Mosul under ISIS: Eyewitness accounts of life in the Caliphate

Abstract

stories of those who chose to remain in Morocco, although critical of the state apparatus, ultimately have had their life stories coopted into a national narrative of religious tolerance and exchange that elides the more somber historical reality. In doing so Heckman makes a powerful argument for a re-periodization of Moroccan Jewish in which independence is not seen as the end of Jewish history within Morocco. As Heckman recognizes in her work, relatively few Moroccan Jews espoused communism, the majority of Moroccan Jews were at most nominally involved politically, mostly in the fight against racism and anti-Semitism. However, by elevating the voices of those who rejected both Zionism and colonialism we gain a new appreciation for the agency and intellectual diversity within Moroccan Jewry throughout the twentieth century. Thus, the history of these men is an important reminder that Jews were invested in Moroccan politics both before and after Moroccan independence and that these contributions continue to play a role in the national political conscientiousness. This analysis is an essential aspect in understanding the important position of the small but active Jewish community in Morocco today. At a time when Jewish heritage tourism in Morocco is a booming business and Israel and Morocco have normalized diplomatic relations, Heckman’s longue durée analysis also helps to explain some of the factors which led to the current Moroccan Muslim-Jewish convivencia narrative. As such, The Sultan’s Communist’s enriches our understanding of Moroccan Jewish history, and contemporary collective memory in Morocco as a whole.