Benchimol Hospital Update

Ynet reprinted the following and I think it gives a good overview. I wonder why there isn't the same concern for much older structures in Morocco that have either been converted to other uses or are falling into disrepair.

Jewish hospital in Tangiers torn down

Moroccan Jewish communities around the world outraged after ancient structure, which has been abandoned for 10 years, demolished before Passover, blame president of Tangiers Jewish community for current troubles, ask him to either take steps to prevent further actions or step down
Elad Benari

Moroccan Jewish communities around the world are upset after the Jewish hospital in Tangiers was torn down.

According to reports, the Benchimol Hospital in Tangiers which has been standing for more than 110 years was torn down Friday night before Passover at 2 am. “There is a law in Morocco that you cannot enter any private property between 10 pm and 6 am,” explained a concerned member of the Moroccan Jewish community in Toronto. “There was no warning about it.”

The community is now concerned that further action against Jewish institutions may be taken by the authorities in Morocco and wishes to make the public aware of the situation. Although the Tangiers Jewish community now only consists of about 40 Jews (at its peak there were 22,000 Jews in the community), there are still important Jewish landmarks in the area, such as a Jewish nursing home and two cemeteries.

“The new cemetery which is in the outskirts of Tangiers is on the highway going to Rabat. At one point it was really let gone. You could hardly go inside the cemetery because there were snakes; there were bushes in between the tombs,” said the concerned individual. “It was not maintained at all. Last year we sent e-mails and finally they got their act together and they cleaned it completely, and I do have to admit that they did a very good job. But it took years of pounding and pounding until they did it.”

The second Jewish cemetery in Tangiers is commonly known as the old cemetery, and was in operation already in the 1910s. There are many righteous individuals buried there, but it has not been maintained for the last 60-70 years. As a member of the local Moroccan Jewish community explained, the cemetery faces the port of Tangiers and the Moroccan authorities have their eyes on it. The community fears that if nothing is done, the authorities will take over that property and remove all the corpses.

Members of the Moroccan Jewish community, both in Canada and around the world, have begun to send e-mails to the president of the Tangiers Jewish community, whom they say is responsible for the current troubles, asking him to either take steps to prevent further actions or step down. “The Jewish community in Tangiers is run by Mr. Azancot. He’s the president,” explained one member of the Moroccan Jewish community in Toronto. “He was elected many years ago when the Jewish community was numerous. He’s hardly ever in Tangiers and doesn’t run things properly.”

'Main concern is Jewish cemetery'

According to the sources in the community, Azancot was given a year’s notice by the Moroccan authorities to fix up the hospital, which has been abandoned for about 10 years. The hospital has given care to Jews, Christians, and Muslims over the years. The members of the community explained that the problem arose when the president of the Jewish community went to the authorities with a plan to tear down the hospital and build an apartment building on that property. This opened up “a Pandora’s Box” as they put it, since the Moroccan authorities said that obviously, if the Jews want to build something on that property, that means they do not care about the building and it can be torn down.

They added that Azancot had no authority to decide to tear down the building since the Jewish community does not own the land. The land is owned by the Benchimol family and the deed has been deposited in the French Consulate. This means that only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France has a say on the fate of that building.

Besides bringing attention to Jewish communities worldwide, letters have been sent to Azancot by many Moroccan Jewish around the world. So far, said the sources, the e-mails have gone unanswered. Representatives of the Jewish communities in Madrid, Montreal, and Toronto have already been in contact with Azancot. Now, contact is also being made with the Canadian ambassador of Morocco.

A letter written by one of the communities here in Canada to the Moroccan ambassador in Canada said that “Morocco represents the paragon of coexistence in the Arab world. At a time when we are targeting a Jewish-Muslim reconciliation, measures such as those taken in anger in Tangiers leave us puzzled.” The letter urges the ambassador to convey the Jews’ dismay to the Moroccan authorities.

