Moroccan Jews, American Jews, and French Decolonization in North Africa, 1945-1955

An aftermath of the holocaust is a history of intensive programs of humanitarian aid to address urban Jewry’s “crushing poverty” and high rates of childhood disease and malnutrition in Morocco; and how this involved a political defense of continued French colonial control of North Africa in name of protecting Jews. This talk considers what these multifaceted efforts looked like and highlights the active and ambivalent ways in which Morocco’s diverse Jewish community ultimately received them.