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Rabat – Abdelfattah Lebbar, Moroccan ambassador to Mexico, received his Israeli counterpart Zvi Tal, on October 5, to discuss the inauguration of a new synagogue, the first of its kind in the Latin American country.
During the meeting, the two diplomats agreed that the inauguration reflects one more step towards preserving the Moroccan Jewish identity abroad.
While expressing their immense joy to see this project coming to light after more than 40 years, they also recalled the deep-rooted history of Judaism in Morocco and the prevalence of Jewish culture in Moroccan life and identity.
The long-awaited project commemorates the special bond between Morocco and Judaism.
The Moroccan ambassador highlighted the importance of the Jewish community within the Moroccan society by drawing attention to the late King Mohammed V’s crucial role in establishing a pro-Jewish atmosphere in the country during the Second World War and the Holocaust.
For his part, the Israeli ambassador commented on the special bond between the two countries by virtue of a strong Jewish community of Moroccan origin who remains attached to its roots and its country of origin.
The vice-president of the Moroccan Tefilá Committee in Mexico City, Fortunato Benarroch, the president of the Central Committee of the Jewish community in Mexico, Marcos Chabot, and the president of the Association of Moroccan Jews, Moises Amselem Elbaz also attended the meeting.
Grand Rabbi Moshe Chocron Gabizon, a native of Tetouan who recently arrived in Mexico from Venezuela to take charge of the new synagogue, also spoke of what he described as a special connection between Morocco and its Jewish communities.
In anticipation of the opening of the new synagogue, the rabbi commented that “all Moroccan Jews remain viscerally attached to their country of origin.”
Such initiatives to support Morocco’s Jewish community members will also promote the Judeo-Moroccan heritage abroad.
On the question of shared heritage and history, Rabbi Gabizon also recalled the history of successive Moroccan kings’ commitment to preserving the country’s Jewish community and its heritage.
With only 2000 Jews remaining in Morocco, down from over 200,000 in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the North African country still evinces a profound appreciation of its Jewish history and appears to have special attachment to the Moroccan-Jewish diaspora.
