Jewish Morocco ─ A History from Pre-islamic to Post-colonial Times

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.

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