French philosopher and scholar Edgar Morin openly denounced the bombardment and slaughter in the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza.
The 102-year-old scholar and author of over sixty books, spoke last week at a literary event in Marrakech. The video of his statements went viral on social media.
“I think we are experiencing a horrible tragedy because we are so powerless in the face of this thing that is unleashed,” said Morin to a large audience gathered at the Festival du Livre Africain de Marrakech (FLAM). 
Souleimane Bachir Diagne, Edgar Morin, Younes Ajarrai and Ali Benmakhlouf at the Festival du Livre Africain de Marrakech. Photo credit: Flam/Facebook
It was a few years ago that I found the book, Lecons D’un Siecle de Vie or “Lessons From a Century of Life.” I had never heard of Edgar Morin. But I was attracted by his eyes on the front cover of the book. And I wanted to discover what experience was contained behind those knowing eyes.
His name at birth was Edgar Nahoum, a descendant of the multitude of Sephardic Jews violently expelled from Spain in 1492. His family found protection in the Jewish Quarter of Thessalonika which was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912. It was his father’s love of France which caused the family to emigrate to Marseille and then Paris where Edgar was born in 1921.
At 17, he saw the rise of hatred towards Jews and reports of the Christallenacht which herded up Jewish communities for extermination in Nazi Germany. During WWII, he found camaraderie among Marxist Socialists and was known by his pseudonym, Morin, which he kept after the war.
Morin knows, by experience, the importance of resisting oppression. He joined the French Resistance and put his life on the line in the battle against totalitarianism and facism which the Third Reich tried to spread throughout Europe.
Morin is beloved throughout France, Europe and Latin America for his intellectual contributions to medicine, social consciousness and ethics. His books, translated in English, are not as available as they should be making it difficult for anglophones to read his works. His book Changeons de voie – Les leçons du coronavirus published in 2020 tackles the controversy around global responses to the pandemic.
In Marrakech, Morin sat on stage with three other writers. He was wrapped in a blanket to keep his aged body warm. But his centenarian voice remains fluid, his mind was piercingly reflective and his moral compass still guides people to a greater appreciation and admiration for the human condition.
“I am both stunned and outraged by the fact that those who represent the descendants of a people who have been persecuted for centuries for religious or racial reasons, that the descendants of this people who are today the decision-makers of the State of Israel, that they cannot only colonize an entire people, drive them partly from their land and want to drive them out for good, but who in addition, after the massacre of October 7, surrendered a real, massive carnage on the populations of Gaza and continues without stop obviously hitting civilian women and children.”
In his book, Morin watched the development of the Jewish State “from afar” and was pleased that the new nation would dispel “the myth of` Jews only being businessmen and cowards. He supported their ability to defend themselves and self-reliance through farming kibbutzim. But clearly, Morin is not pleased with how the children of the victims of the Holocaust now treat other human beings.
Qui suis-je?
In the first chapter of his book Lecons D’un Siècle de Vie, Morin makes clear his identity.
First and foremost, he is a human being. His laic and secular education in France did not focus on his other adjectives: Jew, French, son, Mediterranean, scholar, European, etc.
From his eyes, he sees only humankind. He dispenses with the adjectives of the others: Palestinian, gay, poor, Muslim, daughter, diverse, etc.
Part of my fascination with Edgar Morin is in overcoming my disdain for Marxism and the collective ideologies of communism. Of course, communist and Marxist are only adjectives which people attach to their human selves. But I am exploring and reading the works of people who I would never consider before.
Another connecting point is when I discovered that Morin is married to Sabah Abouessalam, a respected Moroccan sociologist. The couple worked together in 2009 and married three years later. They live on a farm outside of Marrakech. I have heard that there is wisdom after 80 but I am pleased to know there is love too.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). – The Fifth Commandment
I am grateful that I always honor and respect my elders. When a 100-year-old plus man says something, one should listen and act upon their words. At a minimum, there should be consideration. The sentiments of an elder like Morin should bellow in the minds of the current leaders of Israel so that their moral compass will speak to their hearts and the “others” can live humanely.
