Moroccan King, Senior Officials Condemn Antisemitism, Call To Teach Tolerance, Coexistence As Lessons Of Holocaust

In recent years, the Moroccan King and senior Moroccan officials have taken a clear stance against antisemitism and stressed the need to teach the values of tolerance and coexistence as lessons of the Holocaust. Pro-Palestinian organizations in the country have condemned this discussion of the Holocaust as an expression of normalization with Israel.

Introduction

While most Arab countries refrain from addressing the issue of antisemitism and from including the topic of the Holocaust in their school curricula, Morocco appears to be taking a different approach. Speaking at international conferences and forums dealing with the Holocaust and intercultural dialogue, Moroccan regime officials, headed by King Mohammed VI, have frequently spoken of the need to condemn antisemitism, to instill the values of tolerance and religious coexistence in Moroccan society and to learn the lessons of the Holocaust, while stressing the pivotal role of education in this context.

The Moroccan king's position, unusual in the Arab world, was already evident in 2009, when he referred to the Holocaust as "one of the most painful disasters in the history of mankind." This was at a time when the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was calling the Holocaust "a Western invention",[1] and while antisemitism and Holocaust denial were also rampant in many other parts of the Arab and Muslim world. The king's statements were read out on his behalf by the Moroccan minister for religious affairs at the launching ceremony of the Aladdin Project, an international NGO devoted to rapprochement between cultures and especially between Jews and Muslims.  The king said: "My approach and the approach of my people to the disaster of the Holocaust is far removed from the approaches that seem to suffer from a kind of amnesia [i.e., Holocaust denial]. Our approach is intent upon in-depth study of one of the wounds that are etched in our collective memory, and which we have worked to define as one of the most painful disasters in the history of mankind."[2]   

In another speech, read out by the Moroccan prime minister in September 2018, the king said that "antisemitism is the antithesis of freedom of expression [because] it implies a denial of the other," and called to teach history, including its "darkest hours," hinting at the Holocaust.[3] 

Referring more explicitly to the issue of teaching about the Holocaust in school as part of instilling values of tolerance and coexistence, Moroccan education minister Sa'id 'Amzazi said, at a 2018 conference in Marrakesh, that Morocco was considering "teaching the lessons of the greatest tragedies in history, including the Holocaust, as an important component of high-quality education."[4] 

It appears that, so far, educational activities pertaining to antisemitism and the Holocaust are indeed being conducted in Morocco, albeit on a limited scale and mostly by NGOs, such as the Mimouna Organization,  founded by Moroccan Muslim Elmehdi Boudra, which deals with the history of Morocco's Jews and with intercultural dialogue. In addition, in the past few years Morocco has signed agreements with international organizations dedicated to the commemoration of the Holocaust in France and the U.S. These agreements include cooperation in educational projects.[5]

It should be mentioned that, in his statements, the Moroccan king stresses that the Jews and Christians living in his kingdom enjoy equal rights and freedom of worship. During Pope Francis's visit to Morocco in March 2019, the king said that, in his capacity as the monarch and the Leader of the Faithful, he is personally committed to ensuring the security and freedom of worship of the Jews and Christians in Morocco.[6] Addressing the participants of a September 2018 international conference for interfaith and intercultural dialogue in Fes, in a message read out by Moroccan Justice and Liberties Minister Mustafa Ramid, the king spoke of "the unique Moroccan model" and of "the ingrained coexistence [there], especially between Muslims and Jews."[7]

Recently, in January 2020, the king visited the newly opened House of Jewish Moroccan Heritage in the city of Essaouira. The House of Jewish Moroccan Heritage, launched by royal advisor Andre Azoulay in partnership with Morocco's culture ministry, is dedicated to the historic coexistence of the Jewish and Muslim communities in the city. Located in the former home and synagogue of wealthy Jewish merchants, it contains information on the Jewish community, along with old photographs, archive footage, musical recordings, traditional dress and religious objects. Its second floor will house a research center.[8]

The king of Morocco visits the recently-opened House of Jewish Moroccan Heritage (Sources: 24saa.ma/, January 18, 2020; 9avril.ma, January 19, 2020)

In addition, ahead of the 2020 International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a delegation of Muslim clerics visited the Auschwitz extermination camp. Among them was Dr. Ahmad 'Abadi, head of Morocco's Rabita Mohammadia of Ulema (Mohammadia League of Scholars), subordinate to the ministry of religious endowments and the king.

