Abraham Serfaty, the leftist Moroccan militant and unsubdued opponent to the regime of late king Hassan II, has died today at the age of 84 in the city of Marrakech. His lifelong struggle for democracy and social justice in his country made him an icon for a Moroccan Left he helped create back in the early days of independence. He was a Moroccan Jew, a relentless anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian advocate. He paid a heavy price for his positions, especially his support for the separatist “cause” in Western Sahara, spending almost a third of his life (17 years) behind bars, where he was subjected to the most brutal forms of torture. An international campaign of solidarity forced his release in 1991 but he was subsequently banned from his country and deprived from the Moroccan nationality. He went to exile in France where he taught at a major French university. In 1999, king Mohammed VI who had just succeeded his father on the throne, ordered Serfaty’s return to the country and restitution of nationality. In a post Cold War world, Serfaty witnessed the fragmentation of the Moroccan Left he helped bring to life. After a few failed attempts to assemble the progressive forces around a united front, he withdrew from the political life. He never shied away however from voicing his criticism in the face of mounting restrictions on the press and freedom of speech in general.
What remains of the legacy of Abraham Serfaty is still unclear. The future will probably tell. The Moroccan Left is weaker than it has ever been as it struggles to find a charismatic and principled leader that could inspire its revival.
Following, is a three-part interview with Abraham Serfaty [in French], broadcast by the Moroccan TV in 2009 (and not 2002 as I previously posted), in which he comments, among other things, on his views on the rise of political Islam, the conflict over Western Sahara, national identity, Palestine, the future of Morocco:
Rest in peace.
Hisham Almiraat 
For me, this is the second death of Braham Serfaty. His first death was when the Moroccan left decided to take part in the Morccan political process.
>> Jamal
Au moins il ne s’est pas renié et n’a pas retourné sa veste comme beaucoup de ses anciens camarades. Il était resté à l’écart de la politique depuis sa sortie dans l’affaire de Talsint
Qu’il respose en paix
Farewell Abraham, may one day your vision of peace, equality and democracy, liberty and humanity come true. We owe it to you.
Rest in peace.
Thanks for this post.
He refused to go to Israel til the Palestinian are freed with establishment of their country. This is good point in his life. He was a Jewish, not a Zionist.
@Jamal_Elabiad @Bouchaib
I pretty much agree, only I didn’t blame El Youssfi for accepting to participate in the government at the time so much that I blamed him for screwing that opportunity up for the private interest and political gain of the Socialist party apparatchiks. (Not merely for his own benefit, to be fair.) It’s sad to see how this very step, as you rightly point out Jamal, has struck a deadly blow to the progressive movement in Morocco. Abraham is maybe the last in a long line of rare honest, committed Moroccan men and women dedicated for the good of this country. May he rest in peace!
@SONNET @Alistair
You would be surprised to hear what some co-religionists have reportedly been saying about the man (notably in some websites). It beggars belief. Even after his death the man is treated as a traitor to his people (in their lexicon it means Israelis) and to his country (in relation to his position on Western Sahara). The paradox is absurd of course but that goes to show the schizophrenia that is much consubstantial to Zionism.