Los judíos de Marruecos celebran “Hanuka”
Morocco has decided to celebrate this year, together with the Jewish community, the holiday of "Hanuka", a very important factor for the Hebrew religion; now even in a country where the predominant religion is Muslim, the Kingdom's Jews can celebrate it. The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Argentina has expressed through the social network Twitter the joy and relevance of the event: "Morocco, country of peace and tolerance, celebrates Hanuka alongside its Jewish community", it tweeted.
They also spoke of the Kingdom's great relationship with other countries and other religions. "The Kingdom is a land where coexistence between religions has been a reality for more than 12 centuries," the embassy added.
This is not the first time the Maghreb country has celebrated the holiday with its Jewish compatriots. Last year, the nation broadcast the ceremony held at the Casablanca Olympic Stadium in Casablanca via Zoom, the video streaming platform. The ceremony was attended by dozens of guests, including David Fischer, the US ambassador to Rabat. The ceremony was led by Rabbi Levin Banon who said that "we usually spend Hanuka together as a community and it is a moment of warmth and light". He also dedicated a few words to the faithful who were unable to attend and celebrate together due to the COVID-19 anti-transmission regulations. "This year we couldn't do it face to face, but we said no to the darkness," Banon added.
This fact is no coincidence and shows the large Jewish footprint on Moroccan territory, just at a time when it follows in the wake of the Abraham Accords that were made under the supervision of the United States and former President Donald Trump. In a ceremony held at the US White House, Israel signed a treaty to normalise relations and ease pressure among several Arab countries. One of them was Morocco, which has since begun to cooperate extensively with Israel.
Morocco is home to the largest community of Jews in North Africa, who have been settled in the Alawite country since time immemorial. Around 3,000 Jews live in the country, and the city of Casablanca, in particular, is home to the most active Jewish community.
As part of the normalisation of tensions, recent years have seen cooperation agreements between the two countries. In the last month, delegations from the Maghreb country have been seen intending to travel to Israel for key partnership and economic cooperation. Chakib Alj, president of the Moroccan General Confederation of Enterprises (CGEM) will travel to Tel Aviv in search of business opportunities and the creation of business communities between the two territories.
Also, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz travelled to Rabat to sign a memorandum that will allow Israeli exports to Morocco. This agreement has been considered by officials in the Hebrew country as "unprecedented" and of a very important nature for the improvement of the situation.
In addition, a direct air link between Tel Aviv and Casablanca has been announced and will begin in mid-December. It will consist of three flights a week and will enable the Moroccan community in Israel to travel directly to its native country, and vice versa, the Jewish community in the Maghreb to travel to Israel. Relations between the two countries are better than ever.
Hanuka, which in Hebrew means 'dedication', is one of the most important celebrations in Judaism. It is celebrated every year from the 25th of Kislev, the third month of the Hebrew lunar calendar, which usually falls between the months of November and December. It is a custom that celebrates the reconquest by the Israeli people of the country, which, in ancient times, was a colony of Ancient Greece. It consists of 8 days in which the followers of this religion have to carry out various traditions such as the lighting of the candlesticks, which starts the festival. They also exchange gifts, play with dreidels (spinning tops), sing a song of protection called MaozTzur and make typical recipes from this community.