Pro-Palestinian organizations in Morocco condemned the discussion of antisemitism and the Holocaust in the country, and the participation of officials in conferences dealing with the Holocaust, accusing them of abetting the "falsification" of history. They opposed including the Holocaust in the curricula and called instead to include material on "the crimes of the Zionist occupation." In addition, these organizations were involved in a campaign to demolish a Holocaust memorial that had been built near  Marrakesh by a German NGO, which also meant to build a center for education about the Holocaust at the same site.

This report reviews statements made in the past two years by the Moroccan king and officials on the topic of the Holocaust, antisemitism and the importance of teaching about them, and the opposition of pro-Palestinian elements in the country to any discussion of these issues. It also presents excerpts from a 2015 article by activist Elmehdi Boudra, founder of the Mimouna Organization, on the activity of his organization and its efforts to educate about Jewish heritage and the Holocaust in Morocco.

Moroccan King In Address To UN: Antisemitism Is The Antithesis Of Free Speech

Attending a September 2018 round table on "the power of education in preventing racism and discrimination: the case of anti-Semitism", held in New York on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani read out a message by the Moroccan king, which condemned antisemitism and addressed the role of education in combatting it. In this address the king also stressed the need to teach history, in particular its "darkest hours," and emphasized the equal rights enjoyed by Jews in Morocco. The following are excerpts from the king's address:

"Today's meeting is taking place at a time when several parts of the world are witnessing tendencies towards exclusion, reclusiveness and rejection of the other... Hate speech is on the rise, fueling racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and many other forms of discrimination which provide a breeding ground for violent extremism and growing insecurity.

"Racism in general – and anti-Semitism in particular – are by no means just a way of thinking. Anti-Semitism is the antithesis of freedom of expression. It implies a denial of the other and is an admission of failure, inadequacy and an inability to coexist. It implies an anachronistic return to a mythicized past.

"Is that the past we want to bequeath to future generations as a legacy? These calamities, which are plaguing many communities, should not be allowed to dim the torch we are going to pass on to future generations. Having said that, there should be no improvisation in the battle against these scourges. That battle is neither military nor financial. It is, above all, educational and cultural. And that battle has a name: education. For the sake of our children, it is crucial to win it because it is they who will benefit from it and be its torchbearers..."

Our Children Must Be Taught History, Including Its Darkest Hours

"Education is the only achievement that produces both individual and collective benefits. It has the distinct - and crucial - power to help transcend fear of the other, reject deliberate confusion and break down prejudices. As a powerful antidote and a salutary weapon, it cements social cohesion, is conducive to equality and is an essential pre-requisite for development...

"Through this quality education, our children must be taught history, using, to this effect, a wide range of historical sources and narratives and shedding light not only on humanity’s glorious moments, but also its darkest hours. Education must help children to embrace openness and human and cultural diversity. It should foster the emergence of curious, tolerant and enlightened minds that can flourish and thrive in countries like Morocco, where cultural interaction and mutual enrichment are part of everyday life...

"My country, where Arab-Islamic, African and Judeo-Christian civilizations have long mingled, honors an immutable tradition of moderation, coexistence and mutual understanding.

"Needless to say, the history of Moroccan Jews is an eloquent illustration in this regard. Shaped by the Sultans and Kings of Morocco, it tells the story of an intertwined destiny and a historical continuity – one in which Moroccan Jews have always been considered full-fledged citizens enjoying the same rights as their fellow Muslims. Jews and Muslims rub shoulders on a daily basis, mutually enriching one another and learning from their respective upbringing.

"Religious coexistence is real. Mosques, synagogues and churches exist alongside one another in Moroccan cities. This is the image we want to see engraved in our children’s minds. This is the legacy we want to bequeath to them, and this is the message of peace we have come to deliver by giving education the special, rightful place it deserves."[9]

Holocaust Conference In Marrakesh Stresses Need To Teach Values Of Tolerance, Coexistence As Lessons Of The Holocaust

On December 11-12, 2018, an international conference on "the Holocaust and the greatest tragedies in history" was held in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. The mere holding of such a conference in an Islamic country that does not have a peace agreement with Israel is noteworthy and signals Morocco's recognition of the Holocaust. The conference was held under the aegis of the Aladdin Project – an international NGO based in France,  founded in 2009 under UNESCO patronage, dedicated to promoting cultural dialogue, especially between Jews and Muslims[10] – and in collaboration with UNESCO itself and with the Mohammed V University in Rabat.[11]

The conference, which dealt with the lessons to be drawn from the Holocaust to prevent clashes between cultures and religions, was attended by politicians, intellectuals and academics from 40 countries. Prominent among them were Moroccan officials, including André Azoulay, a Jewish advisor to the Moroccan king and one of the founders of the Aladdin Project; Moroccan Education Minister Sa'id Amzazi and his predecessor Rachid Belmoukhtar; the head of Morocco's National Human Rights Council, Driss Al-Yazami and Ahmad Al-'Abadi, head of the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulema.  Also present were Aladin Project chair Leah Pisar and former French minister Bernard Kouchner. [12]

