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Chapter Nine: The Intervention of Foreigners
On July 12, 1885, Shalom Assarraf—in his role as one of the leaders of the Jews of
Fez—signed a collective petition on behalf of his city’s Jewish community. 1 He and nine other
representatives described incidents of injustice commited against Jews, including murders that
remained unpunished and the ongoing struggle between the Jews of Demnat and their governor. 2
The petitioners explained that “our coreligionists, most of whom conduct their business outside
of the city, are afraid to leave the city walls and thus are falling into poverty.” 3 Shalom and his
fellow Jewish leaders wrote this petition because they felt that the events they described
represented a threat to the Jewish communities of Fez and Demnat.
However, unlike the petitions we have examined thus far, the letter that Shalom signed
was not addressed to the sultan or another Makhzan representative. Rather, it was addressed to
the Central Committee of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) in Paris. The AIU had become
an increasingly important presence in Morocco through its growing network of primary schools.
In addition to its educational activities, the AIU played a role in Moroccan politics by lobbying
on behalf of Jews in Morocco who it believed were in distress. Often the AIU went through
diplomatic channels; local teachers enlisted the help of foreign consular officials to petition the
Makhzan about specific incidents, or the Central Committee wrote letters to diplomats and
Makhzan officials in Morocco. In many cases, Moroccan Jews brought certain events to the
1 The letter, dated 29 Tammuz 5645, can be found in Fenton and Littman, L’exil au Maghreb, 540-2, and is
preserved in the archives of the AIU (Maroc IV, C 2 131).
2 The murders discussed in this petition include that of Makhluf Shalush in Fez, Maymon Tordjman and Rubin
Azzerad near Marrakesh, and Shalom Attia (a French citizen) near Fez. The incidents in Demnat concerned the
claim of the Demnati Jewish delegates that when they returned to their city after a trip to petition the sultan in person
they were greeted by Muslim inhabitants and soldiers who attacked them and injured eleven Jews in the process.
3 Ibid., 541.
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