to raise the funding to begin restoration for its 80th year?

2. Do any readers have memories of the synagogue that they would like to share?

Berber Vinyl and Abitbol Cassettes

2009-04-21T17:58:00.000-04:00

On Friday before heading out to interview Raphy, I stopped by a fantastic music store (for those in Casa, the store is located at 26 Lalla Yacout Street). Le Comptoire Marocain de Distribution de Disques carrys an extensive collection of Arab and Berber music in vinyl, cassette, and cd form from mostly the 1960s and 1970s. The music is hand picked and excellent quality. I picked up a few Berber LPs. These musicians were all from the Souss region and were masters or rwais of the rebab (spiked fidle). Interestingly, there were ahwash and rwais musicians amongst Chleuh speaking Jews (including from Ighil N'Oro - a picture of the Jewish cemetery there is at the top of the blog) who eventually imported this musical style to Israel, click here to read more.

I had originally stopped by to see if they had any Samy Elmaghribi or Salim Hilali on vinyl - two universally respected (by Moroccans) Moroccan Jewish singers. Unfortunately they didn't have any. Also, there was recently an exhibit on Samy Elmaghribi at the Casablanca Jewish Museum.

But...

In another testament to the ominpresence of Jewish life in Morocco, the store carried an extensive and possibly complete collection of the popular (shaabi) Moroccan Jewish singer Abitbol. I picked up one of his cassettes and will post a picture of the cover soon.

Names in Casa

2009-04-21T16:11:00.000-04:00

In Casablanca and other large cities small plaques outside office buildings indicate the names of those working inside. For example: Dr. Ahmed Touwfiq, Dental Surgeon. Walking through Casablanca you encounter numerous Jewish names, as well as Muslim names, throughout the city. On one short block on Friday, April 17, I passed a Dr. Cohen and a Dr. Benzaquen.

Mimouna in Casa - April 16

2009-04-21T16:08:00.000-04:00

Mimouna was wonderful. It was my first mimouna in Morocco and it was a special evening. On my way to the celebration I passed Muslims in Place Verte preparing boquets of wheat for the festival.

There were about 30 people at my Mimouna celebration - mostly Muslims who had come to help celebrate. One of my favorite parts of the evening was the storytelling and joketelling. For nearly an hour, individuals jumped at the opportunity to tell joke after joke after joke. And each one was a raging success. Uproarious laughter punctuated the end of every joke. Some jokes were about Moroccans and their peculiarities. Others were about Muslims and Jews. The Muslim-Jewish jokes were obviously of particular interest to me. Those jokes (or at least the ones I understood) were more self-depricating than I had anticipated and actually poked more fun at the Muslim community than the Jewish community. It was a fascinating exchange.

Just landed

2009-04-18T18:03:00.000-04:00

Back in New York and have much to add. Will do so shortly.

Back in Rabat

2009-04-15T08:03:00.001-04:00

I arrived in Rabat late last night. I was picked up by some old friends, a family who had taken me in on many occasion when I was lat here. We had dinner and caught up. I took a shower and slept in a real bed and it was wonderful. Today I'm headed back to Casa and tomorrow night will take part in Mimouna.

Wikimapia in Guercif

2009-04-15T07:54:00.000-04:00

I jumped on the internet before heading to Rabat. There I checked my email on a terrible internet connection. With all my bags I looked like the many disenchanted Moroccan refugees who have no way of getting home now because of the transportation strike and gas rationing.

The owner of the cafe took an interest in me. He wouldn't believe that I wasn't actually Moroccan.

Where had you wanted to go? He asked.
To Debdou. I said.
Ah, it's so beautiful there. Surrounded by trees and isolated.
Great. I thought.

He jumped on my computer and pulled up wikimapia. I was stunned that this was the first resource he used but considering Moroccan proliferation for that website I shouldn't have been surprised.

Here is where it happened - my earlier post on wikimapia as a resource for discovering Moroccan Jewish history was suddenly right before my eyes. Here in the internet cafes of Guercif and similar small cities young Moroccans were marking space - both Muslim and Jewish. It was fascinating to see it up close.

The internet connection proved too slow to fully utilize the wonders of wikimapia (or anything else) and so I paid and headed for the train.

Getting into the hole - Guercif

2009-04-15T07:42:00.000-04:00

Foiled again by the strike. Strikers are very serious. There are also gas shortages throughout the country which I think helps the strikers remain principled. The taxi drivers told me that if I wanted to get to Debdou I could take the train to Taourirt (true) and walk from there (not true). Perhaps I would have had better luck in Taourirt but very hard to say.

I decided to make the most of my last day in Guercif and head back to the "Jewish" cemetery. Something about yesterday didn't totally convince me that it was in fact a Jewish cemetery. It looked like one but I wouldn't be content unless I went it back.

I found it easily this time and stood opposite that hole I had earlier described for some time. The cemetery is opposite a high school and there were far too many people out for me to casually crawl under an artifical hole in the wall of a cemetery. I waited until most people and most students had cleared out. Just as I was about to make my way for the hole, 5 or 6 students climbed under.

I decided to follow them in. I headed towards the cemetery ducked and put one hand down to the dirt and pulled myself through. There were the students sitting on what used to be the entrance to the cemetery and they had now spotted their uninvited guest.

Is this a Jewish cemetery?
No it's a Christian (Nasara) cemetery.
Are you sure? I was told it was the Jewish cemetery.

They said it was both. I didn't believe them. They wanted to know where I was from and what I was doing there. I asked them why they had snuck into the cemetery. To smoke, they said. Seemed very American although we would probably sneak into a high school bathroom or a park before a cemetery.