Some of the speakers alluded, explicitly or implicitly, to the need to teach the Holocaust. Mohammed Ghashi, rector of the Mohammed V University in Rabat, said that the topic of the conference, i.e., the Holocaust, "must be taught from the human perspective," and that his university was "responsible for investigating the truth." He added that "protecting today's young people is a scientific and academic necessity, so as to keep them from falling into prejudice, hatred and fanaticism, behaviors that harm humanity, including religious minorities."[13]

Moroccan Education Minister Sa'id Amzazi said at the conference that Morocco was "considering teaching the lessons of the greatest tragedies in history, including the Holocaust, as an important component of high-quality education."[14]  He repeated the Moroccan narrative that King Mohammad V, who ruled Morocco during World War II, defended the Jews during the Holocaust, and added that, for 3,000 years, Morocco served as a "safe haven" for Jews who fled from Judea, the Roman Empire, Andalusia and Europe, including those who fled the "brutal persecution of the German Nazis during World War II." He stated further that "the Jews and Muslims in the [Moroccan] kingdom express the Moroccan spirit, are proud of their shared history, and are hopeful for the future."[15]

Royal advisor André Azoulay also repeated this Moroccan narrative, adding that the present king, Mohammad VI, follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Hassan II and Mohammad V,[16]  and stressing the role of education in instilling values of tolerance and coexistence: "The only way to ensure [the inculcation] of  the values of respect for and acceptance of the other is to rely on education and training as means of building up society and instilling values of tolerance and coexistence among multiple cultures within a single society.[17]  

Royal advisor André Azoulay (Source: hespress.com, December 11, 2018)

Visits By Moroccan Academics, Clerics In Auschwitz And Yad Vashem; Cooperation Agreements With International Organizations To Commemorate Holocaust

Alongside these statements by Moroccan officials condemning antisemitism and stressing the need to learn the lessons of the Holocaust, in recent years Moroccan officials and academics visited Auschwitz and Yad Vashem.

As stated, ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), senior Moroccan cleric Dr. Ahmad 'Abadi visited Auschwitz. During the visit he expressed his shock at the Nazis' "barbarity" and "crimes against humanity" and called to "learn a lesson [from this], so that such a tragedy would never recurr." For a MEMRI TV clip of excerpts from his statements, click below: 

In addition, Moroccan academics were among the first Muslim academics to make official visits to Yad Vashem, as part of a 2010 conference on teaching the Holocaust.[18].In February 2018 five Moroccan media figures visited Yad Vashem, along with other Arab journalists, as part of a visit to Israel.[19]

Furthermore, in recent years Morocco has signed agreements with international organizations dedicated to the commemoration of the Holocaust. In 2016 the Archives of Morocco, with the support of the Culture Minister, signed an agreement with France's Shoah Memorial to share archival materials and conduct joint activity with the aim of studying the heritage of Moroccan and North African Jews and their history during World War II.[20] One year later, the Archives of Morocco reported that it had received 43,084 digital files from French archives documenting Jewish life in Morocco from the second half of the 19^th century  until Morocco's gaining of independence from France in 1956.[21] In May 2018 the Archives of Morocco signed a similar agreement with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington to share archival materials and cooperate on future educational projects.[22]

Pro-Palestinian Elements: By Dealing With The Holocaust, Morocco "Abets The Falsification Of History"

The statements by the Moroccan establishment in favor of teaching the topic of the Holocaust met with opposition from certain pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel elements in the country. On the eve of the Marrakesh conference on "the Holocaust and the greatest tragedies in history," two Moroccan organizations – the National Action Group for Palestine and the Moroccan Observatory for Anti-Normalization with Israel – held a press conference, in which they stated that by hosting this conference and dealing with the topic of "the so-called Holocaust," Morocco was taking part in falsifying history and inflating the scope of the Holocaust. The organizations opposed the inclusion of material about the Holocaust in the curricula and called to include material on the "crimes of the Zionist occupation" instead.

