Yosef (Joe) Amar immigrated to Israel from Morocco in 1956.

By the time of his immigration, he had gained rich life experience and accomplished much, relative to his age: he studied Torah in a yeshiva, broadened his horizons with studies in modern literature and medieval Hebrew poetry, and learned excellent Hebrew, which is richer than the basic "Holy Tongue" (Lashon HaKodesh - לְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ) of Torah scholars.

In Morocco, he also worked as a teacher and school principal, and served as a liaison between the Israeli government and Zionist activists who organized the immigration of Moroccan Jews. In between, he also developed a musical career - as a public prayer leader (shliach tzibur) in synagogues, and as a singer and musician who came to bring joy to the public at religious and family ceremonies.

At the age of 26, he immigrated to Israel with his wife and eldest son.

In his suitcases, among all the other items that would help him in his new homeland, he packed 10 records he had produced, which made him well-known in Jewish communities. These were Andalusian songs, the poetry of Moroccan Jews, in Moroccan Arabic.

 

The young Amar family sailed on the ship that brought them to Israel, among tens of thousands of new immigrants. In those days, a second wave of immigration from North African Jews began - a particularly large wave that started in the mid-1950s. The immigrants from Morocco came with a tradition spanning hundreds of years, and with faith and hope that they could continue to preserve it in the Jewish state their ancestors had dreamed of. They left the land where they were born and raised, the culture they knew, the way of life they were accustomed to, their everyday spoken language. Few spoke Hebrew, a language they learned in school and used only in synagogue prayers or Jewish ceremonies.

Upon their arrival in Israel, their new homeland, they encountered a more or less established society with a Hebrew, secular culture. At its core was a clear ideology: to shape the image of the new Jew – independent, free from signs of exile, speaking standard Hebrew, and drawing inspiration for their values from the cultures of Europe and America.

The impossible encounter between the immigrants from Morocco and the establishment that absorbed them did not leave them with high chances of success. They were labeled as "Mizrahi communities," like all immigrants from Arab countries. In the first years after their immigration, they secluded themselves within their communities, prayed in their own synagogues, ate their own cuisine, married among themselves, mourned in their own way, and celebrated in their own way.

 

For Joe Amar, one of them, it was easier – he spoke fluent Hebrew, and by virtue of his work in Morocco, he knew contacts from Israel who could help him navigate the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the absorption process. He and his family moved to live in his wife's parents' home in Yad Rambam – a Moshav in the Judean lowlands, established by affluent Moroccan families who had purchased land and a house there even before their immigration. With the help of the connections he forged, he was accepted for training at a teachers' seminary, and upon completion, he began working as a teacher in the moshav where he resided. He did not neglect his musical talents and earned a living from them as a side job, supplementing his income. He was already known among immigrant concentrations across the country and was invited to play and sing at family celebrations, and sang as a cantor in festive prayers in synagogues.

His work in teaching did not last long. Rumors of the talented singer spread among the immigrants, and invitations continued to pour in. When his performance schedule filled up, and his side income grew and became his main livelihood, he decided to retire from teaching and focus on music. He formed a backing band with musicians who accompanied him at wedding ceremonies, bar mitzvahs, brit milah (circumcisions), dedications of Torah scrolls, and other festive events.