Casablanca Chief of Police May Be Removed to Allay Jewish Fears

Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, the Vice Premier of Morocco, was expected today to remove the Casablanca chief of police from office in order to allay the apprehensions of the Jewish community, alarmed by a series of repressive police measures in recent weeks.

The Casablanca police chief, Ali Belkacem, is generally held responsible for the police measures in this city which have harassed Casablanca Jews and engendered widespread fears as to the security of the Jews in Morocco. The Crown Prince summoned the police chief to a meeting to discuss the role of the Casablanca police in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the Jewish community was disturbed by news of another police measure in Rabat, the capital. Two women, both the wives of rabbis, were arrested on their way to the Jewish quarter. They were taken to police headquarters, interrogated at length and kept under detention for 24 hours. One of the women was pregnant. She was not allowed to sit down in the police station, but kept on her feet until she fainted.

At the same time, a young student of the institute of Higher Jewish Studies was also picked up on a street in Rabat and taken into custody. These arrests were believed to be the first of their kind in Rabat, although many similar incidents have occurred in Casablanca.

An opposition Moslem trade union announced today its membership had unanimously adopted a resolution protesting against “the acts of repression of which our Jewish fellow-workers have been victims.” The union’s resolution declared that the arrest of innocent people and acts of repression against them were incompatible with the principles of democracy. It called for an inquiry into the recent anti-Jewish actions and the punishment of those responsible for them.