2016 Possessing History: Contextualizing the Use of Narrative History in Moroccan-Jewish Studies A DIVISION THREE BY: THEODORE SAUL MILLER Under the Advisory Guidance of: Figure 1: A photograph hanging on the wall of the Office Aaron Berman (Co-Chair) Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann (Member) Rachel Rubinstein (Co-Chair) Cover Images, left to right: A photograph from Edmond Gabai’s collection of items left behind by Moroccan Jews leaving in Fes in between 1948-76 (taken by Author, 2016); and a photograph from a Mimouna Celebration in Casablanca in the 1950s (Dafina Archives) Table of Contents: Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introducing Jewish Moroccan Heritage Section 1.1: Introduction Pages 9-7 Section 1.2: Understanding History and Heritage Pages 10-17 Section 1.3: Framing the Dispute over Moroccan Jewish Heritage Pages 17-27 Section 1.4: Positionality and Methodology Pages 27-35 Chapter 2: Disputed Narratives of the “Historic” Maghreb Section 2.1: Pre-Islamic Morocco (Before 750 CE) Pages 36-43 Section 2:2: The Early Islamic Monarchs (750-1000 CE) Pages 43-51 Section 2.3: The First “Moroccan” Empires (1000-1250 CE) Pages 51-59 Section 2.4: The Marinids and the Mellah (1250-1500 CE) Pages 59-67 Section 2.5: Sharifian Morocco (1500-1800 CE) Pages 67-73 Chapter 3: Narratives of Colonialism, Nationalism, and Oppression Section 3.1: The Nineteenth Century Pages 93-79 Section 3.2: The French Protectorate Era (1912-1925) Pages 79-85 1 |Possessing History Table of Contents (cont.) Section 3.3: Moroccan Nationalism and Judaism (1925-1948) Pages 85-91 Section 3.4: Independence, Zionism, and Emigration. (1948 – 1975) Pages 92-104 Section 3.5: Developing Moroccan Nationalism (1957-1999) Pages 104-111 Section 3.6: Activists, Jews, and the Royal House in the Contemporary Era. (1999-2016) Pages 111-119 Chapter 4: The Significance of Contested Narrative in Heritage Power Section 4.1: Introduction Pages 119-121 Section 4.2: The Optimism and Pessimism of the Jewish Historians Pages 121-128 Section 4.3: What is Concealed and What is Displayed in Moroccan Narratives. Pages 128-133 Section 4.4: The Jewish Point of Negotiation within Moroccan Heritage Pages 133-140 Bibliography Pages 140-151 2 |Possessing History Acknowledgements The writing that unfolds on these pages is without a doubt dedicated to my late grandfather: Martin “Pa” Goldstein. I could say that for no reason other than the absurdly immense amount of excitement and self-importance that a ten year old me felt when I opened one of my grandfather’s many published works and saw my own name in the dedication, but the truth is that reason for this dedication goes deeper than that. The most I could ever hope this work to be is a presentation that includes in equal parts two things that can often feel hopelessly far apart from one another: a healthy combination of skepticism and nuance with a strong sense of ethics and principle. No one in my life has ever embodied these two things simultaneously more successfully than my grandfather, and without him I wouldn’t have even known how to begin to strive for them simultaneously. A project of this size and scope can only come together as a result of a litany people’s knowledge and support. As a result I feel it would only be right to speak to everyone that I feel brought me to the place I am now, whether it be physically, academically, or emotionally. Even if this project had somehow gotten to this point as a solo effort, which is of course impossible, without the people who helped me along the way I would never be able to appreciate the progress I have made. The first and probably most important of these acknowledgements goes out to the people who took the risk of adding their voices to the work of someone who many of them had just met, and thus trusted me to represent them honestly to the best of my ability. As this piece will demonstrate this is a topic of study that has had no shortage of people’s voices being misrepresented or wholly erased, and thus the trust that many of my guides were willing to put in me calls for the most sincere and deepest thanks that I can offer in return. Abdulrahman Lmaloki and Ridouane Wind not only offered their thoughts and knowledge to this project countless times, but helped me feel a sense of belonging and welcome in their home city that no American honestly has the right to feel after two weeks in Fes. Fahira, Roshdid, Hassan, and Mona, opened their homes up to me during my time in Fes, and fed me in a way that would make any Ashkenazi Grandmother jealous, which is an unspeakably more impressive feat than the 140 pages of work that I have produced. 