Cheikha Zohra El Fassia

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:

• North Africa / Ethnic Music in 78 RPM / Recordings 1920 - 1940
  
• The Secret Museum of Mankind, North Africa Ethnic Music Classics: 1925-48

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

Jo Amar Passes Away at 79

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

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

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

"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

Interior, Grand Synagogue in Oujda

Prayer and Hebrew books, Grand Synagogue in Oujda

(c) Chris Silver

Diagramming Oujda

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.