Sion Assidon (born in 1948) is a Moroccan human rights activist.
Sion Assidon | |
|---|---|
 Sion Assidon in 2016 | |
| Transparency International | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1948 Safi, Morocco |
Biography
editZion Assidon was born in 1948 to a Moroccan Berber Jewish family in Safi. His family moved to Agadir shortly after, and then to Casablanca after then 1960 Agadir earthquake. He later moved to France, where he studied mathematics in Paris and became influenced by Marxist ideas. He decided to return to Morocco in 1967, after completing his studies.[1]
In 1986, he founded an IT company before taking over the family business.
Activities
editDuring the Years of Lead, Assidon was involved in the fight for the establishment of democracy in his country, which led to his arrest in 1972. He spent 12 years in prison along with fellow opposition leaders and political dissidents.[2]
Assidon is a “resolute defender of the Palestinian cause".[3][4]
In 2005, he founded "Transparency Maroc" of which he became the director and he is a member of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors of Transparency International.[5]
In 2011, he protested against Hindi Zahra with the Casablanca group of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) because the singer had decided to hold a concert in Tel Aviv.[6]
In April 2012, he protested the visit of Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe'er, declaring:
"We should not receive artists or athletes from this country as if nothing had happened. It is abnormal to pretend everything is fine. These are people who are inflicting apartheid on the Palestinian people. We must not receive them but also show solidarity with the Palestinian people.”[7]
Personal life
editAssidon is married to an American Palestinian. They have a son named Millal.
He is a Jewish atheist who believes in freedom of religion.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Benbachir, Simo (28 May 2020). "Sion Assidon: The Last Marxist Revolutionary". Maroc Local et Nouvelles du Monde | Nouvelles juives du Maroc, dernières nouvelles | מרוקו ג׳וייש טיימס, חדשות מרוקו והעולם | Morocco News | أخبار المغرب. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ Sion Assidon
- ^ En point de mire
- ^ UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
- ^ Sion Assidon condamne la conférence sur l’holocauste juif à l’université Al Akhawayn
- ^ "Lesoir-echos : Magazine digital & blog en ligne".
- ^ Maroc - La tenniswoman israélienne qui doit se cacher pour jouer
- ^ For Morocco activist of Jewish descent, Zionism feeds anti-Semitism
