Abraham Serfaty
Encyclopedia
Abraham Serfaty was an internationally prominent Moroccan dissident
, militant
, and political activist, who was imprisoned for years by King Hassan II of Morocco, for his political actions in favor of democracy
and development’s regime, 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.
, in 1926, of a middle-class Jewish family originally from Tangier
. He graduated in 1949 of Ecole des Mines de Paris one of the most prominent French
engineering Grandes Ecoles
. His path as a political activist started very early: In February 1944, he joined the Moroccan Youth Communists, and, upon his arrival in France in 1945, the French Communist Party. When he returned to Morocco in 1949, he joined the Moroccan Communist Party. His anti-colonialist fight had him arrested and jailed by the French authorities, and in 1950 he was assigned a forced residence in France for six years.
On the morrow of Morocco’s independence
, he encumbered several, more technical than political, posts and was part of the Ministry of Economy
from 1957 to 1960. During that time, he has been one of the many promoters of the new mining policy of the newly independent Morocco. From 1960 to 1968, he was the director of the Research-Development of the Cherifian Office of Phosphates, but revoked of his duties because of his solidarity with miners at one strike. From 1968 to 1972, he taught at the Engineers School of Mohammedia, and at the same time, collaborated at the “Souffles/Anfas” artistic journal, headed by Abdellatif Laabi
.
Abraham Serfaty was a Moroccan Jew, but also an anti-Zionist
Jew who recognized the State of Israel
but who demanded the abolition of the Law of Return
, and acted for the creation of a Palestinian state. By 1967, he no longer accepted Israeli nationalism and was outraged by what he saw as the mistreatment of the Palestinians.
In 1970, Serfaty left the Communist Party, which he considered to be too doctrinarian and became deeply involved in the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist left-wing organization called “Ila al-Amam
” (En Avant in French, Forward in English). In January 1972, he was arrested for the first time and savagely tortured, but released after heavy popular pressure. But as he was again targeted for his continuing fight, Serfaty went underground in March 1972, with one of his friends Abdellatif Zeroual
who was also wanted by the authorities. It was then that he met for the first time, Christine Daure, a French teacher who then helped to hide both men.
After several months of hiding, Abraham Serfaty and Abdellatif Zeroual were arrested again in 1974. After their arrest, Abdellatif Zeroual died, a victim of torture. In October 1974, at "Derb Moulay Chérif", center of "interrogation" = (torture) à Casablanca, Abraham Serfaty was one of the five culprits sentenced to life in prison. He was officially charged with “plotting against the State’s security”, but the heavy sentence seemed to have been more a result for his attitude against the annexing of the Western Sahara
, even if this motif did not appear in the official indictment, than his political activism. He then served seventeen years at the Kenitra
prison, where, thanks to Danielle Mitterrand
's help, he was able to marry his biggest supporter, Christine Daure
.
, with his wife, Christine Daure-Serfaty
. From 1992 to 1995, Serfaty taught at the University of Paris-VIII, in the department of political sciences, on the theme of “identities and democracy in the Arab world”.
Eight years after his exile and two months after the death of King Hassan II
, he was finally allowed by the new king to return to Morocco in September 2000, and had his Moroccan passport restored to him. He then settled at Mohammedia
with his wife in a house made available to them and even received a monthly stipend. In the same month, he was appointed counselor to the National Moroccan Office of Research and Oil Exploitation (Onarep). This nomination did not stop him for asking, in December 2000, the then Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi
to resign after the attacks on the independent newspapers and magazines and restrictions of their rights and freedom of speech
. Serfaty died in Marrakech
, Morocco
in November of 2010.
Abraham Serfaty was the co-author, with his wife Christine, of the book The Other's Memory (La Mémoire de l’Autre), published in 1993.
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
, militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
, and political activist, who was imprisoned for years by King Hassan II of Morocco, for his political actions in favor of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and development’s regime, during the Years of Lead
Years of Lead (Morocco)
The Years of Lead is the term used especially by former opponents to the rule of King Hassan II of Morocco to describe a period of his rule marked by state violence against dissidents and democracy activists.-Timeframe:...
. He paid a high price for such actions: fifteen months living underground, seventeen years of imprisonment and eight years of exile.
Life and politics
Abraham Serfaty was born in CasablancaCasablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, in 1926, of a middle-class Jewish family originally from Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
. He graduated in 1949 of Ecole des Mines de Paris one of the most prominent French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
engineering Grandes Ecoles
Grandes écoles
The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
. His path as a political activist started very early: In February 1944, he joined the Moroccan Youth Communists, and, upon his arrival in France in 1945, the French Communist Party. When he returned to Morocco in 1949, he joined the Moroccan Communist Party. His anti-colonialist fight had him arrested and jailed by the French authorities, and in 1950 he was assigned a forced residence in France for six years.
On the morrow of Morocco’s independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
, he encumbered several, more technical than political, posts and was part of the Ministry of Economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
from 1957 to 1960. During that time, he has been one of the many promoters of the new mining policy of the newly independent Morocco. From 1960 to 1968, he was the director of the Research-Development of the Cherifian Office of Phosphates, but revoked of his duties because of his solidarity with miners at one strike. From 1968 to 1972, he taught at the Engineers School of Mohammedia, and at the same time, collaborated at the “Souffles/Anfas” artistic journal, headed by Abdellatif Laabi
Abdellatif Laabi
Abdellatif Laâbi is a Moroccan poet, born in 1942 in Fes, Morocco.Laâbi, then teaching French, founded with other poets the artistic journal Souffles, an important literary review in 1966...
