{"id":25995,"date":"2013-02-21T14:38:54","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T10:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=25995"},"modified":"2013-02-21T14:40:29","modified_gmt":"2013-02-21T10:40:29","slug":"morocco-an-example-of-jewisharab-co-existence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-society\/morocco-an-example-of-jewisharab-co-existence\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco ‘An Example of Jewish, Arab Co-Existence’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mimouna\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At a ceremony last Wednesday marking the end of the restoration of a 17th Century synagogue in Fez\u2019s Old City, in a message read by Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, King Mohammed hailed Morocco\u2019s “spiritual wealth and diversity\u201d and its \u201cvalues of coexistence, tolerance and harmony between the different components of the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

These statements were reassuring for a regional political climate that is often turbulent, and suggests that Morocco offers a new \u2013 yet in fact very old \u2013 paradigm for inter-communal relations, and particularly Arab\/Muslim-Jewish relations. In the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, \u201cJewishness\u201d and \u201cArabness\u201d are often positioned as mutually exclusive; Morocco seems to exemplify important ways of reconciling these identities.<\/p>\n

I received this impression too when I travelled to Morocco this winter with a group of students, consisting of Americans, Israelis, Amazigh (a non-Arab ethnic group from North Africa) and Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Not only did Morocco offer a fascinating mosaic of religions and cultures, languages and landscapes. But for me, as a Jewish Israeli, it offered important insights and renewed hope.<\/p>\n

Jews have lived in Morocco continuously for more than 2000 years, and have played a vital role in the country\u2019s social, political, cultural and economic life. Most Jews had left by the 1960s after the founding of Israel, but a few thousand still remain, occupying various niches in society. Throughout history many were merchants or local craftsmen, while others served as government ministers and advisers to the King.<\/p>\n

Most Moroccans we met \u2013 from taxi drivers in cities to camel riders in the Sahara, and from academicians to tour guides \u2013 were welcoming, and unashamedly highlighted Jews\u2019 positive role in Moroccan society. Jewish cemeteries and places of worship were well kept and protected. Morocco\u2019s new constitution, adopted in 2011 against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, recognises the country\u2019s Jewish heritage as part of Morocco’s national identity.<\/p>\n

Importantly, we met with members of Mimouna Club, an NGO founded by Muslim Moroccan students dedicated to learning about the history of Judaism and Jews in Morocco. Such an organisation is rare in the Arab world. All these were encouraging examples that highlight the acceptance of Jews as integral to Morocco.<\/p>\n

Einat, an Israeli Jewish participant in our group, was the first from her family to visit Morocco since her grandparents\u2019 departure in 1952. She was welcomed in \u201cher country\u201d by most everyone she met. As she uncovered layers of her family\u2019s past and of her own identity, she shared her personal journey with the group and with friends and family in Israel. Her story, while unique, reflects experiences of many Jewish Israelis from the Arab world.<\/p>\n

Einat\u2019s family\u2019s documented history in Morocco dates back to the 5th Century. When her grandparents departed Morocco for Israel, they left behind their homes and belongings, and the graves of their ancestors. In Israel, Einat\u2019s family spent their first few years living in \u201ctransitory camps\u201d as refugees. Like most Jews who immigrated to Israel from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, they were marginalised and disenfranchised by the state\u2019s structures and hegemonic culture, which were mostly European and Ashkenazi, Jews who trace their origins to the Middle East via Europe. Moreover, they often had to suppress the \u201cArabness\u201d of their identities.<\/p>\n

As an Ashkenazi Jew growing up in Israel, the predicaments and nuances of Moroccan Jewish identity were largely invisible to me, as their experiences were largely marginalised by, or absent from the local narrative. Morocco enabled me to see and better understand some of these. Though things have changed in the last several decades, in Israel, being an Arab-Jew came to be viewed by most as a contradiction in terms. Yet, Jews in Morocco saw little, if any, contradiction between the Arab, Amazigh, and Jewish dimensions of their identity.<\/p>\n

Positive attitudes towards Jews do not necessarily imply acceptance of Israeli policies. Nevertheless, as Israel struggles to define its identity and its place in the region, and as its neighbours challenge its existence and legitimacy, Morocco offers a pertinent example that defies traditional \u201cEast-West\u201d categories, and re-contextualises the Jewish experience in the region. By embodying possibilities for reconciling \u201cJewishness\u201d and \u201cArabness,\u201d Morocco offers ways for Arab-Jews to understand their own identities in a new light. And as the Arab-Israeli conflict persists, Morocco reaffirms historical examples of coexistence.<\/p>\n

Dr. Adina Friedman teaches Conflict Resolution\/Peacebuilding and Middle East courses at American University\u2019s School of International Service and at George Mason University\u2019s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. She has taken students to Israel\/Palestine, Morocco, Jordan, and the Balkans.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ADINA FRIEDMAN: The richness of Morocco’s Jewish history comes as a surprise to many but it could provide a template for the region. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":25999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,337,235,482,73,5],"tags":[16682,16684,1209,18311,16543,16681,16679,16685,913,16575,191,16686,16683,18334,18286,16496,16680],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25995"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26003,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25995\/revisions\/26003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}