THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE 30 Rue La Boetie Paris 8, Prance

April 9, 1959 MEMORANDUM TO: New York Office

PROM: Abraham Karlikow, Paris Office

SUBJ: Situation of the Jewish Community in Morocco This report is based on a five-day visit to Morocco at the end of March. It deals with the following subjects:

The general situation in Morocco; Its effects on the Jewish population; Jewish community and welfare institutions and attempts at "integration"; Jewish attitudes toward the long-range future; The Moroccan government and Jewish emigration; Jewish refugees in Tangiers.

The general situation in Morocco

Politically and economically Morocco is in a state of flux and effervescence. The political upheaval is due to a fight which has riven Istiqlal, the leading and now virtually only important political party in Morocco* On the one hand, there is the more conservative and. traditional wing of the Istiqlal headed by former Moroccan premier Ahmed Balafrej and by the leading ideologist of the party, Allal El Passi; on the other, the more Jacobin wing led by the present premier Abdallah Ibrahim and Mehdi Ben Barka, president of the Consultative Assembly, The strength of the latter group is concentrated in the Moroccan trade unions and in the cities; that of the former group among the middle classes and the traditionalists in the Moroccan hinterland. Both groups are going at each other hammer and tongs. Neither, apparently, feels strong enough to force matters to a showdown at present. In some respects, therefore, their conflict takes on the aspects of a super-heated election campaign — as it may well be, finally, since preparations are being made to hold Morocco's first elections before the end of the year.

Another source of excitement recently in Morocco was the challenge to the central government authority by an uprising among the Rif tribes in the north of the country, but this has been subdued, A most important element in Moroccofs internal political struggle is the King of Morocco, Mohammed V, He has been striving to maintain his place above the political arejaa. It is no secret, - 2 - however, that he has been unhappy with Istiqlal attempts during the past few years to eliminate all other parties and independent groups. As Istiqlal made progress in forcing other political parties and independent groups out of successive cabinets, the King sought to throw up other defenses. Last year he issued a charter defining political liberties and rights. It is he who is insisting on elections. With all this internal jockeying for power, however, little has been done in other fields. The first flush of enthusiasm following independence has now passed. There has been growing discontent in the country, and particularly a feeling of lack of direction. This was in part responsible for the breakaway of the Jacobin wing of the party from the Istiqlal, Morocco is now increasingly coming to face with its fundamental problems, but has not shown any real signs that it knows how it wants to deal with them. There are those who say that the Ibrahim cabinet (which theoretically was given office only to prepare for the forthcoming elections) has definite economic and political ideals. It has been in office too short a time, though, for one to see, really, what they are,

Morocco's economic difficulties, already very serious, were further complicated last December when Morocco decided not to follow Prance's example in devaluating the franc, although remaining part of the franc zone, Before the shock of the French franc devaluation of last December, Moroccan trade and business had been making some advances from the near-stagnation point of 1957. Actually, according to most reports, 195>8 was not too bad from the point of view of business; and the country's economy has been helped by a steadily growing influx of tourists. The Moroccan refusal to follow the French example in devaluation, however, caused a great deal of chaos and confusion and had severe effects. Suddenly, in January, Moroccan goods found themselves priced out of the market, including the orange crop which is so important j[n the Moroccan trade balance. Moreover, the sub- sequent series of Moroccan regulations and decisions with regard to imports, exports and the flow of capital have been such as to favor the flow of capital from Morocco, though, on the contrary, Morocco desperately needs capital investment. The aim of the new Moroccan government is, obviously to cut the country's economic dependence upon Prance, It has been succeeding to some extent -- but is paying the price for this in grave economic dislocation and readjustment, even though some recovery from the January low-point has been noted in the last month.

There appears to be, by all reports, considerable interest among the present Moroccan government leaders in the experience of the Yugoslav and Chinese governments. These are seen as countries which have managed to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Moroccan labor leaders have gone on visits to China and have been impressed; the two countries now have diplomatic relations with each other; and there is a common commercial interest between the two countries because Morocco takes so much Chinese tea0 Also, more frequently than during any previous visit to Morocco, I heard - 3 -

talk about Communists, some of whom are reported now to hold fairly high posts in the government and to be partially responsible for shaping Moroccan economic policies. The interest of the Moroccan leadership, however, I believe, may probably be more accurately described as with state direction and planning than with Communism £er se3 At the same time even Moroccan leaders who are advocates of planning are acutely conscious of their country's need for foreign investment and do not want to take steps which will frighten this off.

