Born | Casablanca, Morocco, 1949 |
Moved to | Montreal, Canada, 1968 |
Education | Industrial and mechanical engineering, École Polytechnique de Montréal, 1973 |
Expertise | Moroccan Jewish life, Jewish refugees from Arab countries, community leadership |
Languages | English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic |
Speaks to | Community groups, conferences, and government bodies |
Sylvain Abitbol was born in Casablanca, Morocco, on June 1, 1949. His father, a manufacturer's agent, was born in Azemmour, and his mother in Casablanca. Sylvain attended French schools in Morocco. After the 1967 Six-Day War, his family left for Canada, and he arrived in Montreal in 1968, travelling by way of Spain and France. He adapted quickly to his new community.
In 1973 Sylvain graduated from Montreal's École Polytechnique in industrial and mechanical engineering. He worked at Xerox, where he trained in telecommunications in California, then founded his own computer business in the early 1980s. He went on to build a career in telecommunications and technology, serving as CEO of NHC Communications. His path from newcomer to business founder is a story of immigrant resilience and opportunity.
Sylvain has held leading roles in Canadian Jewish life. He chaired the Sephardic campaign for Montreal's Federation CJA, served as its president, and was co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. As co-president of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, he testified before Canada's House of Commons foreign affairs committee in 2013. He later served as president of the Communauté Sépharade Unifiée du Québec.
Speaking Topics
What Sylvain talks about
1. Growing up Jewish in Casablanca
Family, school, and community life in Morocco in the 1950s and 1960s.
2. Leaving Morocco
Why many Moroccan Jewish families left after 1967, and the journey to Canada.
3. Jewish refugees from Arab countries
The history of roughly 856,000 Jews who left Arab countries between 1948 and 1972, and calls for recognition.
4. Sephardic life in Canada
How Moroccan and other Sephardic Jews built community in Montreal and Quebec.
5. Immigrant entrepreneurship
From engineering school to founding a technology business as a newcomer.
Select Talks
Selected talks and appearances
2015 | International Conference on Sephardic, North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Communities in North America, Concordia University and Federation CJA, Montreal, gala greetings |
2014 | Sephardi Voices oral history interview, Montreal |
2013 | House of Commons of Canada, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Ottawa, testimony on Jewish refugees from Arab countries |
2008 | United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland, testimony on Jewish refugees from Arab countries, with Regina Bublil Waldman and Stanley Urman |
2007 | Justice for Jews from Arab Countries International Steering Committee summit, New York, elected to the Executive Committee |
These are a selection of Sylvain’s talks. Sylvain has given many more, at parliamentary hearings, the United Nations, and community conferences in Canada and abroad.
Publications and Media
Read, watch, and listen
Profile
Sylvain Abitbol interview
His life story in the Sephardi Voices oral history archive, recorded in Montreal, 2014. Read the transcript
Article
Committee evidence, Meeting 77
Official transcript of his testimony to Canada's House of Commons foreign affairs committee, 2013. Read the testimony
Affiliations
Organizations
- Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (former co-president)
- Communauté Sépharade Unifiée du Québec (president, as of 2015)
- Federation CJA, Montreal (past president)
- Canadian Jewish Congress (past co-president)
Book Sylvain
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