27/05/2008
Thousands of Moroccan Jews gathered over the week-end for pilgrimages and colloquiums across Morocco. Hundreds of Jews travelled to Ait Bayyoud, 400 km south of Rabat, for the annual pilgrimage to the sanctuary of a Jewish saint, local and international press reported on Monday (May 26th). The pilgrimage "is a sign of the respect and fraternity between Jews and Muslims in Morocco", German news agency DPA quoted Boris Toledano, the president of the Jewish community in Casablanca, as saying on Monday. Some 2,000 Moroccan Jews also went to the northern city of Ouezzane for a ceremony at the mausoleum of rabbi Amrane Ben Diwane.
At a reception ceremony on Sunday, the president of the Jewish community in Agadir invited foreign pilgrims to invest in the country, MAP reported. King Mohammed VI advisor Andre Azoulay, a Moroccan Jew, also attended the event. On Monday, Marrakesh hosted an international forum on Moroccan Judaism.
Morocco's Jewish community numbers up to 5,000 people.