דער קערפער פֿון השם"Growing up in #Fez, #Morocco, #YonaElfassi was always aware of the history of the city, which has been a center of culture, learning and spirituality since the ninth century. Home to great minds such as the 12th-century philosopher and jurist #IbnRushd and his contemporary, the physician and codifier of #Jewish law #Maimonides, the city was shaped by Jewish, #Arab, #Amazigh, #Spanish and #French cultures.
These influences left a deep imprint on Elfassi, 37. “In my family there were (many) different languages — #Moroccan #Arabic, French, #Hebrew at the #synagogue, and my dad also speaks Amazigh, #Berber,” said Elfassi.
Music, too, was a constant presence[...]
“We weren’t a family of professional musicians, but we were a family that lived with music.”
As a Jewish resident of Morocco, Elfassi belongs to a tiny demographic, as 99% of #Jews of Moroccan heritage today live elsewhere."
