Seven Moroccan ministers as well as a personal representative of the King yesterday attended the funeral service and the burial in Casablanca of Morocco’s first Jewish Cabinet Minister, Dr. Leon Benzaquen. The ministers and the King’s representative, Royal Advisor Ahmed Bensouda, came from the capital, Rabat, to Casablanca to honor the Jewish doctor who served as Cabinet Minister in two Moroccan governments and who, until his death Sunday at 76 was the Jewish community’s “elder statesman.”
Benzaquen, a lung disease specialist, was asked by the Moroccan Istiklal Party to become a member of its delegation to the talks with France held in Aix les Bains in 1955, which paved the way to Morocco’s independence. After the country’s independence and the return of King Mohammed V from exile in December, 1955, Benzaquen was appointed Postmaster General. He was reappointed to a ministerial post the following year and left the government three years later to devote himself to his medical practice.
Benzaquen remained, even after he left the government, a close advisor to King Mohammed V and to his son, Hassan II. He was also active in communal affairs, believing that the Jews can and should play an important role in Morocco’s political, economic and social life.
The government went out of its way to honor the late Jewish doctor. A Moroccan spokesman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the official funeral was organized ” to honor the man but also to show that Jews and Arabs can live like brothers united by a common purpose.”
READY TO HELP IN MIDEAST TALKS
The Moroccan government last week said it was ready to help organize talks between Israel and the Palestinians on its soil. The Morocco press said these talks could be held in Casablanca “where Jews and Arabs have lived together in peace and understanding for over a thousand years.”
The press also recalled the King’s ” invitation” to Morocco’s Jews who have emigrated to “return to their former homes.” King Hassan issued this invitation to “return” last year and reiterated it again this spring. Several Israelis of Moroccan origin, including former Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Andre Chouraqui, visited Morocco this year at the King’s invitation.
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.