“The hospital is done and there’s nothing we can do to reconstruct the building. Our main concern is the Jewish cemetery. They can go anytime and take over. There’s a lot of tzadikim in that cemetery and that is our major concern,” said the community members. “The representative of the Jewish community has been warned already: Either do something or step down. Mr. Bardugo, who is the secretary of the entire Jewish community in Morocco, has advised him the same but unfortunately the Jewish community in Tangier does not answer to the general communities of Morocco. It’s a separate entity and has always been that way so nobody can do anything against that.”

Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life

The Ynet article uses a photo totally unrelated to the article (of the Benarrosh Synagogue) which is of course part of a bigger problem of a lack of photo documentation of sites throughout Morocco.

Diarna has provided some good photo documentation of the site and a personal touch. Read about it here.

Morocco's Oldest Jewish Hospital Demolished - Benchimol Hospital, Tangier

Article from Point of No Return:

Morocco lost one of its historic landmarks when the oldest hospital in the land, the Jewish Benchimol hospital in Tangiers, was rased overnight on 2 April. And the Jewish cemetery might be next.

Why did the demolition squads choose the dead of night and the middle of the festival of Passover to do the deed? And who ordered them in? The Moroccan newspaper Liberation, lamenting the destruction of Morocco's heritage, blames not just the local municipality for this act of historic vandalism, but the local Jewish community, which ostensibly 'sold' the pre-colonial, 110-year-old hospital in order to raise money for its poor - in spite of objections from the Fondation du Patrimoine Culturel Judeo-Marocain, whose aim is to safeguard Morocco's Jewish heritage. (Another report, however, says that the community did not own the site, which was the property of the Benchimol family, French nationals. Only the French consulate would have been able to give approval for the hospital to be torn down.)

Historian Ralph Toledano prefers to speculate that a rogue Wali is to blame, who acted without the knowledge and consent of the king. The deed was done while the few members of the tiny Jewish community were away.

"It is not just that this was a Jewish building which upsets me. All destruction of historic heritage is an irredeemable loss. A heritage cannot be reconstituted," Toledano writes. He admits that he had heard rumours that the local authorities had been wanting to demolish the building for some time. The (bizarre) aim was to turn the site into a public park, adjoining the ancient palace of Sultan Moulay Hafid. "One must never despise rumours, they often become fact."

Hence must be taken seriously a rumour that the municipality has next set its sights on the Jewish cemetery of dar el San’a, on rue du Portugal, opposite Bab America. The cemetery was an 18th century concession negotiated between the Sherifian king's representative and the Jewish community on the site of an old Portuguese fort.

The site measures more than a hectare, and commands a beautiful view over the straits. Mr Toledano is horrified at the thought that a site where venerable rabbis and community dignitaries are buried might be bulldozed. The 15th century Castille cemetery in Tetuan has a similarly breathtaking view.

Article in Liberation Magazine:
http://www.libe.ma/Responsables-de-tous-bords-respectez-le-patrimoine-national--L-hopital-Benchimol-de-Tanger-rase_a10530.html

Interesting back and forth on the demolition and other demolitions/destruction/vandalism: http://www.darnna.com/phorum/read.php?13,171291,171342
(Pay attention to situation of cemetery at Tinghrir)

More updates soon.

On Raphael Elmaleh - TelQuel Article

It's been way too long since I have posted and have lots of posts planned for 2010 but in the meantime please enjoy this article. If you are interested in having Raphy as your tour guide in Morocco, please let me know. Scroll to the bottom for the link to the article and an English translation.


Tourisme culturel. Suivez le guide!

Raphi au musée du judaïsme marocain de Casablanca. (R.R. / TELQUEL)

Organisateur de circuits touristiques et défenseur du patrimoine judéo-marocain, Raphaël Elmaleh accueille la communauté juive internationale qui vient au Maroc découvrir un pan de son histoire. Hors des quartiers juifs de Casablanca, Raphaël Elmaleh, alias Raphi, passe inaperçu. Peu connu de ses compatriotes, ce quinquagénaire aux cheveux grisonnants, tirés en queue de cheval, est pourtant le seul guide touristique juif dans le monde arabe. Raphi, né à Casablanca au

début des années 1960, aime à se définir comme un Marocain juif et non un juif marocain. Des grandes cités impériales aux petits villages berbères, il fait visiter à ses clients les synagogues, cimetières et quartiers communautaires. Ces touristes particuliers l’écoutent expliquer (en anglais, français ou en hébreu) comment les juifs sont arrivés au Maroc, pourquoi la plupart en sont partis et comment ceux qui sont restés vivent en harmonie avec la majorité musulmane. Retour aux sources Raphi adapte ses circuits au souhait de ses visiteurs. Au menu : Casablanca et son musée du judaïsme marocain, Rabat, Meknès, Fès ou Marrakech et leurs mellahs plusieurs fois centenaires. Il propose également des pèlerinages sur les tombes de rabbins enterrés dans des petits villages judéo-berbères dans le sud du pays. Certains clients d’origine marocaine demandent à être emmenés sur les traces de leurs ancêtres. Ce qui rend les circuits de Raphi spéciaux, c’est qu’ils mêlent passé et présent, démontrant que les juifs constituent toujours une communauté active au Maroc. Au programme des visites, il n’y a pas que les synagogues et les cimetières, mais également les écoles, les clubs juifs et même les commerces dits casher. “Ce que je cherche à montrer, c’est que l’histoire juive n’est pas terminée au Maroc, explique-t-il. D’ailleurs la relève est là”. Raphi emmène ses clients visiter une classe d’hébreu à l’école Neve Shalom à Casablanca. Les touristes discutent avec le professeur, observent les étudiants et évaluent même les connaissances en grammaire d’une élève tremblotante. “C’est touchant de voir comment une petite communauté juive maintient ses traditions”, commente une touriste française, visiblement émue par la visite. Le groupe entier en reparlera d’ailleurs tout au long de la journée. Quand il se met à raconter l’histoire judéo-marocaine, Raphaël Elmaleh a les yeux qui brillent. Un thème lui tient particulièrement à cœur : la cohabitation des deux communautés marocaines. “C’est la peur qui nous a chassés, et c’est la peur qui a créé la méfiance, bien que les juifs n’aient jamais été expulsés du Maroc”. Si un des touristes français retient de son voyage que “les juifs sont libres de vivre leur religion sans se cacher”, d’autres restent sceptiques. “Sans dire que cette bonne entente est artificielle, je doute qu’elle résiste demain, si la situation empire au Proche-Orient”, observe une autre touriste. Cette cohabitation, Raphi l’applique pourtant dans son entreprise même en prenant sous son aile Youssef Benjlil, un jeune du quartier Aïn Chock de Casablanca, en qui le guide voit son successeur. Leurs clients ne cachent pas leur étonnement que ce soit un musulman qui les renseigne sur l’histoire des juifs. “Je n’avais jamais rencontré un juif avant Raphi, admet de son côté Youssef, mais j’ai trouvé son travail fascinant”. Sa famille et ses amis soutiennent sa décision de poursuivre dans cette voie. “Je rêve de travailler aussi avec les étudiants marocains. Il est important qu’ils prennent connaissance de ce pan de l’histoire nationale”. Travail de mémoire Raphaël Elmaleh a justement été aux premiers rangs de l’histoire de cette communauté. Comme des millions de Marocains de confession juive, il a pris le chemin de l’exil en 1969, soit deux ans après la guerre des Six jours qui leur a laissé un véritable sentiment de malaise. Alors âgé de neuf ans, il est envoyé seul en Angleterre dans un internat religieux. Il rentrera au Maroc près de vingt ans plus tard, appelé au chevet de sa mère souffrante. Le jeune homme devient “travailleur social” au sein du Joint Distribution Committee, un organisme américain de soutien aux juifs en situation de précarité, facilitant notamment leur réinstallation en Israël. C’est à partir de là qu’il commence à s’intéresser à ses origines, voyageant, pendant huit ans, aux quatre coins du pays pour recueillir les témoignages des derniers juifs du royaume. “Je me suis tout de suite rendu compte du profond respect qui existait entre les communautés juive et berbère”, affirme-t-il. Il s’installe dans le sud et supervise les chantiers de restauration d’au moins dix synagogues. Aujourd’hui encore, il œuvre à la rénovation de deux lieux de culte à Errachidia et à Ighil-n-Ogho (région du Siroua). “C’est à la communauté juive de conserver ses trésors culturels qui se détériorent”, explique Raphi. Il a trouvé, au cours de ses voyages, plusieurs antiquités judéo-marocaines ainsi que des livres anciens. “Je n’ai jamais pensé à les envoyer à l’étranger, puisqu'ils font partie du patrimoine marocain”. En 1997, lorsque le musée du judaïsme a ouvert ses portes à Casablanca, Raphi y dépose toute sa collection. “On travaille ensemble, raconte Zhor Rehihil, conservatrice du musée. Comme il se déplace souvent, c’est lui qui nous informe des nouvelles découvertes. Raphi fait beaucoup pour la communauté et la culture juives au Maroc”. Pourtant, certains universitaires lui reprochent de ne pas être un vrai historien. Mais l’intéressé n’a jamais prétendu le contraire. Sa reconnaissance, il la tire de la satisfaction de ses clients, à qui il offre son savoir et prêche la tolérance. La tête haute, l’enfant de Casablanca conclut à la fin de chaque circuit : “Je suis fier d’être juif dans un pays musulman”. http://www.telquel-online.com/407/mag3_407.shtml English translation of Tel Quel article