As Moroccan leadership is pulled between these different economic concepts, so, too, it is of two minds concerning its relations with the Arab world. Morocco has become a member of the Arab League; it is part of the so-called Maghreb Union which includes Algeria and Tunisia; it tries to act as something of a link between the Arab League and Tunisia which has been fighting with the League, At the same time many Moroccan leaders (and especially the King) feel that they have little to learn from other Arab countries, but can profit from maintaining ties with the West. There has been sharp distrust of Nasser, who is now somewhat discredited. There are the hopes that the conflict in Algeria will be settled because this has tended to exacerbate pan-Arab and ultra-nationalist feelings in Morocco. To these, Moroccan leaders obviously feel that they must pay great attention, even though they themselves ar.3 almost entirely of Western education. A good example of Moroccan political schizophrenia revolves around the American bases in Morocco. For public con- sumption, the leaders say they want the United States to leave the country. Actually, they know how valuable to the economy is the wealth and employment brought to Morocco because of the existence of these bases. The U.S. is also giving Morocco some Sl|O million in aid this year.

Apparently the leaders feel no such schizophrenia with regard to Israel. As the years have passed, they have followed an increasingly harder line in public utterances and in action concerning Israel, with whom Morocco cut all commerce and com- munication over two years ago. This, of course, has its effects upon the Jewish population even though Moroccan authorities try to insist that their attitude toward Israel has nothing to do with their attitude toward Jews within the country. Really, however, there cannot but be a relationship in practical terms between the external and internal attitudes: because so many Jews in Morocco have relatives in Israel, because of the strong traditional emotional appeal of Israel,and primarily, as we shall see, because of the problem of emigration to Israel.

Effects on the Jewish population

The recent political upheavals have had no direct con- sequences upon the position of Jews in Morocco* There are, however, Jews at the head of the various organizations who feel that the time may come when Jewish groups may be forced to "choose" - k

between the two Istiqlal wings now fighting for power, or other- wise become involved in the struggle -- and are perturbed at what might be the consequences of not choosing well,. One can hear, also, various estimates as to the kind of Jewish community organization and life that may be expected, depending on which side wins eventually,. These estimates will be described below in this paper.

The economic shock has, of course, had direct effect on that middle class element in Morocco which is engaged in trade and commerce, and, indirectly, on Jewish workers and artisans as employment dropped. Also, Jewish organizations receiving funds from outside the country have been affected. Bodies like the American Joint Distribution Committee and the ORT previously brought in French francs, exchanged at a one-to-one rate in Morocco, Now, because Morocco has not devaluated, they stand to lose about 18% of the value of any francs or dollars brought in. To avoid this they have been borrowing Moroccan francs in Morocco. The government has shown no inclination to give them a special rate because they are engaged in welfare work. Cash is becoming tight in Morocco, however, because of the flow of capital from the country. It is, therefore, a moot point as to how long Jewish organizations will be able to continue without bringing in dollar funds; and whether they or the Moroccan government will be forced to change policies first*

If the general Moroccan internal situation is an effervescent one, that of its Jewish population seems more stable and relaxed than a year or two ago and, in some respects, to have improved. It is well to remember the basic background against which such a statement is made. The Jews of Morocco are very conscious that they live in an overwhelmingly Moslem land, where great masses do not consider the Jews.; as equal, whatever the leaders may &ay* And there is little reed to describe here how tens of thousands of Jews live in poverty and misery; how thousands have been on the move from the Moroccan hinterland into the cities in recent years, becoming part of the lowest proletariat there; and how great numbers are hoping to leave the country to make their way to Israel * But against this background the following improvements- can be noted since a year or two ago* Moroccan Jews, better educated than their Moslem neighbors, have been replacing the French bureaucratic and commercial classes that have been leaving the country. Jews are to be found to an increasing extent in clerical posts in Moroccan government offices, behind post-office windows, and in other jobs requiring some literacy or training. There are now a number of Jews in important government positions, though nobody expects that Jews w IHbe given really outstanding or critical posts. (Jewish feeling is that qualified Moslems will certainly be advanced more quickly than Jews, or given posts even when not as qualified as Jews. But this is accepted by Jews themselves as a normal feature of an overwhelmingly Moslem state, and nobody sees any great reason to become excited about it.) Certainly, this entry of Jews in greater numbers into the Moroccan bureaucracy may be only temporary, until Morocco de- velops its own more literate Moslem classes. For the time being, though, the situation of Jews is improving in this respect.

