By Loubna Flah
Morocco World News
Casablanca, July 5, 2012
The PJD parliamentary group leveled last Monday harsh criticism against the Moroccan channel 2M for screening a controversial Moroccan documentary film that addresses the issue of Moroccan Jews who have became Israeli settlers after they left Morocco.
The PJD MPs considered that the film provides support for “the Zionist state of Israel “. Mr. Mohammed Al Amine Boukhoubza, a PJD MP denounced the portrayal of Jewish settlers as peaceful people rather than imposters who overtook the Palestinian lands by force and oppression.
The documentary at the centre of the controversy is entitled “From Tinghir to Jerusalem, the Mellah Echo” directed by Kamal Hachkar. The film gives a historical review of the life of Jewish Moroccans in Morocco especially in Tinghir and the story of their exodus to other countries, especially Israel.
Kamal Hachkar, who is also a History professor in Paris, traces back the circumstances of separation between Muslim Moroccan and Jewish Moroccans and the antagonism that ensued in the light of the Arab Israeli conflict.
According to the Moroccan daily Al Massae, Mr. El Khalfi responded to his fellow Boukhoubza by asserting that he contacted personally 2M officials requesting more clarifications about the film content especially that it touches upon the Palestinian cause. Mr. AL khalfi pinpoints that Morocco has been adamantly opposed to occupation in all its forms, urging the Moroccan channels to pay respect to the national values. He insisted that the intervention of the parliament and the HAAC (the High Authority for Audio-visual Communication) remains of paramount importance in order to regulate the public TV channels programming.
The Minister of communication objective response was not easily digested by the PJD MPs. Al Moqri Abou Zaid warned against any maneuver towards the normalization of relation with Israel, which is considered by all Moroccans as an occupying country. Abou Zaid made it clear that “The Moroccan channel 2M has offered normalization free of charge.”
It is noteworthy that Morocco has always reiterated its support for Palestinians and called on the international community to protect the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and to prevent the judaization of Jerusalem. Morocco has a tiny minority of Jewish population, concentrated especially in Casablanca, and Essaouira, which has mingled easily for long time with Muslim Moroccans.
