One Family, Four Cultures, and Four Continents

About the Book

This fascinating book, One Family, Four Cultures and Four Continents, by Asher Elkayam, depicts the adventures of a child growing up in Morocco and goes through political and historical events which happened in his childhood and focused on a pivotal year: 1956. Mr. Elkayam writes about the beauty of childhood and the innocence thereof, the neighborhood, the nature, the education, the typical things, which happened then but may never be repeated. In an emotional way, he describes the infl uence of his parents, who were among the guardians of Jewish tradition. He describes the Moroccan Jewish population, which represented a minority, and the events which led to their survival. Having been targeted by the Nazi regime which expanded its grip on North Africa during the 1940’s, including French Morocco, that minority of Jews of North Africa was saved by the arrival of the American forces, during World War Two, who landed in Casablanca in November, 1942, the author’s city of birth. The North African Jewry, which totaled about 400,000, was thus saved from the Nazi threat while Nazi atrocities in Europe went on until 1945, thus destroying the majority of the European Jews. Consequently, a massive exodus of North African Jews took place between 1948 and 1958. The hopes and dreams, as recited in their daily prayers, to reach the Holy Land, were fi nally realized. With measured enthusiasm, Asher describes the friendly relationship between Moslems and Jews in his native Morocco. Asher wants to make sure his readers understand that there is a divide between friendship and politics. The overwhelming majority of his neighbors were friendly and unthreatening. However those in the small minority who became active in politics were behind the forces which eventually caused Asher’s family and thousands more to look for a safe exit from his native land. Whether the events which led to a massive exodus from North Africa represented a coincidental circumstance in current events or whether they were caused by some divine intervention would remain for a long time a thing historians could decide on one day.

About the Author

Asher Elkayam was born in Morocco where he spent his childhood and where he studied Arabic, Hebrew and French. When he moved to Israel, he was exposed to Middle Eastern and Hebrew cultures. Asher has been most fascinated with Monotheism and how it originated and spread to become the heritage of Jews, Christians, and Moslems. The striking similarities between Judeo-Christian religions and Islam became the object of a life-long project. After he studied Arabic and Hebrew studies in morocco and Israel, Asher traveled to France to study Political Science and international relations in Paris and Strasbourg (Institut d’Etudes Politiques). Mr. Elkayam has previously authored a book on the bible (The Bible, The Power of the Word) and is in process of publishing a new book (One Family, Four Cultures, Four Continents) about his childhood in Morocco and in Israel. Having lived among Moslem and Arab neighbors most of his adult life he became interested in the Islamic way of life and began concentrating on the positive nature of Islam. Asher speaks fluently the Moroccan Arabic dialect. He is also fluent in the French and the Hebrew languages. In the U.S.A., Mr. Elkayam has studied and obtained diplomas in secondary education and Audioprosthology (separately). He taught Hebrew and French and he has been an active member of a conservative Hebrew congregation for nearly 35 years. Mr. Elkayam believes wholeheartedly in a constructive dialogue and friendly coexistence and interaction between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.