Leaders of the Jewish communities in Morocco have asked the Crown Prince, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, for an audience to discuss with him a number of problems concerning the Jewish population, it was reported here today. A memorandum outlining these problems had been submitted several weeks ago to the Ministry of Interior.
One of the major problems is the elections to Jewish Community Councils. Under the Moroccan law, the Ministry of Interior must permit the holding of such elections. The last elections were held in 1953 and, since then, many of those elected have ceased to carry out their duties.
Another problem is the kidnapping of Jewish girls for marriage to Moslems. Many incidents have occurred of Jewish girls being kidnapped by young Moslems and forced to marry them. The Moroccan authorities are doing little to help the parents, and only in a few cases were the girls returned to their homes.
The Jewish leaders are also anxious to discuss the question of the budget of their community councils. The budget, which is met by the Ministries of Interior and Social Welfare, was fixed some years ago. Since then the amounts have not been increased, although they are not sufficient because of the rise in the cost of living.
Among the other problems for discussion in the nationalization of education. The Moroccan Government indicated that it intends to unify education in the country, and to take under its authority the Alliance Israelite schools. Leaders of the Jewish community fear that this intention, if carried out, may spell danger for Jewish education in Morocco.
The Moroccan Jewish leaders are also anxious to secure the elimination of the many difficulties which Jews encounter now in securing passports. They would also like to see the severance of postal connections with Israel re-examined, in view of the fact that many thousands of Moroccan Jews are unable to contact their relatives in Israeli.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
