Moroccan officials attend Hanukkah event in Casablanca
“Morocco, under the leadership and inspiration of King Mohammed VI, has been a true example for the world of what coexistence between all peoples looks like.”
By AARON REICHA fourth Hanukkah candle is lit at the Western Wall (photo credit: WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)
In a historic moment in the Kingdom of Morocco, two prominent royal-appointed officials attended the Jewish community of Casablanca's Hanukkah facilities, Chabad.org reported.Casablanca-Anfa prefecture Governor Rachid Afirat and Casablanca-Settat region Wali Said Ahmidouch joined 800 members of the city's Jewish community at a hotel for an event organized by the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, the SOC, David Hamelech Synagogue and the Jeunesse Chabad of Morocco.The attendance of government officials is another sign of the kingdom's ongoing tendency to tolerate their 3,000-strong Jewish population, most of which resides in Casablanca.“This sends a strong message of peace and tolerance,” Rabbi Levi Banon, a Chabad-Lubavitch shaliach who serves as the director of the Jeunesse Chabad, said regarding government officials being present at the event. “Morocco, under the leadership and inspiration of King Mohammed VI, has been a true example for the world of what coexistence between all peoples looks like.”This is also reflected in king's appointment of Yoshiyahu Pinto as chief rabbi of Morocco in April, the first time a Moroccan monarch has appointed a chief rabbi in over a century.Guests at the Hanukkah festival were served sfeng – a Maghrebi fried doughnut – and King Mohammed VI's ambassador at large and Council of Jewish Communities president Serge Berdugo lit a giant hanukkiah.Jews have lived in Morocco for over 2,000 years, and the current population of Moroccan Jewry worldwide is around 1.5 million.
