Grand Rabbi Moshe Malka, vice-president of the Casablanca Rabbinical Tribunal, has left Morocco to settle in Israel, it was reported today. The Grand Rabbi delivered a sermon last Saturday at the Synagogue in the Olim camp in Marseille in which he stressed the obligation of every Jew to help Israel during its present difficulties.
The Grand Rabbi’s departure reportedly was felt keenly among the dwindling number of Casablanca Jews. Departures are becoming more frequent and many well-to-do Jewish families are leaving. Two other members of the Rabbinical Tribunal, Rabbi Itzhak Hazan, Rabbi Malka’s assistant, and Registrar Chalom Israel, left with the Grand Rabbi.
The departure of the three rabbinical leaders was viewed as a symptom of the disintegration of the Moroccan Jewish community, but the fact that the Rabbinical Tribunal was no longer able to function was regarded as even more serious. There are now only two members left on the Tribunal, its president, Grand Rabbi Chalom Messas, and Rabbi Rahamin Benamara.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