We went around surveying the cemetery. The tombs from a far looked very similar to tombs in Jewish cemeteries throughout the country although this was indeed a Christian cemetery. The boys made sure that we looked at every tomb just to be sure. I was sure. It is an interesting find nonetheless and should be the subject of another trip. One tomb, a Christian one, was even inscribed in Arabic. But the Jewish cemetery had eluded me and I headed to the train station.

Christian cemetery in Guercif

2009-04-13T14:55:00.000-04:00

There is a large Christian cemetery in Guercif surrounded by a wall. Some 25 tombs remain in good condition. A small hole (large enough to climb through) has been created on one of its sides. There is development all around it. Younger Guercifis arent familiar with it but older ones certainly are. Located not on the outskirts but near the center of town. Cemetery is testimony to once significant community.

I would say one could easily skip Guercif. Not much to keep you here.

Guercif but not Debdou

2009-04-13T14:53:00.000-04:00

Transportation strike is getting frustrating. Continues. You can read about it here. Couldnt get to Debdou today.

Dinner in Oujda

2009-04-13T14:29:00.000-04:00

Spent last night with my wonderful hosts and had another delicious meal. The oldest of the women sat down next to me before dinner and wanted to hear all about world Jewry. She wanted to know how many Jews were still in Syria, Lebanon, everywhere. She asked me about the Jews of Ethiopia and I was shocked that she even knew to ask. She asked about Iran and I told her that there were many more Jews there than in Morocco. They were all shocked and started asking if they covered their faces like all Iranian women. It was very comical.

I learned more about these women throughout our meal. One had been to Israel before but for some reason has decided to stay here in Morocco. I told them that my mother had thanked them for being so warm to me and that got them really excited. We ended our meal and they asked me to take about 4 pounds of truffles back with me to some mutual friends in Casa. I of course obliged and have now added truffles stuffed in matzah boxes to my previously light load.

One of my favorite parts of the night was when they asked me to be extra safe walking back to my hotel which was just a couple hundred feet from their house. I told them I would be fine but they insisted on protecting me. So as I exited the house two old women in bath robes and slippers walked me most of the way to my hotel. We look like an army I told them and all we were missing was a rolling pin.

Lunch in Oujda

2009-04-12T14:55:00.000-04:00

After the synagogue I prepared to say goodbye. Shukran wa Hag Sameah. But they insisted I join them for lunch. For about an hour I sat with one of the women as she patiently conversed with me about everything and anything. I mentioned that I had gone to Rissani to see the home of the Baba Sali and that I had been to his hilloula in Israel. She excitedly told me that she was related to Baba Baruch and Sidna Baba Sali and then quickly covered and uncovered her eyes blessing him and his family.

The house I am in looks large. There is space. I am seated in the living room. The woman I am speaking to is fascinating. Her family is originally from Figuig, the oasis town of 200k palm trees about 7 hours south of here. The cemeteries are destroyed she says but I have seen at least one picture that makes me believe there are at least some tombstones untouched. Her family used to travel to Algeria she tells me. They would visit Oran. The Grand Synagogue there (which I will link to shortly) has been turned into a mosque (true). She was last there about 15 years ago. She knew all the important centers of Jewish life in Algeria. I asked her if she knew Ghardaia in the Mzab. She definitely knew it. In fact come to think of it the syangogue in Oujda and Ghardaia have many similarities including the stained glass. The syangogue is abandoned but still stands I told her.

She began to set the table carefully placing plate upon bowl upon plate and then finishing off with a checkered red and white cloth napkin. We sat – 3 Jewish women – and me. Round matzah filled the table. We spoke about everything from Israel to food prices in America. They wanted me to tell them how much I made in the US and if I liked Obama. We ate salads, meatballs, telfas (a Passover quiche), lamb and peas. Needless to say – everything was delicious. We finished our meal with fruit, tea, and coffee. I went to bid them farewell and they asked me to come again for dinner.

I cant wait.

The Grand Syangogue in Oujda

2009-04-12T14:34:00.001-04:00

Unbelievable. We entered the building and ascended a flight of stairs. That leads you to the main sanctuary. It is huge. Mens section alone could accomodate hundreds. Benches were all there. Although I dont know the exact condition of the roof I know it is holding up well enough (despite some holes and leaking) to leave the synagogue in moderate-good shape. The teva (bima) is intact. The ark is there with beautiful stained glass. We ascended another set of stairs to the womans section. This could also accomodate many – maybe 100. There are rooms for celebrations and rooms for study. There is even a childrens bathroom with very low sinks. There are books and calendars and probably much more that is not immediately visible. On my way out I noticed a brit millah (circumcision) chair. I was stunned. We exited and I thanked God for the transportation strike. None of this might have happened without it. We walked back to their home and I thanked them profusely. Shukran wa Hag Sameah. Wont you join us for lunch? She asked.

Khubz haram

2009-04-12T13:52:00.000-04:00

I headed back to town. There is no mellah in Oujda but certainly a Jewish area. It was there I began my search for the last half dozen Jewish women in Oujda – one of whom I hoped had the key to synagogue. I knocked at the door and a woman answered.

Who am I? I thought. How would I explain that I wanted to see the synagogue because I wanted to see the synagogue? That I hoped to help restore it.

The synagogue in question is known as the Grand Synagogue. It was the pride of Oujda Jewish community and supposedly could accomodate some 700 worshippers.

