Sion Assidon (born in 1948) is a Moroccan

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist.

Biography

Zion 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 The 1960 Agadir earthquake occurred on 29 February at 23:40:18 Western European Time near the city of Agadir, located in western Morocco on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the earthquake's moderate scale magnitude of 5.8, its relativel ...

. 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. In 1986, he founded an IT company before taking over the family business.

Activities

During the

Years of Lead Years of Lead is a phrase used in several countries to refer to periods of history marked by military repression, political violence or terrorism. Years of lead may refer to: Historical periods * Years of Lead (Brazil), period of state violence ...

, 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. Assidon is a “resolute defender of the Palestinian cause". 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. In 2011, he protested against

Hindi Zahra Hindi Zahra (Tamazight: ⵀⵉⵏⴷⵉ ⵣⴰⵀⵕⴰ, Arabic: هندي زهرة, born 20 January 1979 in Khouribga, Morocco) is a Moroccan singer. When coming up with a stage name, she simply inverted her birth name. Her songs are mostly in ...

with the Casablanca group of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) because the singer had decided to hold a concert in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. In April 2012, he protested the visit of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i tennis player

Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er (, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation, ITF circuit in her career ...

, 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.”

Personal life

Assidon is married to an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

. They have a son named Millal. He is a Jewish atheist who believes in freedom of religion.For Morocco activist of Jewish descent, Zionism feeds anti-Semitism
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assidon, Sion Moroccan human rights activists Moroccan dissidents 1948 births Living people People from Safi, Morocco Moroccan Jews Anti-Zionist Jews Jewish anti-Zionism in Africa Moroccan communists Jewish communists Jewish activists for Palestinian solidarity Berber Jews Moroccan Berbers Jewish atheists Moroccan atheists

Biography

Activities

Personal life

See also

References