Unemployment is perhaps Morocco's number one problem. Indeed, the Moroccan Government only a few weeks ago asked that contractors not use machines but hire men for work on the roads and on other public works projects, so as to create employment. But places are open for trained people* Here again, Jews are in a more favored position, because of their literacy and because of the training given by such institutions as OBT.. The great masses of Jews, poor and wretched though their living conditions be, are still somewhat better off than their Moslem neighbors, given the fact that Jewish relief organizations are so much more developed than their Moslem counterparts.

Finally, there is the psychological element. More and more, Jews in Morocco seem to bo becoming adapted to living with an independent Moroccan regime,» Years ago great fears were expressed for the physical security of Jews. Today one hears nothing about such fears. Until recently there was a definite movement of Jews from the interior to the larger cities. Now there are conflicting reports as to whether this movement still goes on; and even some reports of Jews having gone back from cities to some of the larger centers in the bled, the Moroccan hinterland. Another indication of this psychological adjustment is the following; recently there were announcements of decisions taken by the Moroccan government about conscription of people into the array. A year or two ago (and this did happen on a certain occasion in 1957) there would have been a rush of Jews to United HIAS to inquire about emigration possibilities. Yet, this time, the announcement failed to make any great impact; few people showed up. Today's announcement is no longer taken as tomorrow's fact.

Whatever the causes, the feeling now is more and more that la vie a recommence son petit train-train" — "things are going back to their everyday routine" -- a view I heard expressed in various parts of the country by Jews of various backgrounds and classes. But while the layer of daily habit now overlies the ooo* more prevalent fears, these are not far below the surface.

The one grave major issue which continues to envenom relations between Jews in Morocco and the Moroccan authorities, and which gives rise to insecurity feelings among Jews, is the issue of Jewish emigration.

Jewish community and welfare institutions and "integration"

In the past few years much waa heard in Morocco about the concept of integration." According to its advocates both on the Moslem side and among certain Jews, this was taken to mean the - 6 -

disappearance of all differences among Jews and Moslems, and to include the eventual merging of all Jewish institutions together with Moslem institutions into national bodies, with the exception of strictly religious differences and bodies. For the time being, at least, the cries of integration have died down*. Actually, it would now appear that Moroccan Jews and Moroccan Moslems are going their own ways, much in traditional and usual fashion, on parallel tracks as it were, paying occasional lip service to the integration idea.

With the first shocks of independence over, they appear to be falling into the customary (and hence psychologically more comfortable) patterns of life of pre-independence days. This may be, as some people in Morocco claim, because the government and its leaders have been much too busy with their other over- whelming problems really to pay any attention to the Jews in Morocco, simply postponing the day of reckoning. It may be, as still others say, that the "integration" policy is still a Moroccan ideal but that here, as in other fields, there are simply not the trained personnel and national institutions through which this policy can be translated into action. The fact is that little has been done or is being done about integration,.

Jewish institutional and organizational life in Morocco is proceeding normally. Its vitality, extent and limitations depend primarily on the caliber of local Jewish leadership, insofar as could be discerned, rather than on any action of the Moroccan government. No real steps have been taken towards the integration of Jev/ish and non-Jewish welfare and educational organizations,, There is an Entraide Nationale, established under Princess Laila Aicha, which was originally conceived as a national welfare associ- ation to coordinate the activities of all bodies working in this area. L'Entraidea, however, has been having organizational diffi- culties, and is seeking a new director. It has not affected the work of Jewish groups in any way thus far.