'Aziz Hanawi, secretary-general of the Moroccan Observatory for Anti-Normalization, said at the press conference: "The servants of normalization and Zionism are once again insisting on defiling the city of Marrakesh by hosting an international conference dealing with the so-called Holocaust and with including it in the curricula in Morocco and other Muslim states, on the occasion of the 75^th anniversary of the so-called Holocaust. [This is] an attempt to involve Morocco in serving this familiar propaganda, which gives a significant boost to the Zionist ideology that seeks to falsify history and inflate [the scope of] the so-called Jewish Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis. At the same time, [this ideology seeks] to erase the suffering of all the [other] nations of the world, who sacrificed over 60 million souls in World War II, in addition to tens of millions who were injured, arrested or [otherwise] harmed... All this [is] part of an obvious attempt to blackmail the peoples and countries of the world, and the [international] organizations, into ignoring the crime of the establishment of the Zionist entity, [which began] with the Balfour Declaration, and everything that followed from it. The world has started to extricate itself from this blackmail by boycotting and condemning this entity and its crimes...

"The National Action Group for Palestine, the Moroccan Observatory for Anti-Normalization... and [all] free Moroccans condemn this [act of] defiling Moroccan soil by organizing a Zionist propaganda conference devoted to the so-called Holocaust. We stress once again that the crimes against humanity and the holocausts perpetrated by the Zionist enemy in Palestine and in the neighboring countries – [including] the siege, assassinations,  ethnic cleansing, apartheid, arrests and expulsions – are more worthy of being included in the curriculum in Morocco and [other] Muslim countries...

"We demand to organize international conferences on the crimes of the Zionist occupation and to include them in the curricula in order to safeguard the [collective] memory against falsification, redress the distortion of history, and defend the official and popular Moroccan position against the Zionist agendas."[23]

On the sidelines of the press conference, Hanawi told Al-Islah, a website of the Al-Tawhid Wal-Islah movement, which is associated with the Moroccan Muslim Brotherhood and frequently quotes pro-Palestinian bodies on its websites, that "this new and dangerous crime of normalization [i.e., the conference in Marrakesh] is aimed at falsifying history," and added: "Jews were not the only ones killed in World War II. The real holocausts are those that Gaza has been experiencing for a decade."[24]

Poster on the website of the Moroccan Observatory for Anti-Normalization with Israel: "Marrakesh Opposes Normalization; Normalization is a crime" (Facebook.com/623338697725060, December 11, 2018)

In addition, the organizations opposed the erection of a Holocaust memorial in the village of Ait Faska near Marrakesh. The memorial was built by the PixelHELPER organization, a German non-profit whose staated goal is to promote human rights across the world and fight racism and dictatorship by means of art. The organization also intended to build a center for education about the Holocaust at the same site. The memorial was eventually demolished in August 2019 by the Moroccan authorities on the grounds that it had been built without a permit.[25]

Civilian Activity In Morocco To Preserve The Jewish Heritage And Teach About The Holocaust

It appears that educational activity to combat antisemitism and educate about the Holocaust is presently taking place in Morocco on a small scale, conducted mostly by non-governmental organizations. The activity of these organizations is reviewed in an article by ElMehdi Boudra, who in 2007 founded the Mimouna Club, which later became the Mimouna Organization, dedicated to the preservation of the Jewish heritage in Morocco and educating about antisemitism and the Holocaust in the country and beyond.[26]

In his article, published in 2015 by the UN, Boudra admitted that the issue of promoting awareness of the Holocaust in Morocco is progressing slowly, and that NGOs like his own have become involved in it in a bid to accelerate it. He noted that, during the Holocaust, Morocco sheltered Jews fleeing from the Nazis, and that even after the Vichy administration took over the country, the king refused to persecute his Jewish subjects. Today, he added, there are Holocaust deniers in Morocco, mostly because the topic is not taught in schools, and also for reasons related to Middle East politics. He said that he founded the Mimouna Organization in order to document and teach the history of the Jewish community in Morocco and promote awareness of the Holocaust there.[27] The following are excerpts on this topic from his article:

Holocaust Education In Morocco

"There are people all around the world in every country that claim the Holocaust never took place. While Morocco is one of the countries where there were particularly good relations between Jews and Muslims, Holocaust denial has made its way to the young generation of Moroccans, largely due to the lack of Holocaust education in schools and politics in the Middle East. Holocaust education is not mandatory in the schools in Morocco and it is hard to find Holocaust publications, such as The Diary of Anne Frank published in French and nearly impossible to find it in Arabic. This is why publications such as this journal, produced in all United Nations official languages by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, and others published by the Aladdin Project, are so important. Some Moroccans have openly denied the Holocaust, but fortunately they were challenged by an active civil society. Discussion about the Holocaust did not take place officially until 2009. While there was no public denial of the Holocaust, there was also no acknowledgment of it.

"In denying the Holocaust, we are denying future generations their right to a truthful and full reading of their history. Through such education, we will have a better chance to avoid the same mistakes and atrocities that some of the European leaders committed in the twentieth century.  

