The leaflets, which purport to come from “a group of young Moroccan progressives,” charge the Jews with a wide variety of crimes which stretch from “incest” to “having murdered Jesus” and now “supporting Israeli imperialism.” It warns Morocco’s Jews–estimated at 25,000 to 20,000 people–that “you will feel the reprisals and we, will settle accounts with you, once the King will be gone.” It claims that July 10, the day of the attempted putsch, is only “a foretaste of what we have in store for you.”
Observers in Paris believe that the leaflets are mainly directed against Moroccan King Hassan II, and that their purpose is to try and channel popular anti-Semitism in favor of the anti-regime opposition. Other French Jews, many of whom originally stem from Morocco, say that the country’s Jews could obtain emigration certificates from the local authorities. Few, however, have already decided to leave the country as they generally fail to obtain residence permits from the French government. Many others are reluctant to go to Israel because of the widespread coverage in the French press on the Black Panther movement in Israel and reports of alleged North African discriminations.
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.
