Fear Prevents Morocco Jews from Open Zionist Activity, J.t.a. Correspondent Finds

Although the majority of the Jews in Morocco are interested in Palestine there is little Zionist activity because of the uneasy local situation, a special correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency found, during a tour of the Jewish communities there.

Jewish National Fund collection boxes are to be found in all synagogues, but active solicitation of funds is conducted clandestinely. The most active Zionists are to be found among the several hundred European Jews living in Casablanca. For the native Jews, who are neither citizens of France, nor subjects of the Sultan, but merely wards of the latter, Zionism takes the form of a traditional devotion to Palestine. Most of them would probably emigrate to the Holy Land, if that were possible.

Zionism is an explosive word in Morocco, as in most Arab countries. When the correspondent mentioned the term aloud in a cafe in Marrakech, southern Morocco, he was hushed up by Jewish companions, who expressed fear of alienating the local authorities.