André Azoulay
André Azoulay is a Moroccan Jewish senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco. He previously advised Mohammed's father, King Hassan II. André currently presides over the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures. He is also president of the executive committee of the Foundation for the Three Cultures and the Three Religions, based in Seville, Spain; a founding member of the C-100 Davos Forum for the Dialogue of Civilizations and Religions; and was formerly the executive vice president of the Banque Nationale de Paris.
Adnane Bennis
Adnane Bennis was born in Morocco and obtained his bachelor’s degree in Computer and Information Science from East-West University in Chicago. He also holds an associate degree in English Literature from the University of Fez in Morocco. Adnane has worked as a software testing engineer with several international companies, including IBM and Motorola. His commitment to international affairs and public policy, human rights advocacy, and diplomacy has provided him with the experience and determination to create positive, sustainable change. Currently, he volunteers with Olof Palme Peace Foundation International as head of communications and is a second alternate representative of the United Nations.
Serge Berdugo
Serge Berdugo was born in 1938 in Meknes, Morocco, and is a lawyer and a politician with an illustrious career. He became president of external relations for the Israelite Community Council, where 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 Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca. 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. In 1993, he was named Minister of Tourism by King Hassan II in the Cabinet of Mohammed Karim Lamrani, and again the following year for prime minister Abdellatif Filali. In 1995, Serge was named Commander of the Order of the Throne, becoming the first Moroccan Jew to receive the distinction. Since March 2006, Serge has served as an at-large ambassador on behalf of the King of Morocco.
El Mehdi Boudra
El Mehdi Boudra is the founder and chairperson of Mimouna Association, an organization created by Moroccan-Muslim students committed to preserving the culture and heritage of the country’s Jewish community. The Association has since expanded their initiatives on a national level through the creation of Jewish-Moroccan heritage days and designed educational activities for high school and graduate students. One of the founding principles of the Association is to reclaim the cultural diversity of Morocco through its history. In a context where intolerance and extremism are rampant, Mimouna is dedicated to preserving and strengthening the plural Moroccan identity.
Jacky Kadosh
Jacky Kadosh has been president of the Jewish community of Marrakech and Essaouira since 2003. Born in 1952, Jacky grew up with a large family in Marrakech, and became very involved in business and community life. Ever since being elected as president, Jacky has continued to establish many programs and partnerships to strengthen the local Jewish community, revive connections with more than 800,000 Israelis of Moroccan heritage, and promote intra-religious peace throughout the country and the Arab world.
Einat Levi
Einat Levi an entrepreneur and researcher, specializing in Morocco and its relations with Israel. She currently works as a strategic consultant of partnership building between Israel and Morocco. With the renewal of official relations between the countries, Einat joined the Israeli Mission to Morocco, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to oversee their economic and academic affairs. She was one of the first in Israel to lead delegations and study tours to Morocco that focused on political, economic, and social issues. Einat also serves as a researcher at Mitvim, the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policy; is a research fellow at The Forum for Regional Thinking; and is a graduate of the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture.
Zhor Rehihil
Zhor Rehihil is curator of the Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca. She is the one and only Muslim woman to take care of such an establishment and is the first Muslim expert in Moroccan Judaica. Winner of the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage Sciences, she has a degree in anthropology. She also obtained a specialized higher education diploma in audio-visual journalism at the Higher Institute of Journalism in Rabat before joining the Ministry of Culture. Zhor was a project manager at the Judeo-Moroccan Cultural Heritage Foundation before taking charge of the Museum of Moroccan Judaism.
Dr. Sadik Rddad
Dr. Sadik Rddad is the president of the Sefrou Association of Multiculturalism and Preservation of Jewish Heritage and a professor of English at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Morocco. As a child, Dr. Rddad developed an interest in local Jewish heritage – a passion that followed him throughout his personal life, as well as his academic research. As President of the Sefrou Association, Dr. Rddad aims to bring attention to, and encourage youth to participate in, preserving a pivotal aspect of Moroccan history.
Dr. Saâd Tazi
Dr. Saâd Tazi trained at the Institute of Photography in New York from 1997 to 1998, taking several courses in Platinotype with Tom Ferguson, as well as studio shots with John Siskin in Los Angeles. He lives and works between his hometown of Casablanca, as well as Benguerir, and Marrakech. Dr. Tazi is known for his detailed photos and celebrations of everyday life. He pushes the exploration of shadows and reflections in his work by placing his subjects behind screens, mirrors, and other reflective surfaces. For the past few years, he has been working on a series of portraits of Moroccan anthropologists, as well as artists and intellectuals. His work evokes an unspoken exchange of ideas between the support and the wishes of the artist. Dr. Tazi joined the Majorelle Gardens and Yves Saint Laurent Museum as a general manager, with the belief that cultural spaces need to allow artists complete freedom of expression. Art and museums must serve the greater cultural landscape, without falling prey to elitism or bias.
Dr. Fatima Zohra Iflahen
After graduating from Sorbonne University in Paris with a doctorate in North American Studies, Dr. Fatima Zohra Iflahen has been a professor and vice president at Cadi Ayyad-Marrakech University since 1999. In addition, Dr. Zohra Iflahen is a gender consultant for several international organizations and is an activist on women's issues. She is a founding member of the University-Civil Society Collective; a founding member of the steering committee Women in Higher Education for Equal Opportunity and Leadership; member of the Board of Directors of the Tensift Region Development Center; member of the Local Actors for Equality Collective, and the Youth Observatory and the Observatory of Transformations in the Arab World; and is vice president of the Marrakech 21 Foundation Association.
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