In a lenghty interview to European Jewish Press (EJP), Serge Berdugo, who heads the Jewish community of Morocco, the largest living in an Arab country (3,500 members), stresses how much this community is inserted into the institutional fabric of the Moroccan Kingdom , insists on the role of King Mohammed VI in the restoring the country’s Jewish heritage and recalls that Morocco is resolutely engaged in the fight against extremism and terrorism.
For the past ten years, he explains, there have been no racist or anti-Semitic incidents similar to those reported by the European media, particularly in France. He also asserted loud and clear that undermining the important fisheries agreement between the European Union and Morocco – which must be renewed next July – would be tantamount to penalizing the concerned population of Sahara. ” EU-Morocco relations would be exemplary of a balanced and respectful North-South partnership if they were not subjected to unfounded maneuvers,’’ he said.
Secretary General of the Moroccan Jewish community (the Council of the Israelite Communities of Morocco (CCIM) since 1987 and President of the World Gathering of of Moroccan Judaism, Serge Berdugo also has had a public career: Minister of Tourism from 1993 to 1995 and Ambassador of His Majesty King Mohammed VI since 2006.
A staunch supporter of interreligious dialogue and of peace in the Middle East, he has been involved in the search for all the ways and means to promote reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis.
He works for a better integration of the Jewish community and its diaspora of one million people, in the Moroccan national fabric.
Under his presidency, the CCIM created the Moroccan Jewish Heritage Foundation whose purpose is the restoration of the places of memory of Moroccan Judaism such as synagogues, cemeteries, places of pilgrimage ….
He has built the Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca, the only one in the Arab world.
Serge Berdugo is pursuing with fervor the realization of about twenty projects of rehabilitation of Jewish historical sites across the Moroccan territory.
Under the High Patronage of King Mohammed VI, he has led the project “Houses of the Living” for the rehabilitation of 167 Jewish cemeteries and mausoleums in Morocco.
Below is the text of Serge Berdugo’s interview with EJP:
How many Jews live in Morocco today?
The Moroccan Jewish community has about 3500 members, the vast majority of whom live in Casablanca. We find smaller communities in Fes, Marrakech, Rabat and Agadir. There is also the community of Essaouira which is about to be reborn with the return of Jews from the city.
We meet all age groups. Our community has a elderly home which receives about thirty residents in the best medical condition, comfort and security.
The number of Jewish students studying in our three school networks (Itihad affiliated to the Alliance Israelite Universelle -AIU), Rashi and Ozar Hatora is about 500 who continue their studies until the baccalaureate. Two of our schools receive Muslim students and one Muslim has been awarded the first Hebrew Prize from all IAU schools.
Is this the largest Jewish community in an Arab country?
Even reduced, the Moroccan Jewish community remains the largest in the Arab-Muslim world. It is alive and vibrant. It has maintained high-level infrastructures that allows it to provide its members with a perfect Jewish life in the fields of worship, culture and education.
In Casablanca we have about fifteen synagogues, two ocial clubs, a sports club and we have just inaugurated a major youth community center. We can also mention the 5 restaurants, the 4 caterers, the 10 butchers and kosher shops who allow us to receive according to religious precepts the 50,000 Jewish visitors originally from Morocco who come every year from around the world.
What is the situation of the Jewish community in Morocco today?
The situation of the community is not a problem. Its members enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same duties as their fellow Muslims.
The constitution approved by 98% in 2011 sealed in marble the membership of the Hebrew component to the Moroccan nation.
The community has a Beit Din (rabbinical court) made up of rabbis-judges who say the law of Moses in the name of the King in courts of the Moroccan state.
We organize throughout the year Hilloulot (pilgrimages) in the four corners of Morocco atten ded by thousands of Jews from abroad. Moroccan Judaism life is experiencing a revival.
Antisemitism as we know it today in Western Europe, linked in particular to the hatred of Israel, is it also in Morocco?
When you see what is happening in France, for example, what is your feeling?
To be clear, Morocco is not isolated. It is subject to the same extremist propaganda that sweeps through social networks and the press. What differs are the responses of the King, the government and the people.
The Kingdom is resolutely engaged in the fight against extremism and terrorism. Every week the national press reports the dismantling of terrorist cells. Morocco is successfully confronting this serious threat to its cohesion and unity.
That said, Moroccan Muslims stand in solidarity with Palestinians and support their rights to create alongside Israel an independent Palestinian state, viable within secure and recognized borders.
In the current situation, our fellow Muslims view the Israeli government as not making any serious effort to find a just and lasting solution to this fratricidal conflict.