Koliphone/Zakiphon LP Covers

A while back I posted about an article in Haaretz that discussed Zohra El Fassia and the Koliphone/Zakiphon record labels. I was doing a little bit of searching in Hebrew today and came across the Hebrew version of the same article which included the above photo. Check out a very young looking Raymonde (who just performed in Essaouira) all the way to the right. You can also see the album covers of Jo Amar, Sami Elmaghribi (from the Ben Soussan LP - which I recently acquired) and Zohra El Fassia amongst others.

Raymonde Abecassis Performs at Moroccan Jewish Music Fest in Essaouira

Thanks to J from Juifs Berberes for this:

http://www.lematin.ma/Actualite/Journal/Article.asp?idr=115&id=122420

Le Matin

Musique
Raymonde El Bidaouia, une légende hors pair!
La ''Perle orientale'' a enchanté le public du Festival andalousies atlantiques d'Essaouira.
Publié le : 05.11.2009 | 14h59

Pendant trois jours s'est tenue à Essaouira la 6e édition du Festival Andalousies Atlantiques, dont l'un des temps fort était la prestation de la grande chanteuse de ''châabi'' et de ''melhoune'', originaire de Casablanca, Raymonde El Bidaouia, surnommée la ''Perle orientale''. Elle a donné deux concerts en compagnie de l'orchestre Zyriab d'Ahmed El Fakir, qui est un groupe de douze musiciens spécialisés dans le style ''gharnati''. Au grand plaisir du public, elle a joué à deux reprises: un concert acoustique à Dar Souiri et une belle prestation à l'ouverture de la magnifique soirée de clôture. A Dar Souiri, l'assistance a été nombreuse et il y a ceux qui ont suivi le show debout. Tout le monde a vibré durant le concert. Les youyous ont donc accompagné le chant de la ''Perle orientale''. La grande dame du cœur a offert un grand hommage à la chanteuse disparue Zohra El Fassia. En chantant des pages du répertoire de la pionnière du ‘'malhoune'', Raymond El Bidaouia a charmé son public. Elle a tout simplement impressionné l'assistance avec des tubes de ''chaâbi'' et '‘gharnati''. Lors du concert de clôture, elle a rendu un grand hommage aux Casablancais en interprétant ‘'Bidawa…Bidawa''. Une chanson que le public marocain connaît très bien. Un tube que l'on diffusait assez souvent à la RTM aux années 80. Il est à noter que Raymonde El Bidouia est l'une des chanteuses marocaines les plus populaires dans les styles tant du ''châabi'' que du ''melhoune'' ou de la musique juive marocaine en général. C'est l'une des plus fantastiques représentantes de la tradition populaire musicale au Maroc. Le public a apprécié tout particulièrement la délicate sensualité de sa voix grave et puissante. Cette particularité a aussi enchanté le nombreux public présent à ce festival de l'ancienne Modagor, où l'artiste était ''portée'' par le somptueux accompagnement de l'orchestre Zyriab d'Oujda, conduit de main de maître par son chef Ahmed Fakir. Une de ses admiratrices affirme: «Tous les Marocains aiment Raymonde El Bidaouia! ». Et d'ajouter : «Son répertoire nous a plongés dans notre enfance passée