The United States underlined efforts made by HM King Mohammed VI in preserving Jewish heritage and promoting the values of living together and tolerance in Morocco.
“The monarchy continued to support the restoration of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries throughout the country”, the U.S. State Department said in its 2022 report on international religious freedom, released Monday.
“Jewish citizens continued to state that they lived and attended services at synagogues in safety”, said the document presented by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Rashad Hussain, adding that Moroccan jews “said they were able to visit religious sites regularly and to hold annual commemorations.”
The report recalled the establishment of three organizations under the authority of the Council of Ministers, namely the National Council of the Moroccan Jewish Community, the Committee of Moroccan Jews Living Abroad and the Foundation of Moroccan Judaism, noting that these bodies are in charge of safeguarding the cultural and religious heritage and influence of Judaism in Morocco, managing the day-to-day issues and affairs of the Jewish community’s members and strengthening the ties of Moroccan Jews living abroad to Morocco.
The document also pointed to the opening by the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat of the first university synagogue in the Arab world next to the university’s new mosque.
The government continued drafting an educational charter mandating that traditional education be based on “values” and “respect for religious and legal studies”, the source said, adding that the Ministry of Education continued an ongoing review of the religion curriculum used in primary and secondary education and continued to make reforms based on universal values of liberty, empathy, solidarity, and honesty.
“The government continued to disseminate information about Islam and Judaism over dedicated state-funded television and radio channels”, it noted, adding that the Prison Administration authorized religious observances and services provided by religious leaders for all prisoners, including religious minorities.
The report stressed that in May 2022, the National Human Rights Council hosted an international conference to “build global rules to ban all political uses of religion”.
The U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, visited the country last November and met Foreign Minister Bourita, Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs al-Toufiq, and other ministers, the report recalled.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse