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AIU Boys School at Rabat, Morocco

In 1905, the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) opened a boys school in Rabat and by 1913 it had 235 pupils. Joseph Conquy, who was the director of the school during the decade before the protectorate and also a doctor, implemented an immunization program as a part of the school.1 Conquy also provided further support for Rabat's Jewish community by requesting the aid of the Spanish Consul in rebuilding the walls of the Jewish quarter, which were damaged during an attack by the Zair Arab tribe in May 1903.2 The AIU School at Rabat was temporarily taken over by the French protectorate in 1916, but continued to exist through the 1930s.3

Description

More information regarding Rabat specifically located after the AIU History.

Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) History: The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) was a Jewish philanthropic organization founded in 1860 by six Jewish intellectuals in Paris, including Adolphe Crémieux, a French Jewish statesman. The Alliance established a network of schools throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Balkans, with the goal to protect and improve the lives of Jews around the world. The organization promotes the values of Jewish self-defense and self-sufficiency through education and professional development. AIU’s mission was constructed upon two pillars — “the Jewish tradition and the values ​​of the French school”4 — which informed their aim of aiding Jewish emancipation, enfranchisement, protection of rights, and modernization, in order to facilitate their integration into their home countries.5 However, it was at times the case that, instead of being integrated, they became detached, with some Alliance students feeling disconnected from their non-Alliance Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as the French and European world. The Alliance established schools for both boys and girls, with the first school being constructed in 1862 in Tetouan, Morocco. By 1895, there were seventy schools with 17,000 students enrolled.6 Aside from the primary school system, the Alliance also established vocational schools, agricultural schools, apprenticeship programs, rabbinical seminaries, and teaching schools where they would train the next generation of Alliance teachers and directors. At AIU’s peak in 1913, there were 183 active schools with 43,700 students.7 The Alliance created an entire generation of educated Jews who were able to enter the workforce and experience upward social mobility, many of whom had previously not received a formal education, especially girls and young women. In the middle of the 20th century, with the mass exodus of Jews from their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Alliance schools began to close their doors. The organization, however, is still active. Known as “Alliance - Kol Israel Haverim” in Israel, it “works towards two main goals: 1) Advance educational excellence for all children regardless of socio-economic status or geographic location that in turn will lead to increased social mobility. 2) Offer a Jewish education that emphasizes social responsibility and involvement, while cultivating Jewish leadership committed to social activists."8

Rabat History: Rabat is a port city in Morocco, located on the southern bank of the Bou Regreg River on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the capital of Morocco, and has a twin city by the name of Salé, which is on the northern bank of the same river. Rabat’s Jewish community can be traced back to before the arrival of Islam, but recieved fewer Jews then other Moroccan cities during the time when Jews were fleeing persecution in Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere. Jews migrated from other Moroccan cities, mostly settling in the Behira quarter of Rabat. Piracy and trade flourished in both Rabat and Salé during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with Jews mainly taking part in the import of weapons with the help of their coreligionists in the Netherlands. Jews also held prominent positions as ambassadors, navigating the trade and finances between Morocco and European powers. The importance of these two cities decreased with the events of an earthquake in 1755, a famine in 1799, and the establishment of a rival Moroccan port named Essaouira in 1764. Rabat slowly gained prominence when it was declared the capital of Morocco in 1912. The Jewish population steadily increased, with there being around 2,000-2,400 in 1912, 4,200 in 1931, 6,000 in 1939, and reached a height of 12,000 in 1947.9 Currently, Rabat continues to support a Jewish community of fewer than 400, while Salé has none. Although the community is small--consisting mainly of retirees, businesspeople, and some professionals--it maintains one synagogue in the ville nouvelle, a "shohet" (kosher butcher), and a kosher restaurant.10

AIU in Rabat: In 1905, the AIU established a school for boys in Rabat. By 1913, they had an enrollment of 235 pupils. A subsequent AIU school was established in Salé in 1913. A man by the name of Joseph Conquy was the director of the school in Rabat, and was also the community’s doctor. He aided the sick and implemented immunization programs, especially during the typhus epidemic.11 In 1903, Rabat was attacked by the Zair Arab tribe, resulting in damage to the mellah walls (an established Jewish quarter, named after the salt marsh area in Fez where the first mellah was created12). Conquy went to the Spanish consul and succeeded in getting their support for repairing the walls. Due to Rabat being a center for migration, many of its pupils were migrants from other Moroccan cities.13 In 1936, Rabat's AIU school had an attendance of 1,030 Jewish children, and in 1951 there was 1,392.14

Rabat, Morocco

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