Jews of the Middle East and North Africa participated in all aspects of modern Arab culture and were especially prominent in the sphere of popular music. Zohra al-Fasiya (Morocco), Layla Murad (Egypt), and Saleh and Da’ud al-Kuwaiti (Iraq) were among the best known and beloved stars of mid-20th century Arabic music, and they remain popular today.

Stanford Donald J. MacLachlan Professor Emeritus of History and History of the Middle will present an illustrated lecture, which highlights some of the leading Jewish musicians in the Middle East and North Africa from the late-Ottoman period until the 1950s. The focus is on Egypt, Morocco and Iraq. The establishment of the State of Israel ultimately made it impossible for Jews to live in most of the Arab world and their contributions to Arabic popular music were forgotten or willfully erased. Some of their descendants in Israel are reviving their music and singing in Arabic. Some of their music videos have gone viral in the Arab world.