You catch the traces of Morocco’s once-vibrant Jewish life in glimpses. The stray Stars of David etched above doorways in the coastal city of Essaouira. A gilded Seder plate peeking through an antique shop’s window in Fez’s mazelike medina. Steps away from the sensory overload of snake charmers, fragrant spices and heckling salesmen in Marrakech’s…
(JTA) — A court in Morocco sentenced to death a gardener who was convicted of murdering a Jewish couple last year in Casablanca. A criminal tribunal sentenced Mustapha Rerhay, 51, to death on Monday for the killing of Sam Toledano and Vicky Chetrit, a high-profile couple in the Jewish community for whom the killer had…
(JTA) — A historically Jewish neighborhood in Marrakesh will have its original name restored on the orders of King Mohammed VI. The Essalam neighborhood will be renamed El Mellah, and the original names of the streets and town squares also will be restored, according to reports. The order comes from the king following a request…
— King Mohammed VI of Morocco attended the rededication of the Ettedgui Synagogue in Casablanca. The synagogue and the adjacent El Mellah Museum, which retraces Jewish history in Morocco, were reopened Friday. They were restored as part of the second phase of a government program aimed at rehabilitating Casablanca’s old city. A government grant of about…
It’s been a tumultuous month — Donald Trump is the next president and Leonard Cohen is dead. And that’s more reason than ever to pour a sweet drink for Thanksgiving. We’ve got you covered, with two dessert cocktails that are just right for the occasion. Each comes with a Jewish twist, made from mahia, the…
— Demonstrators chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!” at the United Nations climate talks in Morocco. More than 200 people protested outside of the country’s parliament building in Rahat on Monday against the flying of the Israeli flag alongside the flags of 195 other countries represented at the climate talks, known as COP22, the French…
I’ve just made my second-ever batch of Moroccan-style preserved lemons, and I can’t believe it took me so long to learn how. The salty, citrusy, slightly spicy, sour taste is one of the backbones of the North African kitchen. I remember being captivated by the idea of Mason jars filled with luminous yellow fruit when…
— King Mohammed VI of Morocco thanked a Jewish composer from Casablanca who had written a song in the monarch’s honor. Albert Cohen, a novelist, composer and singer, earlier this week shared on Facebook a copy of the letter he received from the king for a poem entitled “Lay off my King” that Cohen had…
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