au Maroc avant d'aller en France. Ma mère et mes tantes chantaient ses chansons lors des réunions et des cérémonies familiales». Et une autre spectatrice qui déclare : «Elle a bercé l'enfance de plus d'un d'entre nous». La chanteuse, de son vrai nom Raymonde Cohen Abecassis, est très attachée à son pays d'origine, le Maroc; ce qu'elle démontre en chantant partout dans le monde pour y porter bien haut les couleurs de notre tradition musicale et notre patrimoine judéo-marocain. Ses talents sont d'ailleurs multiples, vu qu'actuellement, elle se produit aussi dans une pièce de théâtre en dialecte marocain «darija», et c'est un succès tout particulièrement aux États-Unis et en Israël, où elle réside à Ashdod. Parmi ses très nombreux titres qu'il est possible de trouver en disques, signalons le représentatif ''Lâaroussa de Zohra El Fassia'', inspiré des chants traditionnels des festivités de mariage, où elle chante, avec des instruments traditionnels, sur le rythme appuyé de battements de mains du cœur qui lui répond, rythme s'accélérant, puis se ralentissant pour laisser toute la place à plusieurs de ses amples solos. Ses grands succès sont ‘'Dak lahbib'', ‘'Choufi ghirou'' et l'inoubliable morceau ‘'Aloulide''. Plusieurs instruments y ont cependant pris une place de choix tels les violons à l'envers ‘'kamanja'', les percussions et les ‘'takassim'' du luth de la main du maître et chef d'orchestre Ahmed Fakir. Les musiciens ont eu droit chacun à quelques solos ‘' nouba'' qui sont parfois même ponctués et accompagnés de youyous des femmes présentes : un véritable moment de bonheur traditionnel qu'ont pu vivre les spectateurs privilégiés du Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Raymonde rend hommage à Zohra El Fassia Ce Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques a rendu un vibrant hommage au répertoire musical judéo-marocain, né d'une fusion datant de plusieurs siècles, et tout spécialement à Zohra El Fassia. Raymonde El Bidaouia a chanté quelques morceaux d'une étoile bien représentative de cet art métissant deux cultures. La célèbre chanteuse des années cinquante Zohra El Fassia fut l'une des figures emblématiques et pionnières du style ‘'malhoune''. En effet, elle a milité par ses œuvres pour la cohabitation judéo-musulmane au Maroc. Elle est née à Sefrou en 1905 et est décédée à l'âge de 89 ans, en 1994, à Ashkelone en Israël. En 1960, elle habitait alors à Casablanca, à la rue Sarah Bernard, et avec plaisir, on «entendait sa voix dans tout le quartier».

For an English translation, click here.

P.S. I'm moving apartments but as soon as I am settled I will upload some great, old images of Raymonde from her classic Koliphone/Zakiphon LPs.

Essaouira: Jewish-Muslim music fest is lesson in tolerance

By Brett Kline (AFP) – 1 day ago

ESSAOUIRA, Morocco — A music festival bringing Jews and Muslims together in this windy, walled fishing port, long a crossroads of civilisation, is a step in breaking down political divides, says festival founder Andre Azoulay.

