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Alliance Israélite Universelle Schools at Tangiers, Morocco
Description
Alliance Israélite Universale/Universelle (AIU) History: The Alliance Israélite Universale/Universelle (AIU) was an educational network founded by emancipated French Jews in Paris, France in the year 1860.1 This organization was founded as a reflection of the belief that, “All Jews are responsible for each other” and that modern education was key to the health and well-being of Jews in the Middle East and North Africa.2 As such, it was the first body of its kind, and a major source of education, identity, and security for Jews throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The AIU opened its first school in Tetouan, Morocco in 1862, followed shortly by a school in Tangiers in 1869.3
The AIU was greatly appreciated and quite effective as an organization undoubtedly dedicated to the advancement of Jewish peoples around the world. That being said, the AIU is not without its tensions and contradictions. For one, as an effort to change "Oriental" Jewish lives moving from France to the Middle East and North Africa, the AIU was not divorced from its imperial context and its own “civilizing mission.” France was a major colonial power with many holdings in North Africa. Morocco, for example, was made a French protectorate in 1912. The AIU’s impetus in France, as well as its teaching of French as the primary language of instruction (Hebrew and Arabic as secondary and tertiary, if at all), and its vision of “Oriental” Jews needing of both moral and intellectual education, are all markers of what some critique as a, "colonial gaze."4 It is important, however, to remain cognizant of the overall context of the AIU's mission--a mission to defend and uplift Jews around the world. In many Arab lands, Jews--recognized as holding 'dhimmi' (protected) status--were not equal citizens. This status prevented their holding certain jobs, expressing their religion openly, and being represented under the law. Many Jews, therefore, had to resort to "immoral" professions to make ends meet, such as money-lending and even prostitution. Some claim there was a distinct paradigm between Jews and Arabs in Arab lands--one which left the Jews destitute. However, it is far too over-simplifying to suggest a consistent paradigm of relationships across time and space in Arab lands5 (http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-24863-6_8). Regardless of the severity of dhimmi differentiation, Jews of Arab lands did benefit from an organization purely designed to uplift the "oriental" Jew.
In its structure, the secular nature of the AIU's teachings came into conflict with many of the more traditionally religious aspects of local Jewish communities in places like Morocco.6 That being said, local officials in Morocco as well as alumni of the AIU in Tangier, “Tangier’s new elite”7 worked very hard to further the influence of the AIU in their communities. They saw the education of the AIU not as a “europeanization,” but as a “modernization” that they embraced and valued.8 Ultimately, the influence of the AIU in Morocco was notable, mobilizing Jews either to resist its colonial elements or embrace its provision of quality education and global Jewish camaraderie.
The AIU Network and Morocco: The AIU network expanded quickly, with 100 schools and approximately 26,000 students by 19009 and 43,700 students in 183 AIU schools by 1914.10 The institutions were set up mostly in North Africa and the Middle East, stretching from Morocco to Iran.
The AIU schools in Tangiers (founded in 1869) were responsible for educating nearly 5,500 students in 14 schools by 1912.11 In the inter-war period, however, the AIU lost momentum and handed many schools over to local educational bodies. The local authorities, strongly supporting AIU institutions in Morocco, enabled the AIU to continue expansion post-WWII. In fact, by 1952 there were approximately 28,000 AIU students in Morocco, primarily in large urban areas.12 In total, there were 6 AIU schools in Tangiers and Spanish Morocco,13 but it is difficult to say if any of the schools exist today.
One important aspect of the AIU's mission in Morocco was to combat what were seen as "backwards" gendered institutions, such as child marriage.14 Beverly Mizrachi discusses the effects of the AIU education on women and young girls in Morocco specifically. She explains that with the education of the AIU, and with curriculum that was often the same in boys' schools and in girls,' young Jewish Moroccan girls were given a unique opportunity to become more educated and more financially independent than ever before.15
Jews of Tangiers: There were Jews living in Tangiers for centuries before they were, "wiped out by the Almohades in 1148."16 Later, with the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, Sephardim brought Jewish vibrancy back to Tangiers.17 In the 1920s, there were approximately 10,000 Jews living in Tangiers. However today, there are approximately 150.18
Sources
[1] Aaron Rodrigue, Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times, (University of Washington Press, 2003) 7.
[2] Rodrigue, Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times, 8.
[3] "Jewish/Israel Organizations: Alliance Israelite Universelle," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 6, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Tangier.html.
[4] Rodrigue, Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times.
[5] Moshe Shokeid, " Jewish Existence in a Berber Environment," Jews Among Muslims in Precolonial Times, (Palgrave Macmillan, 1996).
[6] Michael Laskier, The Alliance Israelite Universelle and the Jewish Communities of Morocco: 1862-1962, (State University of New York Press, 1983).
[7] Jessica Marglin, "Modernizing Moroccan Jews: The AIU Alumni Association in Tangier, 1893—1913," The Jewish Quarterly Review, 101 (2011): 575.
[8] Marglin, "Modernizing Moroccan Jews: The AIU Alumni Association in Tangier, 1893—1913."
[9] Mark Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, (Indiana University Press, 1994) 29.
[10] Rodrigue, Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times, 14.
[11] "Jewish/Israel Organizations: Alliance Israelite Universelle," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 6, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Tangier.html.
[12] "Jewish/Israel Organizations: Alliance Israelite Universelle," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 6, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Tangier.html.
[13] Laskier, The Alliance Israelite Universelle and the Jewish Communities of Morocco: 1862-1962.
[14] Laskier, The Alliance Israelite Universelle and the Jewish Communities of Morocco: 1862-1962.
[15] Beverly Mizrachi, “Morocco: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” Jewish Women's Archive, accessed on July 7, 2016, http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/morocco-nineteenth-and-twentieth-centuries.
[16] "Virtual Jewish World: Tangier, Morocco," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 7, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Tangier.html
[17] "Virtual Jewish World: Tangier, Morocco," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 7, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Tangier.html
[18] "Virtual Jewish World: Tangier, Morocco," Jewish Virtual Library, accessed July 7, 2016, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Tangier.html