"It is simply absurd to hear such claims of Holocaust denial in light of the historical evidence the world has today. Therefore in Morocco, while Holocaust denial can be observed, the current monarch King Mohammed VI openly recognized the Holocaust in 2009, in a message addressed to the participants at the launch of the Aladdin Project at UNESCO in Paris. He called upon the world to learn lessons from the past through intercultural and interreligious dialogue. In this way, he set an example and opened the way for young Moroccans to learn more about the Holocaust. Such a change in official policy was in my view, a first step towards achieving justice through historical memory.

"Taking this context into account, I founded the Mimouna Club while still a university student with a group of like-minded colleagues who were interested in discovering the Moroccan Jewish identity, history, culture and heritage. We wanted to explore how this collective memory could be preserved. What should be done in the Arab and Jewish worlds to recognize the horrific history of the Holocaust and the righteous acts of Arabs who saved the lives of their Jewish fellow countrymen and women at the risk of their own lives?

"In Morocco, there are still people who remember the time of the Second World War. Such testimonies, as they would best be described, would not be available for future generations to hear if they were not documented now. In Mimouna Club, while not focused only on documenting such testimonies, we are focused on the broader mission of collecting narratives and primary source stories about Jewish life in Morocco: talking about the role of Mohamed V in protecting his Jewish subjects during the Second World War, whilst the Jews of Europe were being massacred. This history exemplifies Moroccan openness to its diversity, awareness of the need to protect human life, and the Monarchy’s long standing commitment to respecting the rights of its non-Muslim citizens.

"Inspired by King Mohammed VI, the Mimouna Club organized the first conference on Holocaust remembrance in the Arab world titled “Mohammed V Righteous among the Nations”. It was held in September 2011 at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco in partnership with Kivunim, the Casablanca Moroccan Jewish Museum, and with the sponsorship of two Moroccan companies, Nora and Marocapres.

"Many university students who attended the conference learned about the Holocaust for the first time from Mr. Michael Berenbaum, Holocaust historian and former Project Director and Head of the Research Institute at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. They also had the chance to hear personal testimony from Mrs. Elisabeth Citrom, a Holocaust survivor. Mrs. Citron was 12 years old when she was deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. She speaks frequently of her experiences, but this was the first time she had ever spoken to an Arab audience. She travelled to Morocco with her husband George, also a survivor. Dr. Robert Satloff, Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, spoke via video conference on the role that Arabs played in saving Jews across North Africa during the Holocaust.

"Mr. Serge Berdugo, the Secretary-General of the Council of Moroccan Jews, gave a presentation on the threats to Jewish life under the Vichy regime and the actions taken by King Mohammed V in response. Mr. Berdugo’s father, then President of the Meknes Jewish Community, participated in secret meetings with the Sultan Mohammed V. Mr. Simon Levy, the director of the Casablanca Jewish Museum, shared with us his personal story living in Morocco under the Vichy Government.

"Mr. Andre Azoulay, Advisor to the King of Morocco, explained the importance of teaching the Holocaust in Morocco and in other Arab countries and the role of King Mohammed V in saving Moroccan Jews.

"During the second day of the conference a facilitated discussion took place between students from Al Akhawayn University, students from Moroccan Universities throughout the country and the group of Kivunim alumni who had come to Morocco from their college campuses in the United States to participate in the event. This conference was welcomed by many Moroccan scholars, intellectuals and students. However it was also widely criticized by Holocaust deniers.

"This conference was part of a larger movement of individual initiatives by civil society organizations, media representatives and educators who all wanted to promote Holocaust education in Morocco and to recognize the Arabs who saved Jews in North Africa. There were also reports made by the Moroccan historians and media about forced labour camps that had been established at this time across North Africa.

"In addition, Ismaël Ferroukhi, a Moroccan filmmaker, made a movie called Free Men, which narrates the story of the Imam of Paris who saved many Jews during the Nazi occupation of France. Another important development was the visit of a few Moroccan professors to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel. Aomar Boum, a Moroccan scholar has written several articles and essays on the subject.

"All these individual initiatives have promoted the foundation for Holocaust education in Morocco, although [it is] not easy to implement. Mimouna Club is now an association and continues to be active. Recently, it has arranged a number of caravans that have travelled to major cities in Morocco to bring knowledge of this history, and Jewish heritage and culture, to the people. Mimouna also organized a number of presentations by Kimberly Mann, the Manager of the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. By strengthening our ties with educational institutions and civil society groups, we hope to engage even more people in Morocco in Holocaust remembrance and education activities."    

* B. Chernitsky is a research fellow at MEMRI.