In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

CHAPTER VII The A lliance and the Social and Cultural Evolution of the Jews: 1912-1956 1. Educational and Sociocultural Factors The AIU in Morocco intensified its social and cultural activities after 1912 and, after 1945, collaborated with a variety of international Jewish organizations. The political role of the school directors, on the other hand, diminished somewhat in the protectorate era, for the authorities in their colonial zones of inflm~nce eliminated the jizYa, rural land purchase restrictions, and introduced sweeping reforms to implement pacification in the bled, the rural countryside. Nevertheless, the AIU continued to apply political pressures through its representatives, even if these proved ineffective. The teachers launched intensive cultural and social programs in the major urban communities; they also succeeded in extending these programs to the more remote communities of the bled, particularly in the Atlas mountains. The food and clothing programs, which aided poor youths, doubtless were intended to popularize the AIU further and attract to its institutions students from the rabbinic schools or those who enjoyed no educational facilities whatsoever. I Given the growth of the Jewish population, (See table 18 for urban Jewish population) however, the AIU was unable to bear the financial brunt of complete subsidization of welfare programs alone, and after 1945 the JDC gradually assumed the role of financing social welfare programs at the AIU schools under the teachers' supervision. Further , the cooperation of the OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enjants),2 greatly facilitated the work of the AIU in the struggle for improved sanitary and health conditions among Jews. The Work of the Alliance and Its Allies: JDC-OSE (1945-1956) The JDC has many achievements to its credit since the end of the Second World War not only in augmenting the influence and scope of activity of the AIU, but in financially supporting a variety of American Jewish226 The Social and Cultural Evolution of the Jews: 1912-1956 227 Table 18. Jewish and General Alliance School Population in Moroccan Cities, 1936 and 1951a Jewish AIU schools: Jewish AIU schools: population: boys and population: boys and Town 1936b girlsC 1951d girlse Agadir 503 61 1,500 202 Azemmour 459 99 300 89 Casablanca 38,806 3,853 75,000 7,683 Elksar 1,500 188 1,600 204 Fez 10,507 1,646 16,050 2,028 Larache 1,200 285 1,300 101 Marrakesh 25,646 1,107 18,500 2,569 Mazagan 3,525 696 3,800 670 Meknes 9,521 1,428 15,000 2,384 Mogador 6,151 888 6,500 906 Oujda 2,048 40 2,000 No data Rabat 6,698 1,030 13,000 1,392 Safi 3,634 787 4,500 673 Sale 2,600 502 3,300 536 Sefrou 4,382 296 5,500 548 Tangier 10,000 1,072 10,000 1,088 Tetuan 6,000 488 6,000 419 aFor statistical data on the bled communities, see Table 30 of this chapter. bBased on the 1936 population census, analyzed by Y. D. Semach, "Le recensement de 1936 au Maroc," Paix et Droit, 1ge annee, no. 6 (juin 1939), pp. 8-10. c"Tableau des ecoles de I'Alliance Israelite," Paix et Droit, 16e annee, no. 4, mensuel (juin 1936), p. 16. d"Etat comparatif des taux de scolarisation au Maroc: Annees 1950-51", fevrier-mars 1951, p.8. eIbid. The population estimates for Tetuan, Elksar, and Larache (in 1936) are mine, based on archival information. This is also the case for Tangier (1936) and Oujda (1951). The Spanish zone did not have an official census until 1942. In Tangier, the International-zone authorities never conducted an official census. sponsored religious schools, the OSE, clinics and health programs, technical schools, summer camps, community loan associations, food and clothing programs, and even in sending Moroccan would-be emigrants to Israel and France, or to rehabilitation camps in France. By 1948 the JDC had established offices in Morocco, directed by dynamic JDC officials, notably Samuel L. Haber, William Bein, and Louis Kirsch. The situation was quite bad after the war and the AIU found an important partner in combatting poverty. Conditions were particularly bad in the large urban centers (Casablanca, Marrakesh, Fez), but also in smaller communities such as Sefrou, where as late as 1956, of 750 families comprising some 3,850 people who inhabited the mellii/:!, almost seventy percent of the families-502 out of 750-comprising 2,200 persons, had only one room, or an average of at least four...

Share