I told her who I was as best I could. Hag Sameah I said to her. I told her who I knew as best I could. Baruch hashem I said after another remark. I was sure I would be kicked to the curb but I wasnt. She told me that khubz (bread) was haram (forbidden) during Passover. Of course I said. I had matzah in my hotel. She invited me in for coffee and matzah.

After some conversation and vetting from her and a second Jewish woman they agreed to show me the synagogue. Wow.

Transit strike strikes again - in Oujda

2009-04-12T13:50:00.001-04:00

Woke up early and headed to central bus station and grand taxi stand. Spotted taxis to Jeradda. One was nearly full...but with taxi drivers. Grand taxis continued to strike. Headed to bus station and almost all buses were grounded including ones to Jeradda and Berkane. Heading back to Oujda to find woman with keys to the syangogue.

Oujda – Day 1 (April 11)

2009-04-12T13:42:00.002-04:00

Oujda is the largest city in Eastern Morocco and sits directly across from Tlemcen and close to Oran in Algeria. The border has been closed for some years but you can imagine what the city was once like when Algerians and Moroccans passed back and forth – like they did historically. Most people I have spoken to on the subject have told me that the East is not as friendly as other parts of the country. Beyond a general unfriendliness they tell me, there is also lacking the nostalgia that other parts of the country have for their departed Jewish communities.

I had planned on waking up early and trying to first head for Djeradda and if that was impossible then to head to Berkane where there is a large Jewish cemetery: instead I slept in – it is my birthday today afterall – and I made the right decision. It has been raining all day and things have been moving very slowly. I decided to check out the Grande Synagogue during lunch. It is located only a few hundred meters from my hotel. I decided to eat at a restaurant next door to the synagogue and then to chat up someone at the restaurant in order to find out more about access. My hope was that with a wall in common perhaps there was a window that looked out into the synagogue or even a door that opened to the synagogue or perhaps a view from the roof – anything. It turns out I spoke to the wrong gentleman.

Is that a synagogue next door? I asked (I knew it was but just wanted to start the conversation) Yes but its closed.

Are you Muslim?

No, Im Jewish.

Why dont you convert?

Well, Im Jewish just like youre Muslim – everyone has their…

Religion (in unison)

Does anyone have a key?

No.

No one?

No.

Ok, thank you so much.

It turns out that there is a woman with a key. I hope to meet her on Sunday. Keys to an abandoned synagogue (one of the largest synagogues in Morocco) would be a wonderful belated bday gift.

To Oujda - April 10

2009-04-12T13:42:00.001-04:00

I had two train options for Oujda, a 615 am qnd 1215 pm – I opted for the later. There continues to be a petit taxi strike throughout the country that is severely harming intra-city mobility. The 615 would have required a taxi and I just didnt think that was going to be a feasible option so I got some rest and hoped on the 1215. The ride to Oujda was 10 hrs with a transfer in Fes. It felt like all 10 hrs. I arrived to the city at around 10 pm. From the train you arrive at the Ville Nouvelle. The streets are wide and clean with similarly wide and clean sidewalks. Streets were well lit. I found my hotel easily.

Passover - gefilte fish + tripe

2009-04-11T13:46:00.001-04:00

The next day I joined the same family for lunch. After more discussion I discovered I wasnt the only guest there. The Rabbi sitting next to me was also a guest. He was knowledgeable and erudite. He had forgone a family for some reason and his relatives all lived in Israel The gentleman to my left was also a guest. His family was living in Israel but he had decided to stay. I had assumed he was the grandfather but he wasnt. Another man joined us. Charity the english speakers in the family told me. I recognized him from my pilgrimage to R. David u-Moshe in Agouim. He was there to collect alms at the hilloula and I was now seeing him again in Casablanca – this time looking for a Passover meal. This family was truly hospitable. We ended the meal with a dish that I wish I could have taken a picture of. It was the spiciest Moroccan dish I had ever eaten. It was a traditional Jewish holiday meal of tripe and cheek. I ate dutifully and enjoyed but dont know that I would necessarily order it at a restaurant. I had some tea and headed back to my hotel.

Finding my family

2009-04-11T13:45:00.000-04:00

Spent a good deal of time looking for my host family for Erev Pesach. Fascinating exercise that involved spotting Jews and asking if they knew where the family lived, popping into corner groceries and asking if they knew Jews that lived close by, etc. I eventually found my family. Two of the children live within a few blocks of me in NY. The food was delicious and the seder itself was familiar and enjoyable. It lasted until about 1 in the morning at which point I was considerably exhausted especially considering that I had arrived on a red eye that morning. Add four cups of wine and Im falling asleep at the table.

Casa – Passover Eve

2009-04-11T13:20:00.000-04:00

At 7 we met Raphy outside of shul. It was a wonderful, lively and soulful service. 50 people in all. Raphy pointed out certain men throughout the service.

That is Meir. He is a fortune teller in the Ourika Valley. (I had heard of Meir before – he uses Talmudic and Kabbalistic texts to tell fortunes). Meir very much looked the part.

That man there is restoring the cemetery in Skoura.

That is the Rabbi and that is another.

Casa – Arrival – April 8

2009-04-11T13:12:00.001-04:00

Arriving was like old hat and I liked that. I was at the front of the line to buy train tickets and I held my ground. When I had to change at Ain Sebaa I walked over the train tracks instead of using the pedestrian bridge. It seems I had forgotten a good percentage of my Arabic but surely enough it would come back. I met a couple of friends in the medina in Casa. We walked through the medina a number of times as I tried to find my hotel. It was a beautiful sunny day and I began to discuss how Jewish history was all around us – you just had to know what you were looking for - as we happened upon Dar R. Haim Pinto (the house of the illustrious Rabbi Haim Pinto).

