Jews in Morocco are told that they must be “integrated completely in the Moroccan nation” and that “it would not be to their benefit to have one leg here and the other one with the Zionists who drove out the Arabs” from Palestine, in a warning issued by Allal el Fassi, leader of the conservative wing of the Istiqlal Party.
In a statement published in the Moroccan press, reaching here today, the Moroccan leader comments on the recent arrests of Jews in Morocco and on the desire on the part of some Jews to emigrate from Morocco to Israel. The statement reads.
“A letter from an anonymous group of Jews asking our help has reached us. This letter speaks of the torture of several Jews who had been arrested on their way to Israel for having used false passports. The authors of the letter also note that the affinity of Jews to Israel is the same as that of Moslem Arabs to Mecca, and they ask us to intervene on behalf of the detainees.
“We are against the unjust treatment of Jews or of any other person. We regard Moroccan Jews as citizens sharing with us the same privileges and duties. On the other hand, the authorities concerned have denied the allegation of maltreatment. It should also be borne in mind that commerce in Morocco is a monopoly in the hands of Jews, who use their activities in local political associations as a means of ingratiating themselves with the officials who are in charge of issuing commercial licences.
“Nevertheless we demand, as a matter of principle, that justice be meted out to everyone. But as to allowing Jews to act as agents for foreign countries, no one could tolerate such a state of affairs, even from the standpoint of justice, and even if it were for the benefit of a Jewish State, particularly in view of the fact that Morocco has not extended recognition to the State of Israel. It is, therefore, the duty of all citizens to maintain no ties whatsoever with the State of Israel.
“Drawing a parallel between Israel and Mecca is inaccurate. The latter is, in fact, a religious centre of pilgrimage, whereas the immigrants to Israel come as settlers to bolster the numbers of those whom Ben Gurion is mobilizing to attack the Arab States as he did, with the collaboration of France and Britain, in the Sinai campaign.
“Moroccan Jews must be integrated completely in the Moroccan nation. It would not be to their benefit to have one leg here and the other one with the Zionists who drove out the Arabs. In spite of all that they did, we ask the authorities to treat them according to law and justice. We assume that the majority of Jews are in full agreement with us, and that only in the eyes of foreign agents does non-encouragement of emigration look like persecution.”
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.
