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Rabat – “O God, this is our beloved King Mohammed VI,” shouted Eli Maman, a Moroccan Jewish immigrant in Toronto, as he spotted the Monarch and his son, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, walking in South Beach in Miami, Florida.
The king arrived in Miami coming from Cuba where he went with his little family on vacation.
Maman, who came to Miami for the same reason, was also accompanied with his wife and children.
“I was nervous when I approached him,” says Maman to MWN, as he related his unexpected encounter with the king.
A little conversation took place. Eli Maman said to the king: “We all love you and we love our native country Morocco.”
The Jewish Moroccan immigrant proudly presented his family and said to the king that one his sons, who studies at the Ahemet Sefardic School in Toronto, was doing a project on the king, the Alaouite Dynasty and Morocco.
Come to Morocco, said the King
His wife Sultana then spoke to king Mohammed VI in Spanish, and he was all pleased to chat with her in that language.
King Mohamed VI then invited the Maman family to visit Morocco. An invitation they said they would happily respond too.
The beautiful encounter ended up with a picture to commemorate the unforgettable moment.
Simon Keslassy, the President of The Moroccan Jewish Community in Toronto, said to MWN he is happy and proud of the Maman family’s encounter with the King Mohamed VI.
Keslassy said Moroccan Jews of Toronto are proud of their country and their king, Amir Al Mouminin (Commander of the Faithful), who is acknowledged worldwide as a promoter of tolerance.
“We hold him so much respect for him for what he does to promote tolerance and coexistence, something which is unique in the world we live nowadays,” says Simon Keslassy.
He added that “Toronto has a large Moroccan Jewish Community and we are very close to our Muslim compatriots. Our fraternity and coexistence is unique. We thank God for that”.
The Moroccan Jewish leader expressed also his community’s support for Moroco’s territorial integrity concerning the Sahara issue.
The encounter with the Maman family and Simon Kelslassy’s words seems another reminder of the love Moroccan Jews and their kings have always held for each other.