We found my hotel and I received a warm embrace from the proprieter of the hotel who remembered me from my last stay. We had lunch at an old favorite of mine and then headed to the corniche by the Hassan II mosque for some beaufitful views and much needed rest.

Algerian Synagogue in Oujda

2009-04-07T14:27:00.000-04:00

Just to give you a little taste of how the research comes to fruition. This is a photo from Jacob Pinkerfelds Synagogues in Northern Africa. In the 50s Pinkerfeld visited numerous communities throughout Morocco and much of what we know visually comes from his photographers photographs. For example, the restoration of Ibn Dannan in part used photographs from his work. This is the Algerian Synagogue in Oujda as it was some 55 years ago. It was much smaller than the Grande Synagogue and had no womens section.

This is a photograph taken last year. It is the same building, the same syangogue. It still stands and the door is locked. The star of David has been removed but its outline remains. If you look closely the street number remains the same.

Visiting Jewish Morocco - Resources on the internet

2009-04-02T19:20:00.000-04:00

There is not a wealth of information on Jewish Morocco in English on the internet. Google searches usually yield little or repetative information. There is good information out there however (in French and Arabic) and there are resources that exist but that don't immediately come to mind when you are searching.

Google Earth and Wikimapia have become two very interesting resources for discovering Jewish Morocco. Both applications allow users to identify points on an often very clear map. So for example, an aerial view of Rabat will identify the mellah and a synagogue ("cinaguogue juif" south of the mellah and in a cluster of 3 marked areas) amongst many other sites. The information is user generated and usually by individuals on the ground.

By moving your mouse over a city you begin to learn a great deal thanks to the work of these volunteers. In the near future I plan to embed more of that information here so that you can discover for yourself at home and so that you can get an insight into my preparation when searching for sites.

Upcoming travel in Morocco - what am I doing there?

2009-04-02T19:14:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Passover
Interviewing Raphael El Maleh for upcoming project
Re-discovering historical Jewish sites in the East (Oujda area) including:

Locating specific sites like synagogues and cemeteries
Evaluating conditions of sites in order to determine whether they are good candidates for restoration
Providing practical information to potential visitors on how they can access these sites

Heading back

2009-03-18T20:02:00.001-04:00

Heading back to Morocco in April. More to come.

Beni Mellal Redux – November 12

2008-11-19T12:14:00.003-05:00

Just when you think its over and you start heading back you realize how much Jewish history there really is in this country. It is almost inescapable. I was back in BM for my second anti-Rabies shot. My friend in Casa had told me that there were still a half dozen Jewish women in Beni Mellal. That was the information I had and that is what I went looking for. I started asking around. A man took me by the hand and walked me to an apartment building.

There is a Jewish woman who lives here. Her name is Alice. Everyone knows her.

She wasn’t there. Maybe that was good. What would I speak to her in? Arabic. How would I explain myself and what I was doing? I suddenly felt intrusive. I went back to the man who had helped me earlier.

Alice isn’t there.
Well you have to try her at her hair salon then.
Where is it?

He gave me a set of complicated but manageable directions and then I found her.

Are you Alice?
Yes.
I’m a Jewish American and I know Raphael from Casablanca who I believe you know.

I got a funny look.

My friend here knows English. She said.

There was a man in her shop. Blond hair, blue eyes.

You speak English? I asked.
Yes.

He said he was from Chicago but he wasn’t. He wanted to know where I was from. He didn’t believe me. He didn’t want to hear that I was born and raised in America. He wanted to know my roots, my heritage, and my history. It was all very confusing. How did he know English so well. Did he not believe who I was? I guess it was strange me just showing up like this.

After more questioning I got to the bottom of it. Alice and Raphael were friends from childhood. His name was Raphael too and although I earlier referred to a different Raphael it was confusing and made my whole story seem made up. He was born in BM and friends with Alice from childhood. He had left for Israel with his family and then eventually moved to Chicago. He was from Chicago. She had never left. She had a teenage daugher named Sarah. I met her. She would have fit in in Los Angeles or Israel. A Moroccan Jewish teenage hipster – almost.

I had so many questions. Was Alice married? Was her daughter being raised Jewish? Did she keep Kosher? Did she observe the holidays? What was it like to see her community dissapear? Does she feel safe? Does she think of leaving?

I couldn’t ask any of them. I was frozen. It didn’t make sense to interview, only to enjoy. There were no pictures to take. Just enjoy. And so I enjoyed the moment for what it was: Three Jews talking and having tea together. After a while I put my tea down and thanked Alice and Raphael for the visit and left.

Rissani Part IV – November 10

2008-11-19T12:14:00.001-05:00

My friend at the hotel didn’t think I would find what I was looking for.

Did you find it? He asked.
Yes. I said.
Really?
I showed him my pictures and he was visibly impressed.

Baba Sali – November 10

No trip to Rissani is complete with out a trip to the house of the Baba Sali, the famous Rabbi Yisrael AbuHatzeira. His house is still preserved and well known. Folks make pilgrimage to this site. It was fascinating to see his house. It was surprisingly normal and humbling. I was also shown the well where he drew water from which was housed nearby.

