Several concrete actions and initiatives bear witness to this High Royal solicitude for the safeguard of the rich Jewish-Moroccan heritage. They include the enshrinement in the preamble of the Kingdom’s Constitution of the Hebraic tributary of Moroccan identity, the rehabilitation and upgrading of places of worship, shrines, neighborhoods and cemeteries, the organization of the Jewish community by endowing it with institutions such as the National Council of the Moroccan Jewish Community, the Commission of Moroccan Jews Abroad and the Foundation of Moroccan Judaism.
All these actions and many others, which have been widely praised by the international community, make Morocco a haven of peace that embraces universalism, advocating inter-religious dialogue and the values of tolerance, coexistence, living together and otherness, at a time when the world is in the grip of upheavals, communitarianism and identity-based withdrawal.
And it is particularly this enlightened vision that was highly praised, this Sunday in Casablanca, on the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, marked by the participation of Minister of National Education, Chakib Benmoussa, Secretary General of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco (CCIM), Serge Berdugo, the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar and the acting head of the Israel Liaison Office in Rabat, Ambassador Alona Fisher-Kamm.
During this event, many testimonies were given to highlight this Royal approach which distinguishes the Kingdom as a country offering a little more discernment when the clamor of exclusion rises and the most caricatural amalgamations that feed a culture of rejection and denial of knowing how to live together are multiplied.
In this regard, Talwar told MAP TV channel M24 that HM King Mohammed VI continues to perpetuate “the strong legacy” of the late HM King Mohammed V and HM King Hassan II “by supporting tolerance, coexistence and religious harmony”.
For her part, Fisher-Kamm stressed, in a similar statement, that thanks to its dedication throughout its history to the principle of tolerance and coexistence, Morocco can today serve as a model for “the whole world”, and play a “very important role in inter-faith dialogue”.
Berdugo recalled that since the accession to the throne of His glorious ancestors, “His Majesty King Mohammed VI has established a vision of Morocco, that everyone envies us, a vision of tolerance and respect for minorities”.
The wise vision and salutary actions of the Sovereign have allowed to renew the links with 800,000 Moroccan Jews who were living abroad, “and who only asked to return to Morocco, to find their roots, to recognize the places of their ancestors and to renew the links with their fellow Muslims”, the SG of the CCIM underlined.
Organized under the theme: “Mohammed V: Savior of Moroccan Jews during the Holocaust”, this commemoration was an opportunity to recall the firm position of the late HM King Mohammed V, who opposed any action by the Vichy government against Moroccans of Jewish profession, and to highlight the actions of HM King Mohammed VI for the preservation and promotion of the Jewish-Moroccan heritage.
Co-organized by the Mimouna Association, the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco and the United Nations Information Center in Rabat, this day was also marked by the presence of president of the National Museums Foundation (FNM), Mehdi Qotbi, governor of the Prefecture of Casablanca-Anfa, Aziz Dades, and several members of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities.
