Jews and Arabs in Morocco

Marcel Bénabou

1964

Among the Jews of Europe, acute feelings of difference always fade with the passage of time. The school, the army, and politics have a unifying force; integration comes about through cultural channels. In Morocco, this simple pattern does not apply; distinctive identities seem to have become fixed. The desire for unification, if it exists, has not…

Please login or register for free access to Posen Library
Register
Already have an account?
Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Marcel Bénabou

b. 1939
Marcel Bénabou was born into a traditional Sephardic family in Meknes, Morocco, where he was a prize student at the Alliance Israélite Universelle school. At the age of sixteen, he left Morocco and gave up religious observance. Having moved to Paris, he studied at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, the École normale supérieure, and finally, the Sorbonne, earning a doctoral degree in ancient Roman history, a subject on which he has written several books. In addition to his career as a professor of ancient history, Bénabou has had a career as a novelist and autobiographer, taking an active role in the avant-garde Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (Oulipo) group and winning various awards, including the National Jewish Book Award for Autobiography.

You may also like

Antisemitism and Modern Science

When I was invited a few months ago by the Neue Freie Presse and nearly simultaneously by the Revue des Revues to explain my opinions about antisemitism, I did not respond at first with good…
View Source

Quiet, Quiet

For Zishe Landau Quiet, quiet, no loud talk! Stand bent over, pale and dark, Crouched up in a ball of pain, Shut up—holding your breath in. Out of the deep night He’ll ride up on a white horse Hear…
View Source