Maurice Zekaria
Maurice Zekaria was born in Baghdad, Iraq on July 22, 1928, to Sion and Lulu Zekaria. He had two sisters, Naema and Hilda, and three brothers, Carl, Henry, and Albert. The family was observant and they enjoyed a comfortable life among Christian and Muslim neighbors until the onset of World War II.
Maurice attended an American Catholic school in Baghdad where his teacher was a priest who spoke Hebrew as well as Arabic and English. There he was taught the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran. He enjoyed learning but was also a bit of a troublemaker. Maurice’s father had a successful business, importing used tires and car parts. Maurice remembers helping his father at work but also taking the garage doors off the hinges of his warehouse when he was 16 years old so that he could steal a car for the day. He also loved riding bikes, playing chess and swimming in the Tigris river.
However, the beginning of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe corresponded with a surge of antisemitism in Iraq. Amid a vacuum left by a power struggle between the British and Germans, Nazi propaganda spread and the situation for the Jews of Iraq became precarious. In the spring of 1941, a military coup was carried out against British forces and a pro-German government was formed. As a result, there was widespread looting of Jewish businesses in Baghdad.
When British forces surrounded the city on June 1, 1941, the Jews, thinking the danger was over, left their homes to celebrate, as it was also the holiday of Shavuot. In fact, that night, the Farhud (Arabic for pogrom) took place.
Maurice Zekaria was just 13 years old when he witnessed this violent outbreak against the Jews, which lasted for two days. He remembered looking out his living room window and seeing Jewish women being dragged down the street and raped and men being attacked and murdered just steps from his home. He saw his neighborhood taken over by fires and looting. Maurice would never forget all that he took in that night before his mother pulled him away from the window. Over 400 people were murdered. Maurice would always consider it the scariest day of his life.
In 1947, Maurice left Baghdad for America and, after settling in Los Angeles, sent for his parents and sisters. At first, he worked in a home goods store for free to prove himself to the owner. He started making a salary and then opened a women's clothing store with one of his brothers. They split up and he started his own chain - Windsor Fashions. He loved dressing women and had a real knack for fashion and a great eye.
In 1956, Maurice married Alice Hanono, a Sephardic Jewish woman from Mexico City. Alice played an integral role in the business as a buyer and merchandiser. They had five children, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. They led an active social life and were leaders of the Sephardic Jewish community in Beverly Hills, California, helping to establish the Sephardic Hebrew Academy, now called Maimonides.
Maurice passed away in 2011. He was known to all those he encountered for his warmth and amazing sense of humor.