Serge Berdugo (born 26 November 1937) is a Moroccan lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Tourism for both Prime Ministers Mohammed Karim Lamrani and Abdellatif Filali between 1993 and 1995. [1] Berdugo is a leader within the Moroccan Jewish community, serving as Secretary-General of the Israelite Community Council of Morocco and President of the Israelite Community of Casablanca. [2]
Serge Berdugo was born on 26 November 1937 in Meknes. A Moroccan Jew, his ancestors came to Morocco from Portugal in 1492 during the Portuguese Inquisition. [3] From 1964 to 1977, he worked as the spokesperson for the National Bank of Economic Development (BNDE). [4] In 1977 Berdugo became Vice President of External Relations for the Israelite Community Council, becoming its president ten years later. That title includes serving as the head of the World Union of Moroccan Judaism. In his role, he has worked for better integration of Moroccan Jews into larger Moroccan society as well as the renovation of Jewish community institutions. Under his presidency, he created the Foundation for Moroccan Jewish Heritage with the objective of restoring Jewish historical sites in Morocco, as well as the creation of the Moroccan Jewish Museum in Casablanca. [2]
A fierce supporter of interfaith dialogue and peace in the Middle East, he has worked closely on ways to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. [5]
In 1992, Berdugo worked with the Moroccan government and the Monarchy to have the bodies of those who died in the shipwreck of the Egoz buried in Israel. [6]
In 1993, he was named Minister of Tourism by King Hassan II in the Cabinet of Mohammed Karim Lamrani. He continued in this role in 1994 in the government of Abdellatif Filali. [7] In 1995, Berdugo was named Commander of the Order of the Throne, becoming the first Moroccan Jew to receive the distinction.
Since March 2006, Berdugo has served as an at-large ambassador on behalf of the King of Morocco. [7]
Abdellatif Filali was a Moroccan politician and diplomat who served as the eleventh Prime Minister of Morocco from 25 May 1994 to 4 February 1998. He was the 11th prime minister of Morocco and served under King Hassan II. Filali was known to have progressive views.
The history of the Jews in Morocco goes back to ancient times. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community, with the oldest irrefutable evidence of Judaism in Morocco dating back to the Roman period. After the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, Jews would become the primary religious minority group, particularly after the Almohad period and the departure of the Christians.
Abderrahmane Youssoufi was a Moroccan politician and human rights lawyer who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002, serving under King Hassan II and King Mohammed VI. He was the Secretary General of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces.
Abraham Serfaty was an internationally prominent Moroccan Marxist-Leninist dissident, militant, and political activist, who was imprisoned for years by King Hassan II of Morocco, for his political actions in favor of democracy, during the Years of Lead. He paid a high price for such actions: fifteen months living underground, seventeen years of imprisonment and eight years of exile. He returned to Morocco in September 1999.
Ahmed Moulay Laraki was a Moroccan politician and a figure of the national movement and served as the sixth Prime Minister of Morocco from October 6, 1969, to August 6, 1971, under King Hassan II. He also served as the foreign minister from 1967 to 1971.
Mohammed Karim Lamrani was a Moroccan politician who was the seventh Prime Minister of Morocco for three separate terms.
Berber Jews are the Jewish communities of the Maghreb, in North Africa, who historically spoke Berber languages. Between 1950 and 1970 most emigrated to France, Israel and the United States.
Le Matin is a daily francophone Saudi-owned Moroccan newspaper. It was founded on 1 November 1971, as replacement of pro-colonial daily Le Petit Marocain, whose publisher Mas Presse was seized and given to the cousin of Hassan II and his minister of communication Moulay Hafid Alaoui.
Maroc Soir Group is a pro-government publishing company based in Casablanca, Morocco.
Robert Assaraf was a Moroccan Jewish historian and writer. He resided between Paris, France and Marrakesh, Morocco.
Driss Benhima is a Moroccan businessman. Former chairman of the board and CEO of Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco.
The General Directorate of Studies and Documentation is the foreign intelligence agency of Morocco, under authority of the Administration for National Defense. It is officially tasked with maintaining national security and the safety of national institutions.
The 1965 Moroccan riots were street riots in the cities of Morocco, originating in Casablanca in March 1965. They began with a student protest, which expanded to include marginalized members of the population. The number of casualties incurred is contested. Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths, whereas the foreign press and the Union nationale des forces populaires (UNFP) counted more than 1000 deaths.
Aziza Bennani, is a Moroccan academic and politician.
The Museum of Moroccan Judaism is a museum of Jewish life in Morocco in Casablanca, Morocco.
Mohamed Hassad is a Moroccan engineer and politician, formerly serving as Minister of the Interior in the government of Abdelilah Benkirane. He later served as Minister of Education before being fired in 2017.
Mohamed Moatassim was a Moroccan scholar and politician who served as advisor to King Mohammed VI.
The Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco (CCIM) is a central organization for Moroccan Jews established in 1947 during the French protectorate, in the context of the colonial government's post-World War II reforms attempting to quell the Jewish youth leadership's calls for democracy and self-expression.
Organized Zionism, the 19th century European ethnocultural nationalist movement to establish a Jewish state through the colonization of Palestine, came to Morocco from Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. During the period of French and Spanish colonial rule, it spread slowly in Moroccan Jewish communities, especially in Tangier and the Spanish zone in the north, through Zionist associations and advocacy, as well as through Zionist literature and propaganda. The small but effective Zionist movement in Morocco was organized and led locally by a faction of secular, urban Jews educated in elite European educational systems, especially the schools of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU), and it had considerable support and sometimes direct intervention from Zionist organizations abroad.