Sion Assidon

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Wikipedia

Sion Assidon
سيون أسيدون
Sion Assidon in 2016
Transparency International
Personal details
Born(1948-05-00)May 1948
Safi, Morocco
Died7 November 2025(2025-11-07) (aged 77)
Casablanca, Morocco

Sion Assidon (Arabic: سيون أسيدون; 1948 – 7 November 2025) was a Moroccan human rights activist and a founding member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), as well as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) branch in Morocco.[1] His life was marked by decades of political activism, imprisonment during Morocco's Years of Lead, and leadership in the BDS movement in Morocco.[2]

Assidon was a prominent figure on the Moroccan left.[3] He was a staunch anti-Zionist and proponent of a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[4] He drew a clear distinction between Judaism and Zionism, stating, "You mustn't confuse Zionism with Judaism: the Israeli government says it represents Jews the world over, but that's not true."[5]

Biography

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 the 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.[6]

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

Assidon was married to an American Palestinian. They had a son named Milal.[7]

On 11 August 2025, following a period of significant protest activity from Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Morocco targeting Maersk shipping activity in Moroccan ports, Assidon was discovered unconscious with head injuries in his home in Mohammedia.[8] His injury was caused by a falling accident as he was repairing an electric device on a ladder.[9] Moroccan police issued a preliminary report[3] on 19 August that said no signs of violence or forced entry had been noticed, and that the incident was probably due to a sickness or accidental fall.[9][10]

Assidon died less than three months later, on 7 November 2025, at the age of 77.[11][12][13] He had shown signs of recovery prior, according to his family, but his health worsened due to a lung infection.[9]

Activities

Assidon was one of the founders of the Marxist Leninist organization Harakat 23 Mars, on 23 March 1970.[8] During 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.[14]

Assidon was a “resolute defender of the Palestinian cause".[15][16] He was a vocal opponent of Morocco's normalization with Israel.[1]

In 2005, he founded "Transparency Maroc" of which he became the director and he was a member of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors of Transparency International.[17]

In 2010, he launched the Moroccan branch of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS).[1] A year later, he protested against Hindi Zahra with the Casablanca group of the BDS, because the singer had decided to hold a concert in Tel Aviv.[18]

He was a Jewish atheist who believed in freedom of religion.[19]

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.”[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Moroccan-Jewish Pro-Palestine Activist Sion Assidon Dies at 77". 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  2. ↑ Stoolman, Jessie (15 September 2025). "Prominent Moroccan Palestine solidarity activist Sion Assidon remains in coma after being found unconscious". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Sion Assidon: Après deux mois de coma, un espoir fragile". 15 October 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "From Royal Advisers to Far-Left Militants, Moroccan Jews Embody Coexistence". The Forward. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "For Morocco activist of Jewish descent, Zionism feeds anti-Semitism". France 24. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Sion Assidon: The Last Marxist Revolutionary". 28 May 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  8. 1 2 El Atti, Basma (15 August 2025). "BDS calls for probe after pro-Palestine Moroccan activist found unconscious with head injuries". New Arab.
  9. 1 2 3 "Le militant des droits humains Sion Assidon est décédé". 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Affaire Sion Assidon: le parquet fournit de nouveaux détails". 19 August 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "وفاة الفاعل الحقوقي سيون أسيدون بعد صراع مع المرض" [Human rights actor Sion Acidon dies after a struggle with the disease]. 24saa (in Arabic). 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Décès de Sion Assidon à l'age de 77 ans". ledesk.ma. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Décès du militant Sion Assidon, après près de trois mois de coma". h24info.ma. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  14. ↑ Sion Assidon
  15. ↑ En point de mire
  16. ↑ UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
  17. ↑ Sion Assidon condamne la conférence sur l’holocauste juif à l’université Al Akhawayn
  18. ↑ "Lesoir-echos : Magazine digital & blog en ligne".
  19. ↑ For Morocco activist of Jewish descent, Zionism feeds anti-Semitism
  20. ↑ Maroc - La tenniswoman israélienne qui doit se cacher pour jouer