But these feelings do not interfere with their behavior and attitudes towards Moroccan Jews.
In this context, the Jewish population does not feel isolated in the face of extremism: it knows that the state equally assures the security of all its citizens. Jews participate in the everyday life of the city without hindrance and without discrimination or vexations. For the past ten years, there has not been – to my knowledge – incidents of a racist or anti-Semitic nature similar to those reported by the European media in particular the French one.
Are Jewish institutions protected by the authorities?
Jewish institutions are not subject to special and permanent protection by the authorities but rather specifically at the time of major festivals or gatherings. This is quite usual and normal as it is the case in Europe.
The attacks on May 16, 2003, our community has retained the feeling of having shared a terrible ordeal with his fellow Muslims, whose expressions of solidarity have comforted them.
What are the actions taken by the State for the Jewish Community?
The Jewish community is inserted in the institutional fabric of the Kingdom. After reorganizing the community structures, we have been concerned for twenty years about the safeguarding and sustainability of our cultural heritage.
To this end, we have created the Judeo-Moroccan Cultural Heritage Foundation as the Jewish Museum of Casablanca which is unique in the Arab-Muslim world.
With the support of the King and the authorities we have restored more than a dozen synagogues in cities like Fes, Tangier, Meknes, Tetouan, Oujda but also in remote provinces like Errachidia or Guelmime.
More recently, we had the honor to welcome His Majesty the King for the inauguration of the Ettedgui Synagogue and the Mellah Museum in Casablanca.This synagogue, built in 1830, was renovated at the initiative of the King as part of the rehabilitation of the old Medina of Casablanca.
But the most emblematic result of our action in favor of our heritage is the immense memory work accomplished thanks to the extraordinary initiative of King Mohammed VI for the rehabilitation of all Jewish cemeteries in Morocco.
A book, ” The Houses of Life ” illustrates the immense task we have accomplished for the preservation and rehabilitation of 167 Jewish cemeteries throughout the Kingdom.
While there is a rapprochement between Israel and the Gulf countries, is such a thing possible with Morocco? Could Morocco play a role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Morocco has pioneered the search for peace through dialogue and continues to enjoy the confidence of all parties to the conflict. Our Sovereigns Hassan II and Mohammed VI were all in quest initiatives for a just, lasting and viable solution to the conflict.
King Mohammed VI, President of the Committee of Al Quds (Jerusalem) has a great responsibility towards the entire Muslim world. Morocco has no ambitions or interests other than the establishment of the peace but its action remains conditioned by the real will of stakeholders to seek a balanced solution to this conflict. Moroccan Jews believe that they can help both sides to understand each other better because they have some expertise in their respective ways of thinking. It is the only Jewish community today living serenely with Muslims. For years, our community has been a meeting point for Israelis and Palestinians. We must preserve this little flame in the service of peace.
Do many Moroccan Jews living in France, in Israel or elsewhere, visit Morocco?
More than 50,000 Jews of Moroccan origin visit Morocco every year. It is up to us to ensure that they can come in their country of origin, visit the tombs of their ancestors, pray in the mausoleums of their Saints (tsadikim) or spend the religious holidays with their families, all while enjoying conditions of welcome necessary for a Jewish life (kosher, worship, …).
We also feel the moral obligation to maintain and strengthen relations between our diaspora and the Kingdom of Morocco. Thousands of Moroccan Jews have not cut their links with their community and country of origin where they return regularly. Their departure didn’t mean a rupture because as King Hassan II said “when a Jew leaves the country, Morocco loses a resident but he wins an ambassador”.
The European Union is an important strategic partner for Morocco and Morocco plays an important role for the EU in the fight against terrorism. In this respect, the next renegotiation of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement is of paramount importance for Rabat.What is your opinion on this?
The fisheries agreement is very important for Morocco but it is equally important for the European Union. EU-Morocco relations would be exemplary of a balanced and respectful North-South partnership if they were not subjected to unfounded maneuvers.
Morocco has recovered its Sahara, which is part of its historical territory, after a long period of colonization. After years of fruitless negotiations, the UN has declared the impossibility of setting up a self-determination referendum and to break the stalemate. Morocco has initiated a proposal for broad autonomy of the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty. This solution considered “serious and credible” by the UN Security Council remains the only viable solution. Moreover, it is clear that almost all the financial repercussions of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement directly benefit the Moroccan Sahara provinces and the people who reside there. To undermine this agreement would be tantamount to penalizing the concerned populations!