Directly or indirectly, the Moroccan government is helping to support various Jewish institutions,and it is honoring its agreements with various Jewish organizations. For example, it pays approximately 60/» of the costs of the Alliance Israelite Universslle schools in the country. (The feeling is prevalent among many Jews in Morocco that, if the policy of integration i3 ever applied, the Alliance will probably be the first to be affected since so much of its support derives from the Moroccan government. Heads of the Alliance, however, say that they are acting on the assumption that the present arrangement with the Moroccan govern- ment will continue, grosso modo, to operate normally in the future.) The American Joint Distribution Committee in Morocco estimates that government subventions to various Jewish bodies have been continuing on the same level as previously. Even where, in some cases,- subventions have been cut or not expanded to meet expanding needs, Jewish leaders say that this is understandable•• They point, — 7 ••

first, to Morocco's great financial difficulties; and secondly, to the fact that Moslem welfare groups are increasing their activities while the government aid "pie" remains the same, so that the share to Jewish organizations could be expected to diminish.

While Jewish institutions have survived the shift to independence thus far without any great casualties, there has been a considerable turnover in local Jewish community leadership in the past few years. The former leaders of the Jewish community councils were, by and large, considered to be too closely associ- ated with former French rule. The new community leaders are, for the most part, persons who were appointed by the governors of the different Moroccan districts. Sometimes they were persons who had never previosuly had any experience in Jewish community affairs; usually they were chosen because the Istiqlal felt that they could be trusted. The once strong Central Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, with its headquarters in Rabat, continues to exist. For the past two years, however, this organization has been little more than a "mailbox" receiving government aid and distributing it in accordance with usual practices to the local communities. Various cautious attempts were made to revitalize this body in the course of the past two years. These generally floundered because leaders of the Casablanca community insisted on a greater share of representation than the others were willing to grant, and because many Jewish leaders were fearful lest a revived Council should again undertake any political of defense activities. Only a week ago, however, the Council of Communities elected a new Secretary General, Mr. David Amar 0$ Kenitra (formerly Port Lyautey). It may be significant, further, that the Council under his direction has undertaken a defense action on behalf of Jews arrested in Morocco, as will be seen below*

There are now mixed feelings among Jewish leaders in Morocco as to the need for a new formal decree by the government about the status of Jewish communities in Morocco. It will be remembered that a demand was made two years ag,o by Jewish leaders in Morocco for the government to issue a decree concerning the Jewish com- munities and their powers. A draft was submitted to the Ministry of the Interior. There was some discussion between the Jewish leaders and officials of the Ministry of Interior at lower levels, but nothing ever came of this* Now there are those who are opposed to asking for any new decree. They want to let sleeping dogs lie, on the ground that they can do anything necessary concerning Jewish community life under the old dahirs. These dahirs may be vague' in some areas; but there is a preference for leaving them vague, as permitting greater scope for action.

The Moroccan government has requested all institutions, Jewish and non-Jewish, to re-register with the authorities. The deadline for such registration is the end of May. There are those who consider that this will be a test of Moroccan government in- tentions with regard to the Jewish institutions, and are waiting to - 8 -

see whether registration will be used as a means to cut Jewish activities. There are at present, however, no indications as to whether or what the Moroccan government might do. One can only await the developments of the next few months on this score.

For the past two years, most local communities have been running themselves, continuing to do welfare work in the usual way, with more or less efficiency depending on local personalities, and^generaily trying to be as unobtrusive as possible in their activities. In some instances there has been a notable expansion of Jewish activity, particularly in Casablanca, where about 75,000 of the estimated 190,000 Jews in Morocco live. The present head of the community, Mr. Mayer Obadia, had never had any experience in Jewish community affairs. His new council, however, has been driven by the desire to show that it can operate well and efficient- ly; and, as Mr. Obadia told me, "The deeper we got into the work, the more deeply we became interested in it." The new council has extended the scope of its grants given to other local Jewish organizations, even though some of these grants are only nominal, so as to tie these organizations in with the community. It has succeeded in almost doubling the funds available to it by increased taxes on meat and wine, cemetery fees, and by requiring greater contributions from local Jewry. It hopes to expand this in the next year to cover 200 million francs. Support from the American Joint Distribution Committee equals about 1$% of the council's budget.

The new council's financial philosophy differs from that of the former Casablanca Jewish leadership. The latter were proud of the financial surpluses that accumulated. As a result the new council found itself with a capital of 150 million francs. It is proceeding to spend this on the twofold theory that welfare organi- zations have no right to hoard such surpluses in the face of the kind of Jewish need which exists in Morocco,- and that having such an amount on hand creates temptation in other quarters, in a land where the general social needs are so great.

