Getting Acquainted after the War: American Jews Meet Moroccan Jews

North African Jews were largely unknown and considered `exotic` by American Jews during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The Holocaust and World War II changed the face of world Jewry, and perceptions of world Jewry. This lecture will analyze the varying attitudes of American Jews and their stereotypes of Moroccan Jewry during the critical decade between World War II and the beginning of the mass migration of Moroccan Jews to Israel in 1954.

The topic will be examined through the prism of a Moroccan Jewish attorney, Hélène Cazès Benattar, who organized refugee assistance in Casablanca during the war for thousands of European Jews who sought temporary shelter in Morocco during the war. Through Benattar, American Jewish organizations, particularly the JDC, began aiding refugees stranded in Morocco. After the war both Benattar and the various organizations continued their work in Morocco, changing their goals and focusing on local Jewish communities. In 1953 Benattar made an extensive speaking tour in the U.S. on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA), in order to acquaint American Jews with North African Jewry and their needs; a second trip was made in 1954.

These contacts made between Moroccan and American Jews, the dilemmas they raised, and perceptions of American Jews regarding Moroccan Jewry have not been examined. Based on extensive research using Jewish newspapers, organizational records, personal papers and interviews, this work hopes to rectify that lacuna.