Rissani Part III – November 10

2008-11-19T12:13:00.001-05:00

I pedaled to the first village and quickly found the requisite old man. He said there was no mellah in the village of Kouighlyn (I now had the name) and there was only one in Rissani. No matter how many times I asked he seemed to be sure. Those around him, decades younger, agreed. I asked them if there were tunnel like structures in the village. It was an excellent game of charades. I had heard that the synagogue was almost underground and until I saw it for myself I didn’t quite understand what I was even asking for. After successfully pantomiming what I was looking for they pointed me in the right direction. The tunnels are called zuqaq in Arabic. An alley is created by the space between mud-brick buildings. What makes these structures unique is that there are dwellings above all this making for an enclosure. Only at the edges does sun peak through. At points you are walking in complete darkness. It is incredibly cool in the zuqaq and so I walked, almost blind, not knowing when I would find what I was looking for. I heard families in the darkness and animals. I finally found some sun. There were four kids there.

Is there a mellah here?
No. They said. Where are you from? Casa?
America.
Give us some money.
You give me some money. I said.
No give us 5 dirham.

This continued back and forth for a while and it was actually quite fun because we all were good humored about it. Then an old man appeared. A blessed old man.

Is there a mellah here?
Yes, this is it. This street here.
Is there a synagogue?
Yes, just half a “block” down.

I opened an unmarked very short door. The four kids followed me inside. I had found it. 700 years old. All mud-brick. Unbelievable condition. Almost perfect. Hay covered the ground – perhaps it was used for storage. It was so dark but two slits allowed concentrated light in. The slights gave just enough light to illuminate the space. It concentrated two beams of light on where the Torah would/should be read. I had never seen concentrated light like that before. It looked solid. You could clearly see the ark and where the nerot tamid would sit. By now news of the American in the village had reached many young ears. Now me and about 25 12 year olds filled the synagogue.

Are you American Idriss? (I had told them that was my name – it sounded close enough to Chris I thought.)
Yes.
Give us money.
No.
Are you Christian?
No.
Muslim?
No, Jewish.

I was so excited just to be there. Perhaps best discovery since arriving here. The old man was waiting outside. He was amused by all the commotion. Wanted to know about me. Did I know anyone from this village? He remembered folks – the Shetrits, Abitbols, and then he struggled to name others. It bothered him that he couldn’t remember but he was proud of what once was. I headed with my bike and my gang of 25 12 year olds to the main road in town. They started calling me Barack Obama as I think this was the only American that came to mind and they thought it was funny. So me and my minions had headed towards town. It was quite a sight. I was stopped by some young folks my own age that wanted to know what was going on. I was saved from the 12 year olds. We sat and talked and then I pedaled off completing the circuit.

Rissani Part II – November 9

2008-11-19T12:12:00.004-05:00

I woke up early on Sunday and headed straight for the Jewish cemeteries. There was an old one and a new one adjacent to each other. The older one was in a significant state of decay although there were still two graves with Hebrew on them (although this looked as though it was added at a much later date). The conditions in Rissani are extreme. The heat is impressive even in November and for sure some of the destruction was heat and sand related but there was clear evidence of human tampering (discarded hairbrushes and clothing and other signs). I photographed as much as I could and then moved past the cemetery to find the newer cemetery. The graves were evenly spaced and in unbelievable condition. There is no wall around the cemetery but apparently there is a guardian.

Rissani is an important city in modern Jewish history because it is this city that produced the Baba Sali whose pilgrimage in Israel attracts hundreds of thousands annually. I returned to the hotel and had a nice, long conversation with the owner’s brother who works at the hotel. The mellah was right behind the hotel and in fact his parents had bought the hotel’s land from Jews. A few years ago an acquaintance of his mother’s returned to Rissani and happened on the hotel. She asked my friend if he knew Zubeida and he said: Yes, this is my mother! The two reunited for the first time (something that seems strange/impossible but almost very common here).

One of the main reasons I had come to Rissani was that I had heard that there was a 700 year old synagogue right outside of Rissani. My new friend at the hotel hadn’t heard of the synagogue nor did he know that there was a mellah there but he suggested I rent a bike in order to properly explore. The first village was some 5 km away and I could easily complete the 25 km circuit in an afternoon with a bike. The villages were all mud-brick and set in a series of palmeries. It was officially a plan. I had a fried potato sandwich (which seems to be the specialty in Rissani) and was off on my bike which only had one defective break.

Rissani – November 8

2008-11-19T12:12:00.003-05:00

I arrived in Rissani successfully avoiding the hustle. I was happy to get there. I spent Saturday just get my bearings. Rissani is not very big. Another town with tremendous history that has been changed by tourism. Everyone knew I wasn’t from there and all wanted to take me to their uncle’s hotel in Merzouga (where the famous dunes are). I told them that I had no intention of going to Merzouga and that I was staying in Rissani for a few days. They were surprised/taken aback/proud/disappointed.