3 |Possessing History To everyone else in the Mellah who lent their voices to this work, I truly couldn’t have asked for better guides. I speak of the amount of times that all of your words amazed with a slight sense of shame, because I had no right to assume anything less of any of you. As someone fortunate enough to receive higher education, let me assure you that anyone who ever tells you that a degree means that they are smarter or have more valuable opinions then you is probably sour about spending too much of their lives inside. To Elmehdi Bhoudra, Younis Abedour, and Michelle Madina, who also offered me both beds to sleep in and thoughts to learn from in Rabat and Casablanca; all of you played a very special role in my project. Of everyone who has guided me throughout this project you all offered some of the most sincere challenges to the ways I chose to think about and approach this work. I can only imagine that watching someone such as myself attempt to understand the incredible and complicated place you come from was painful and frustrating at points. It would not be my place to asses to whether I was able to truly honor your concerns, but I can say with certainty that my thinking was stronger because of them. A special thanks also goes out to the guidance offered to me in Casablanca by Vannessa Paloma. Listening to and appreciating the importance of the many different, and often contradictory, narratives and opinions was no easy task, and at many times it was tempting to ignore the nuance I was being exposed to. In that sense your thoughts and guidance were a breath of fresh air and I would be wholly unsurprised if the person that one day manages to coherently make sense of all this and become the hero Youness Laghari joked about with me turns out to be you. Both in Morocco and in the US, I also had the great privilege of learning from a great many scholarly minds whose research serves as the foundations that my own thesis is built upon. Aomar Boum, Mohammed Hatimi, Daniel Schroeter, Chris Silver, Peter Geffen, Zhor Rehilil, Jamaa Baida Youness Laghari, and others whose work I cited but did not directly speak to are the real MVPs of this project. The fact that people who have devoted their whole lives to this work were willing to lend some time to someone who has so far lent less than a year is something I will never forget, especially if I am fortunate enough to reach their level one day. Such projects are, as is often forgotten, an effort that just as much calls for financial support as mental effort. The fact that Professor Jutta Sperling at the Hampshire College school 4 |Possessing History of Critical Social Inquiry, was willing to trust me enough to lend me some of this financial support makes her another person who could not be left out from these acknowledgement. Credit is also due to Jackie Jefferies, and the funding and trust she was willing to show me. I extend the same deep appreciation to the people in charge of the Sander Theones grant, who somehow chose to support my work out of a list of many other great and equally deserving choices. In that vein I also extend a huge thank you to my late grandmother Gloria Wald, who among the many others things she did for me left me some of the money that made this project happen. The legs of this project may have been my own, but the people who taught those legs to walk were the amazing members of my committee; Aaron Berman, Rachel Rubenstein and Rachel Engmann. Not only did each of these people bring a unique and useful insight and perspective to this project, but they took up the task of reading, editing, and revising the many drafts and iterations of this project. As one can imagine based on the length of my work, this was no small feat, and as former student of theirs who they assigned lengthy readings at points, I great admire their dedication. On top of that, all of my committee managed to be calm and reassuring when I myself often failed to be, and as such they are the pilots that should be applauded after this plane’s smooth landing. Aaron Berman has been there since pretty much the beginning of my Hampshire career, and rest assured has seen many up and downs. Without your support in these rough patches I doubt I would be able to see how important my failings were in getting me to the end of my Division III.