France: Morocco's Uniqueness as Land of Religious Tolerance, Living Together Highlighted

13 March 2023 Printable Version

Créteil (France) - Morocco's uniqueness as a land of religious tolerance and living together between different communities and religions was highlighted, Sunday in Créteil, near Paris, at the opening of the Moroccan-Jewish week, which also stressed the role of HM King Mohammed VI and His efforts for the preservation of Moroccan-Hebrew heritage.

The various participants in this event, organized under the High Patronage of HM the King, highlighted the specificity of Morocco as a land of welcome and coexistence for Jews for millennia, underlining the Sovereign's actions and initiatives to preserve and enhance the Jewish-Moroccan heritage.

Albert Elharrar, president of the ACIP of Creteil, stressed that HM the King, faithful to the principles of the Alaouite Dynasty, has extended the action of His father, the late HM Hassan II and his grandfather, the late HM Mohammed V, by conducting the rehabilitation of synagogues and all Jewish cemeteries.

The Sovereign also inaugurated in 2020 "Bayt Dakira", a spiritual area for the preservation of the Jewish-Moroccan memory and had the will to engage Morocco in the Abraham Agreements, which allowed the Kingdom and Israel to expand and develop exchanges in the industrial, economic and cultural fields, in a dimension that could serve as an example to other countries, he said.

For his part, Saad Bendourou, Deputy Head of Mission at the Moroccan Embassy in Paris, stressed that the Hebrew component, recognized in the Moroccan culture, has a large place in the Kingdom, arguing that the Jewish community in Morocco "perpetuates a Judaism rooted in the Moroccan landscape for over 2000 years."

With its institutions, schools, retirement homes and synagogues, this community is "perfectly integrated into the Moroccan cultural landscape," he noted.

Elie Korchia, president of the Consistory of France, stressed, for his part, that this event celebrates the Moroccan-Jewish and its specificities as a model of coexistence, brotherhood and peace.

Returning to the celebrations of Jewish holidays, he said that outside of Israel, the country where there is the most organized Pesach is Morocco, reflecting the "unbreakable union" of Jews with the Kingdom.

For his part, Joel Mergui, President of the Consistory of Paris and Ile-de-France, reiterated the gratitude of the Jews of Morocco to the late HM Mohammed V, for the protection of their community during the Second World War.