Sanctity and Celebrity: The Musical Journey of Rabbi David Buzaglo from Casablanca to Kiryat Yam

Beginning in the early twentieth century, colonial administrations and technological revolutions facilitated a new era of public entertainment in North Africa. Jewish musicians, male and female, who possessed the necessary cultural capital as well as urban business savvy, were in an advantageous position to capitalize on these new developments.¹ Jewish singers, instrumentalists, and composers became stars of emerging nightclubs and cabaret scenes, large new theaters, recording companies, and radio stations. In the case of male singers, this success in the secular realm did not disengage them completely from parallel activities in intracommunitarian performing venues such as synagogues and private homes....