Jewish Morocco - by Emily Benichou Gottreich (Paperback)

About the Book

"Emily Gottreich examines the history of Jews in Morocco from the pre-Islamic period to post-colonial times, drawing on newly acquired evidence from archival materials in Rabat. Providing an important reassessment of the impact of the French protectorate over Morocco, the author overturns widely accepted views on Jews' participation in Moroccan nationalism - an issue often marginalized by both Zionist and Arab nationalist narratives - and breaks new ground in her analysis of Jewish involvement in the istiqlaland its aftermath."--

Book Synopsis

The history of Morocco cannot effectively be told without the history of its Jewish inhabitants. Their presence in Northwest Africa pre-dates the rise of Islam and continues to the present day, combining elements of Berber (Amazigh), Arab, Sephardi and European culture. Emily Gottreich examines the history of Jews in Morocco from the pre-Islamic period to post-colonial times, drawing on newly acquired evidence from archival materials in Rabat. Providing an important reassessment of the impact of the French protectorate over Morocco, the author overturns widely accepted views on Jews' participation in Moroccan nationalism - an issue often marginalized by both Zionist and Arab nationalist narratives - and breaks new ground in her analysis of Jewish involvement in the istiqlaland its aftermath. Fitting into a growing body of scholarship that consciously strives to integrate Jewish and Middle Eastern studies, Emily Gottreich here provides an original perspective by placing pressing issues in contemporary Moroccan society into their historical, and in their Jewish, contexts.

Review Quotes

How do you picture the history of Morocco through its Jewish lens? How do you sum up the complexities and contradictions of centuries of Jewish-Muslim encounters and relations and dynasties? Emily Gottreich's book has not only taken on these challenging questions but has delivered on their promise.

Offers a dynamic, accessible and thought-stimulating book that will be a useful teaching tool while giving more seasoned historians an opportunity to consider the changes in Moroccan historiography ... Jewish Morocco appears as a therapeutic history and an ongoing reconciliation that is also taking place in Morocco, with ongoing efforts to restore synagogues and celebrate this Moroccan heritage.
The Journal of North African Studies

This book is an intriguing foray into major themes in Moroccan history and invites readers to
reconsider any simple understanding of the relationship between Muslim majorities and
religious minorities in the region. It has much to offer to undergraduate students,
scholars of the region, and general readers interested in North African
and Jewish history.

About the Author

Emily Benichou Gottreich is Associate Adjunct Professor in Global Studies and the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. She is also former President of the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS). She holds a PhD from Harvard University, USA.