.
Abraham Serfaty was a Moroccan Jew, but also an anti-Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
Jew who recognized the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
but who demanded the abolition of the Law of Return
Law of Return
The Law of Return is Israeli legislation, passed on 5 July 1950, that gives Jews the right of return and settlement in Israel and gain citizenship...
, and acted for the creation of a Palestinian state. By 1967, he no longer accepted Israeli nationalism and was outraged by what he saw as the mistreatment of the Palestinians.
In 1970, Serfaty left the Communist Party, which he considered to be too doctrinarian and became deeply involved in the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist left-wing organization called “Ila al-Amam
Ila al-Amam (Morocco)
Ila al-Amam was a Marxist group in Morocco founded by the Moroccan engineer Abraham Serfaty and other left-wing activists in 1970. It was an underground movement whose members lived in hiding and distributed political leaflets. Most of its members were arrested and imprisoned in 1974 and received...
” (En Avant in French, Forward in English). In January 1972, he was arrested for the first time and savagely tortured, but released after heavy popular pressure. But as he was again targeted for his continuing fight, Serfaty went underground in March 1972, with one of his friends Abdellatif Zeroual
Abdellatif Zeroual
Abdellatif Zeroual was a philosophy teacher and member of the national committee of the "Ila Al Amame" movement....
who was also wanted by the authorities. It was then that he met for the first time, Christine Daure, a French teacher who then helped to hide both men.
After several months of hiding, Abraham Serfaty and Abdellatif Zeroual were arrested again in 1974. After their arrest, Abdellatif Zeroual died, a victim of torture. In October 1974, at "Derb Moulay Chérif", center of "interrogation" = (torture) à Casablanca, Abraham Serfaty was one of the five culprits sentenced to life in prison. He was officially charged with “plotting against the State’s security”, but the heavy sentence seemed to have been more a result for his attitude against the annexing of the Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
, even if this motif did not appear in the official indictment, than his political activism. He then served seventeen years at the Kenitra
Kenitra
Kenitra is a city in Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey. It is a port on the Sebou River, has a population in 2004 of 359,142 and is the capital of the Gharb-Chrarda-Béni Hssen region. During the Cold War Kenitra's U.S...
prison, where, thanks to Danielle Mitterrand
Danielle Mitterrand
Danielle Mitterrand was the wife of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.-Biography:...
's help, he was able to marry his biggest supporter, Christine Daure
Christine Daure-Serfaty
Christine Daure-Serfaty is a writer and a French human rights activist, who distinguished herself in Morocco where she embraced the fight of the victims of King Hassan II, during the "Years of Lead," and from afar, played a major role in the evolution of the regime and the human rights in Morocco...
.
Exile and return
International pressure was enough in Serfaty's favor that he was finally released from prison in September 1991, but immediately banished from of Morocco and deprived of his Moroccan nationality on grounds that his father was Brazilian. He found a haven in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, with his wife, Christine Daure-Serfaty
Christine Daure-Serfaty
Christine Daure-Serfaty is a writer and a French human rights activist, who distinguished herself in Morocco where she embraced the fight of the victims of King Hassan II, during the "Years of Lead," and from afar, played a major role in the evolution of the regime and the human rights in Morocco...
. From 1992 to 1995, Serfaty taught at the University of Paris-VIII, in the department of political sciences, on the theme of “identities and democracy in the Arab world”.
Eight years after his exile and two months after the death of King Hassan II
Hassan II of Morocco
King Hassan II l-ḥasan aṯ-ṯānī, dial. el-ḥasan ettâni); July 9, 1929 – July 23, 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999...
, he was finally allowed by the new king to return to Morocco in September 2000, and had his Moroccan passport restored to him. He then settled at Mohammedia
Mohammedia
Mohammedia is a port city on the west coast of Morocco located between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Greater Casablanca. It hosts the most important oil refinery of Morocco, Samir, which makes it the center of the Moroccan petrol...
with his wife in a house made available to them and even received a monthly stipend. In the same month, he was appointed counselor to the National Moroccan Office of Research and Oil Exploitation (Onarep). This nomination did not stop him for asking, in December 2000, the then Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi
Abderrahmane Youssoufi
Abderrahmane Youssoufi is a Moroccan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002.-Early life:...
to resign after the attacks on the independent newspapers and magazines and restrictions of their rights and freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. Serfaty died in Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in November of 2010.
Abraham Serfaty was the co-author, with his wife Christine, of the book The Other's Memory (La Mémoire de l’Autre), published in 1993.
See also
- MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
- Hassan II
- TazmamartTazmamartTazmamart was a secret prison in south-eastern Morocco in the Atlas Mountains, holding political prisoners. The prison became a symbol ofoppression in the political history of contemporary Morocco...
- Abdellatif LaabiAbdellatif LaabiAbdellatif Laâbi is a Moroccan poet, born in 1942 in Fes, Morocco.Laâbi, then teaching French, founded with other poets the artistic journal Souffles, an important literary review in 1966...