Er Rachidia Part II - November 7

2008-11-19T12:12:00.001-05:00

I decided that when I woke up in the morning I would make my decision about whether to stay in Rachidia or head straight to Rissani. I had figured out last night that I would at least stay here until midday in order to meet with Latifa whom I had met the night before and to see if Brahim brought the key for the third synagogue. I woke up and decided to stay the day and night in Er Rachidia. It was the best decision I could have made. I left my hotel and ran into my faux guide but that was quick and relatively painless. I headed towards Brahim’s shop where I ran into Latifa and her sister. Brahim and I had a quick conversation and then I waited there for about 30 minutes. His shop was busy and he clearly couldn’t leave right when I showed up. He was finally relieved of his duties by a friend and he prepared to leave. He put on a heavier jacket and put a small hammer into his pocket. He went to check on his scooter and had to fill it up with a little bit of gas (which he kept in the store and used a funnel to fill up the tank). We were only going a couple blocks at most so all the ritual was very perplexing to me. We hoped on his scooter and we were off. The ride was much scarier today as instead of cruising around the small streets of the bookshop surrounds we traveled on Rachidia’s major thoroughfare. I realized he was taking me to the cemetery and not the third synagogue. He had told me yesterday that it was quite far and I didn’t realize that he planned on taking me there. We drove past my hotel about a mile and half. There was a very large cemetery (Beit Haim in large Hebrew letters) with mud-brick walls. Brahim knocked loudly on the door a few times but the guardian (I was surprised to find out there was a guardian) didn’t hear or didn’t care to hear. It was still very interesting. Later in the day I would walk back there and from a vantage point above the cemetery climb a small wall and peer over. Although many graves were destroyed or were now hidden because of the extreme weather conditions here it was definitely a sight to see. Suddenly Rachidia seemed much more than just a city one drives through en route to the Sahara. Here was a city where you could still visit three synagogues and a cemetery.

We hoped back on Brahim’s scooter. We made a wrong turn or so I assumed. Could there be a second cemetery? I had read that there was a second cemetery. We drove towards the northern entrance to Rachidia and eventually made a right turn down a dirt road. As I tried not to fall off the scooter I noticed two green doors with Hannukiot on them. We had come to the second cemetery. Now the hammer came into play as he unlocked the gate. We entered the cemetery to find 3 tzaddikim: Rabbi Moul Tria, Rabbi Moul Sidra, and Rabbi Yahia Lahlou. According to tradition Rabbi Lahlou came from the Holy Land to this area during the First Temple period. The walls around the cemetery are high so it would be difficult to get in (unless you had your own hammer). Near the grave of Moul Sidra grows a tree. The tree was dressed with all sorts of women’s clothing. I asked Brahim about this and I heard the same story I have been hearing all along. That local women believe that bathing at Jewish grave protects or heals and thus the clothing so close to the Moul Sidra.

We hoped back on Brahim’s back for a third time. Again we took an unfamiliar route. He drove me now to a third cemetery! He opened the gate, which was also decorated with Hannukiot using the same hammer method from the second cemetery. This cemetery was medium sized and again surrounded by mud-brick walls. The graves were laid out in three sections: Adults-children-adults from north to south. Many of the graves had been destroyed or desecrated and I couldn’t discern any Hebrew inscription until I arrived at the northern most spot in the cemetery. There almost every grave (maybe some 3 dozen) had a Hebrew inscription usually separated from the grave itself. In other cemeteries you saw these types of inscriptions but very rarely. These inscriptions were chiseled onto fairly flat stones and resembled some of the oldest graves I’d seen in Morocco such as the one I found in Ifrane. There was Yehuda ben Moshe, Avraham ben Massud, and so on. Completely legible and in perfect condition. It was a real treat and again made staying in Rachidia for the day very worth it. Brahim then took me to a river close to the cemetery. The waters were running rapidly due to the recent raining and flooding. It was a perfect way to end our journey.

He drove me back to his shop. There were a bunch of men there waiting to go to Friday prayer. They all greeted me warmly and wanted to know of I knew Shlomo or Isaac from Casablanca. Then they asked me if I know Chleuh. I told them “no” in Chleuh to which they all had a big laugh.

Er Rachidia – November 6

2008-11-19T12:11:00.002-05:00

I can't believe they were finally right/accurate. It actually took 8 hours to get to Er Rachidia from Beni Mellal. It was a pretty drive and I stocked up on drinks and food and so it actually wasn’t too bad. It was very local transport, meaning I sat next to people and animals and in particular an unhappy looking turkey. An interesting thing about Morocco is that you really see food through its entire process. In other words that turkey that I sat next to on the bus could easily end up at the butcher next to my hotel who then sells it to the restaurant across the street. You see everything here, not just the end result.

When I arrived in Rachidia I unfortunately ran into a bad faux guide (meaning he’s not a good guide or faux guide and very unconvincing). I was happy to get rid of him once I checked into my hotel and told him that I was not in fact interested in going to the dunes of the Sahara again. Rachidia is one of the last stops before the sand and many faux guides here wait for tourists at the bus station and then try to hustle them into some sort of desert experience.

I headed straight to Akhawayn Bookshop (the Brothers Bookshop) to look for my contact Brahim who I met about a month ago with my friends Amir and Tara. Of course Akhawayn was closed and a neighboring bookshop later confirmed that Brahim had closed the shop for the day. I called Brahim and he was outside of the bookshop within 5 minutes. He quickly opened up the synagogue for me. Again, I have to reiterate that it is the perfect candidate for restoration. It is beautiful. Tall ceilings. Hand carved wood. Bima still in tact. Ark still in tact. The problem is one of age and extreme weather. The roof has partially collapsed and water sits on the remainder. Rachidia has been subject to serious flooding recently (so serious that the King made a visit to express sympathy/solidarity) and the synagogue is of course in danger of further deterioration. So much is there right now. Not only the synagogue structure itself but also boxes and boxes of books including everything from prayer books to Aleph Bet instruction. In addition there are boxes filled with tallitot (prayer shawls) and tefilin (phylacteries). All of it is incredibly moving.

