Dr. Aomar Boum and Dr. André Levy will explore the highly complicated and deeply nuanced circumstances of Moroccan Jews and their relations to Morocco and Israel as two symbolic centers within the context of their past and the impact of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

After the end of World War II, thousands of Jews began to migrate from rural and urban centers in Morocco, most of them resettling in the fledgling State of Israel. Unlike many Jewish communities arriving from Muslim countries, Moroccan Jews continued to maintain historical and cultural bonds with their native land and harbor intense nostalgia for their rich cultural heritage. The unique interplay between Morocco and Israel in the life and memory of the community has created a new and intriguing situation in which each place defines the other as its diaspora.

Aomar Boum, University of California Los Angeles
Andre Levy, Ben Gurion University of the Negev