Azoulay, a high-profile businessman and advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI, who is a player in the Middle East peace process, is the driving force behind the Andalousies Atlantiques festival of Judeo-Arab music, whose sixth edition ended this weekend.

"Essaouira throughout its entire history and its entire way of living was a synthesis between Muslims and Jews," Azoulay told AFP. "It was not something artificially constructed, it was natural."

"And this festival is a reconstruction of that reality as it was historically. It is not cosmetic, it is real."

The opening concert at the three-day fest improbably featured an 80-year-old singer-rabbi, Haim Louk, backed by a Moroccan band who drew thunderous applause from the audience -- people of all ages and social class, women wearing headscarves and others in western gear, tourists, foreigners, Jews and Arabs.

Azoulay grew up in the town, which then had a big Jewish community, and returned after a successful banking and communications career in France with the idea of reviving the local economy.

An obvious path was to turn the town into a cultural hub to reflect its past, and a number of festivals including the world's leading festival of pulsating Gnaoua (or Gnawa) music now take place in the town.

"The changes in the town have been tremendous," Azoulay said. "Twenty years ago there was no airport. The hotels here now employ hundreds of people."

Azoulay grew up in a building in the kasbah where a Jewish family lived on one floor and a Muslim family on the next.

"It was so normal that it was banal."

"When you see a concert such as Haim Louk, it is very moving," he said. "It is a reflection of what was and what is today in Morocco, and it is a step in the right direction in terms of our values.

"I would challenge anyone to take that social and cultural cohesiveness away from us, because of a political situation in which people are at odds with each other," he added.

Describing himself as spiritually Jewish, but also a Berber who is strongly influenced by Arab-Islamic history and culture, Azoulay said this meant he could enjoy Mahler, Um Kalthoum and Andalusian music.

"When people can sing and play together on stage in Hebrew and in Arabic, it is beyond symbolic, it is real. It is about reconciliation," he said.

"And when you see the standing ovation that a Moroccan Muslim public gave a Moroccan Jewish artist, you see maybe they could pay attention elsewhere."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g63RwqsJxdcHcFJZ-NzLjhcukGdw

Moroccan Jewish Music in Essaouira - Oct. 29 - Nov. 1, 2009

From AFP:

Thu Oct 8, 12:03 pm ET

RABAT (AFP) – This year's festival of the Atlantic Andalusias, held in the Moroccan port of Essaouira, will focus on a Moroccan Jewish musical tradition known as Matrouz, organisers announced Thursday.

During the festival, to be held from October 29 to November 1, there will be concerts to gather together "our poets, our musicians and our singers, Muslims and Jews, to sing and dance together," Andre Azoulay, festival chairman and an advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI, told AFP.

The north African country's Jewish art is a "major component of the cultural wealth and identity in Morocco," Azoulay said. "It shouldn't just be reduced to folklore (...). It gives the best example of how to make mentalities evolve by going out to meet other people."

Matrouz is a tradition that dates back several centuries. One example of the art form will be a concert in which the rabbi Haim Louk will sing accompanied by the Zyriab orchestra from Oudja in east Morocco.

Azoulay said that the Franco-Algerian pianist Maurice El Medioni, "one of the great masters of the Jewish Arab tradition," will perform with the Jewish Moroccan singer, Raymonde El Bedaouia.

In the future, there will be a prize for the preservation and performance of Matrouz music, Azoulay added.

The festival will pay a posthumous tribute to 1950s singer Zohra Fassia, who was a militant for the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Muslims in Morocco.

Evenings of Spanish flamenco and music from India are also on the programme for the festival, which is the sixth of its kind.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091008/wl_africa_afp/moroccomusicfestivalreligion

More links:

On Maurice El Medioni - http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/france/thestory.html

Great video of R. Haim Louk improvising in the US - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeQPA6OfkLs