From ‘Little Jerusalems’ to the Promised Land: Zionism, Moroccan nationalism, and rural Jewish emigration

The “Jewish Question” in Postcolonial Moroccan Cinema

“…47 In Où va tu Moshé, this attribution of historical agency is embodied by Shlomo, when he makes his final appearance at the bar and declares that his imminent departure, unlike those of others that preceded him, will be with full disclosure and in the light of day. As such, a historical agency, muted though it may be, is granted to Moroccan Jews, who are depicted neither as merely alienated products of colonial education who no longer feel at home in Moroccan society nor as simply the dupes of Zionist organizers.…”

“…As such, a historical agency, muted though it may be, is granted to Moroccan Jews, who are depicted neither as merely alienated products of colonial education who no longer feel at home in Moroccan society nor as simply the dupes of Zionist organizers. 47 In Où va tu Moshé, this attribution of historical agency is embodied by Shlomo, when he makes his final appearance at the bar and declares that his imminent departure, unlike those of others that preceded him, will be with full disclosure and in the light of day. As a representative of Moroccan postcolonial subjectivity more generally, Shlomo emerges as a fully self-conscious historical actor who actively confronts his situation even if he cannot escape its determining forces.…”

Saharan Jewry: history, memory and imagined identity

“…I argue that Saharan Jewish communities developed with extensive social networks in the northern termini of the Sahara rather than on its southern fringes (Figure 1). Despite cases of Jewish movements south of the Sahel (Prussin 2006), many northern settlements, largely oases that were sometimes referred to as 'Little Jerusalems' by these Jewish communities (Boum 2010a), were the last desert ports where Jews settled as minyan with established synagogues, quarters and communities of practice.…”

“…A number of historical and ethnographic works have focused on Saharan Jewries (Mauny 1949, Briggs and Guède 1964, Abitbol 1982a, 1982b, Goutalier 1982, Hunwick 1985b, Oliel 1998, Haidara 1999, Boum 2006, 2010a, 2010b, Lydon 2009), based on the fact that Jews have played a major role in the relationship between the Sahara, Barbary States, 1 and the territories south of the Sahel 2 (Miège 1982, Schroeter 1988, Stein 2008. In recent decades, many scholars have tried to revisit similar categories such as 'Berber Jews' (Hirschberg 1963, Wexler 1996, Schroeter 1997, 'Arab Jews' (Udovitch and Valensi 1984, Shohat 2003, Gottreich 2008, Levy 2008 and 'Sephardic Jews' (Schroeter 2008).…”