CASABLANCA, MOROCCO – As the flames of anti-Semitism continue to be fanned across much of the Islamic world, there is a risk that today's youth will grow up believing that Arabs and Jews were simply not meant to coexist, let alone thrive together.
That idea conflicts with history - and is a falsehood today. My country, Morocco, illustrates the viability and vitality of a Jewish community - my community - in an Arab country. It's a model of harmony other Muslim nations should follow.
And here's the good part of his article:
Morocco's leaders have always made the well-being of the Jewish people a top priority. During World War II, when the Vichy government of occupied France announced that it had prepared 200,000 yellow stars for the Jews of Morocco, King Mohammed V replied that he would need 50 more for him and his family. He refused to make any distinction between his citizens.
If rest of the world follow the tolerant spirit of the Moroccan society, the world would become a better places for all of us.
1 comment:
Much as it would be nice to think that Muslim-Jewish relations were always harmonious, it is not so. If things were so good for the Moroccan Jews why did all but 3,000 of a community of 300,000 leave - and not just to Israel but France and N America?They voted with their feet.
See my post of January 11th 2007 'How the Jews of Morocco went into exile' on my blog www.jewishrefugees.blogspot.com
The story about the king of Morocco and the yellow stars is apocryphal according to Robert Satloff in his book 'Among the righteous'. It is one of several legends have sprung up about the king, mostly fabricated by Moroccan Jews.
You have to take what Berdugo wrote with a pinch of salt. He is the head of a beleaguered minority and he not going to want to upset the Moroccan authorities.
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