The Alliance Israélite Universelle and the Jewish Communities of Morocco, 1862-1962

Michael M. Laskier, State University of New York Press, 1983

The Alliance Israélite Universelle—an international organization representing a community of over 240,000 Jews—was founded in Paris in 1860 to work for the “moral progress” of Jews around the world. AIU centered on creating operating a networks of schools with the purpose of assimilating Jews of diverse backgrounds to French educational tradition. Nowhere was this network extensive in Morocco which contained a large population of Jewish people in the Islamic world.

This book examines the impact of the AIU on Moroccan Jewry. It answers such questions as: How did the AIU establish itself in Morocco’s communities? How did it go on to become a power not to be underestimated by either the Moroccan government or the Europeans? And more importantly, how did the AIU improve the conditions of the Jews in Morocco, creating an important French-speaking urban elite? Also discussed are such topics as Zionism and Jewish-Muslim relations in Morocco.