I had heard that there was another synagogue close by with a unique door. The door apparently was emboldened by a large Hannukiah and apparently was the only of its kind in all of Morocco. Brahim put me on the back of his scooter and we were off. First he showed me what he believed to be the oldest of the three synagogues left in Rachidia. No roof but bima surrounded 4 columns. Bench was visible. Not restorable but would be good to clean up and clear trash. Paint it and install a plaque with its history. Still had a door and I tried to push it open at which point one of the glass panes shattered on my hand but I was luckily left unscathed.

He then scootered me over to the third synagogue. Indeed the door had a large Hannukiah on it. I didn’t get a chance to look inside (only a few peeks through holes in the wall because the door was locked and Brahim had left that key at home). It looks like the bima is still intact. He told me to come back the next morning and he would bring the key.

As I was taking pictures two nice ladies approached me and asked me what I was doing. After I explained to them that I am interested in preserving these synagogues they started to tell me about what sounds like a wonderful non-profit they run in Gourama. They help young kids with after school type programming, women with business, and older illiterate folks learn to read. They wanted my help. I wasn’t sure what I could do but I promised that if I could do something and it made sense that I would help.

Beni Mellal – November 5

2008-11-19T12:11:00.001-05:00

I had extra time the night before and decide to skip the terrible night’s sleep in Demnate and head for Beni Mellal (BM). BM sits at the crossroad of every major city in Morocco and there would be onward transportation from there to Er Rachidia. There was also a cemetery in BM that I wanted to check out. That morning I headed to cemetery. There was a guardian and his dog. I’ve always been scared of dogs. Guardian had me wait outside while he procured food for himself and his guardian. The whole 5 minutes he was gone that dog barked. I entered the cemetery with the guardian. He started to tell me how well maintained it was when the dog ran over and bit me! I couldn’t believe it. This was my worst nightmare. I am a baby. The bite barely broke the skin but I was paranoid. Dogs here are not well taken care of and there is a problem with rabies in this country. This was my mother’s worst nightmare. We continued the tour of the cemetery and Mustapha was concerned about my leg. I should go to the clinic he thought. There was a visible geniza and folks from Israel had visited yesterday. I couldn’t concentrate. I thanked him and left.

I headed straight for the “Jerusalem Pharmacy.” They told me to head to the clinic. The clinicians were surprised to see me.

What happened? A dog ate your leg?

I did not have the Arabic skills to explain the situation but they understood.

Where did it bit you?
In the Jewish cemetery…

The whole thing was ridiculous but they were so good to me. Didn’t charge me anything. Were happy to find out I was Jewish or so it seemed. I noticed on their forms that they have to fill out whether someone is Jewish or Muslim. I thought that was very interesting. They gave me my shot and treated me. I was relieved and am totally fine.

Demnate – November 4

2008-11-19T12:10:00.002-05:00

I had dreamed of Demnate since first conceiving of this trip. Demnate of course once had a very large Jewish community (was known as a Jewish city). The whole area around Marrakech is incredibly dense with all sites Jewish. Demnate for some reason was off the beaten path. Jen and I had tried to go during October but Ramadan thwarted our plans. Demnate is a walled city with a Kasbah and is situated in the mountains. I took the bus there. The ride was about 1.5-2 hours, much longer then I thought it would be. There were two hotels in town. Neither of which was of any interest. The first was closed for good. The second was open but shouldn’t have been. I prepared myself for what I thought would be an unpleasant nights sleep. The hotel was only 30 dirhams for the night (about 3 dollars and very cheap even for Morocco). I put my bags in my room and headed for the cemetery. I took a winding road up the mountain to get there. Once again everyone knew where it was. It was huge and protected by a wall. In reasonably good condition although no longer totally protected. There was a tzaddik's grave that had been desecrated and I found the very sad grave of a Bar Mitzvah boy. There were hundreds of graves with visible Hebrew on them. Destruction that I had seen in other places had not totally reached Demnate. There was an adjacent section that was much better protected then the first but only a dozen or so graves remained visible. There was a third section with graves in excellent condition. There was a high wall and another layer of protection that I hadn’t seen before. A tall row of cactus made entrance almost impossible. It had to be deliberate I thought. It was impenetrable. I headed to the mellah although everything had been torn down and rebuilt. One curiosity was that the neighborhood next to the mellah was called Mimouna. Hay Mimouna. Mimouna School. Mimouna pharmacy. Mimouna is a Moroccan Jewish holiday celebrated at the end of Passover. I wonder(ed) if there is any connection at all.

Marrakech - November 3

2008-11-19T12:10:00.001-05:00

I was now in Marrakech. I wanted to head to Aghbalou to see the last Jew in the Ouiraka Valley. He guarded the tomb of Rabbi Shlomo Ben Hensh. Unfortunately I was thwarted by tourists and the grand taxi mafia who wanted me to take the whole taxi. I could not find enough other passengers to make it worth my while. I decided to head back to town and meet my friends in the Laazma Synagogue in the mellah. It was nice to think that I had friends in Marrakech, especially ones who lived in a synagogue. They were both sick but very excited to see me. We sat for about a half hour together and exchanged stories. They had missed me at Yom Kippur but it was wonderful to catch up.

Marrakech was so busy. I thought the high season was over but the price to quality ratio of my hotel told me it wasn’t. I decided to get out of Marrakech by morning.

Agouim – November 2

2008-11-19T12:09:00.001-05:00

I checked out of my hotel and headed in the wrong direction to the bus station. I turned around annoyed that I wasted so much time. I didn’t know what to expect of the pilgrimage but I expected to spend the night there and hopefully have some sort of accommodation. At the big pilgrimage sites there is usually accommodation although very sparse. The ride through the Atlas Mountains was almost comical. Anything we could fit in the taxi we did and this included a bike on top and sheep in the trunk. My bag sat behind my head. I got out at Agouim and started asking around where the pilgrimage was. It wasn’t exactly in Agouim but a few km past. They would take me for 50 dirhams. Considering I just paid 20 for a much longer ride I knew something was amiss. But what could I do? At that moment a bus pulled up. Some 40 Israelis piled out. Bingo. I went over to approach them. I was cautious as I knew the situation was bound to be confusing. I just wanted to know how much it should cost to the hilloula.

Wait you are Jewish? What are you doing here? Who is he? Check his bags.

All range of emotions were on display from those who wanted me to join them to the hilloula to those who were so frightened by my sudden appearance that they demanded to search me. After checking my bags, my Hebrew, my name, my purpose, my story (over and over again), they put me on their bus to head to the hilloula. Many were still nervous. One sat next to me to make sure I wouldn’t do anything. He again went over my story. At the hilloula we filed out of the bus. I just had to trust that everything would work out. As long as I was sufficiently cautious these types of experiences had made my Morocco experience. The pilgrimage was to an incredibly tiny Berber village. There was a freshly whitewashed Jewish cemetery. Outside candles burned. Dozens of Israelis from the bus and other Jews sang and danced as they prayed. It was a sight I hadn’t seen for a long time. Although totally out of place I was comfortable. An old man started crying. People were joyous. We ate lunch after that. Canned tuna, corn, and bread. They all kept kosher. Something quite difficult to do outside of the major cities here. I sat next to my former interrogator/friend Simon. He offered me anything I could need. The man to the left of me who was probably in his 60s said that today was the first day in his life that he cried. It was the sight of the tomb of R. David u-Moshe that had been the catalyst. He couldn’t eat, he just cried. The man across from me again wanted to know my story. We painstakingly went over every detail as Simon and others came to my defense. But how he kept asking. I didn’t understand what he meant but he basically wanted to know what language I was speaking when I traveled. I said I knew Arabic. This satisfied him. After praying we had some sweets and they poured me a large glass of water.

Drink, drink Gedalia (my Hebrew name).

I drank. It wasn’t water. It was Arak – aniseed liquor. My first alcohol in months. It was officially a celebration.

We headed back to the bus. I didn’t really know where I was heading but I had a day and half to kill. Did I want to go with them to Marrakech? Sure. Ha, another adventure. By now most on the bus had warmed to me. They wanted to know where I was from, everything, what I was doing there. It wasn’t coincidence that we all met today they warned me it was fate. I would be married within the year they said. Simon asked me if I knew why everyone was nervous. I said because they thought I was a terrorist. He said yes and that this reaction was natural. I agreed and understood. But it made me sad. It made me hope for end to the conflict even more. At least so that people can start trusting again.

The bus ride was illuminating. All were of Moroccan origin. Some had been born there, some had been to Morocco before, and for others it was their first time. On the bus they recalled their parents fondly and their parent’s mix of Hebrew and Arabic (Haji l’po and Lisgor et haBab). And then there was a drum. I noticed it when I first got on. For the next two hours there was non-stop singing and drumming. It was beyond festive. It was awesome.

Ouarzazate – Nov 1

2008-11-19T12:08:00.000-05:00

Pretty unhappy to be in Ouarzazate but made sense to go there given my time constraints and where I had to end up. Checked into my hotel on recommendation from a friend and it was truly comedy of errors. No light in my room. Then I went to wash my hands and the knob on the faucet blew off and water shot up like a geyser. I spent the night in Ouarzazate and thought I would just check out in the morning. There was a Jewish cemetery in Ouarzazate but not much else besides that. There wasn’t a bus for Er Rachidia until Tuesday. A friend suggested I check out the pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi David u-Moshe in Agouim and that I leave Sunday morning.

A Special Night in Taroudant - Oct 31

2008-11-07T14:11:00.002-05:00

By this point I am ready for different food. There is only so much kefta one can take. That being said after my kefta dinner tonight I decided to take a stroll. My plan was to walk off dinner and perhaps buy a dvd to watch before bed. I was stopped dead in my tracks by an antique store bearing a typical Jewish last name. In the two store front windows were two enormous Moroccan style synagogue lamps. Glass with beautiful Hebrew writing and large about two feet tall. These were the real deal. I decided to enter. I had heard of a store like this from a friend in the know who had said that this man’s merchandise was legitimate. Its so hard to tell here usually. He greeted me in Arabic and we continued to explain pleasantries in Arabic until he wanted to confirm that I was Moroccan. I told him I was American (and Jewish) and he had me sit down. He asked me what I wanted to drink. He was drinking a beer. I figured I would pass and had tea instead. He was drunk and we spoke in a mixture of Arabic and English. His grandfather was Jewish although he has no taste for religion at all. His son was there and his brother eventually joined us. His merchandize, which was expansive, included every antique you could ever want. In the Judaica realm he had silver hanukiot and mezuzot. He showed me a silver with pearl inlay shofar case with shofar inside (he told me it wasn’t old, new in fact, but it looked oldish to me). He had everything. He said he didn’t care about money and that thank God he had plenty. I had never heard this before from anyone here so either he was very special or very drunk. He sold me some things at cost (not Judaica). He said it was his pleasure and that all he wanted was a letter from me when I get to America. I later called a friend to tell him of this adventure. He said that the proprieter is the real deal. He said that those two lamps once hung in village synagogue between Taroudant and Talioune, a village so small that he didn’t even know the name.