Jewish attitudes towards the long-range future

It is interesting to note that even the Istiqlal-appointed Casablanca council is anxious to preserve Jewish institutions and activities as much &s possible. The leaders are convinced that all oewish activities should have some kind of religious coloration or connection in Morocco (though some are personally agnostic) and they encourage this in various ways. They feel that this fits in better with the traditional and classic patterns of life in Morocco and hence that activities with a religious basis can be better understood by Moslems and permitted by them; and moreover, It is less likely that anyone would seek to introduce Moslem children into institutions where Jewish religious practice is followed to any degree.

It is in connection with this religious emphasis that one hears different estimates as to the long-range future of Jewish - 9 -

institutions in Morocco, as related to the present political struggle going on between the two wings of the Istiqlal. There are some Jewish leaders who feel that, should the more Jacobin lay wing of the Istiqlal win in the internal conflict, it would not be likely to let things continue as at present just because they fit into a traditional pattern; whereas the more conservative Istiqlal wing could be expected to continue to respect this pattern.

On the contrary, there is the point of view, for example, of one very active young Jewish leader, fully attached to Jewish values and the idea that Jewish groups should have their own identity, but who is chary of inculcating too strong a religious emphasis. He feels that it is important for Jewish organizations and institutions not to become "closed in" upon themselves if they want to fit into the kind of Morocco that iS developing, a country in which, he believes, modern and lay institutions will take pre- cedence over traditionalist patterns. He feels Jews and Jewish organizations must now build disinterested links of communication with the non-Jewish society and world around them. Pie argues that where Jewish groups become too religiously oriented they inevitably become a closed circle, lose contact with the broader trends of Moroccan life, and hence cannot help Jews to adapt to the evolving patterns of Moroccan life, rather than to x^hat is past.

Finally, there are the "integrationists" in Jewish life. Over the past year once vehement advocates of full integration among the Jewish community have, b/ and large, pulled in their horns. They do not seem as enthusiastic as they once were about the possibilities for full integration. Partially it may be because they have some face to face with some of the practical difficulties involved in such a course; possibly because some of the "integrationists" seem to have discovered that such importance as they had in the new general scheme of things was precisely because of their Jewishness. Their opponents claim it is simply because they find they have not gotten the kind of jobs they hoped for from the government. Indeed the only strong "integrationists" at present in Jewish community life are reported to be the Com- munists. While their influence should not be at all exaggerated, there is some evidence that in recent months Communist Jews have been trying to take a more active role inside certatin Jewish communities.

The former Minister of Post, Telegraph and Telephone, Dr. Leon Benzaquen — the only Jew who ever served in cabinet posts in Morocco -- is reported to have taken a rather forceful position at a recent meeting of the local 03E board in Morocco concerning the need for paying greater attention to what might be Moslem desires. It appears that his position goes farther than that of most Jewish community people; and there are indications that he later modified the stand he took at the OSE meeting.

Regardless of what the future may bring, Jewish bodies are going ahead with their present business. In the few days I was there the local press featured a fund-raising ball for the - 10 -

Bengio-Murdoch children's home In Casablanca; an Alliance Israelite gala at Kenitra; and the opening of a new center of the very- vigorous^ Department for the Education of Jewish Youth (DEJJ), in Rabat. The Moroccan government refuses to give a labor permit to a Frenchman from Tunisia whom the OSE wanted to hire as director, but a local medical director certainly would be acceptable. Almost every Jewish child in Morocco receives some kind of schooling today, whether from the Alliance, the Lubavltcher and Ozer Hatorah schools or the DEJJ centers. Jewish school facilities are now being used to the utmost, Jewish leaders are concerned as to how they will take care of next year's increased crop of incoming children. The Moroccan Jewish population is increasing apace. The birth rate is a near record 1+0 per 1,000 per year, more than making up for those who are now managing to emigrate from Morocco* For the foreseeable future, therefore, one must think in terms of a growing Jewish community in Morocco.

The Moroccan government attitude toward Jewish emipiratIon

The major present source for concern and difficulties in the situation of Jews in Morocco is the question of emigration. The present position is the following:

The Moroccan government and its leaders declare for public consumption that they permit emigration. This statement of prin- ciple was, in fact, made to me by the Moroccan Minister of Interior, Mr. Driss M'Hammedi, while I was in the country. It is quite true that the Moroccan government has not blocked emigration to countries other than Israel. There is not a great deal of such emigration* During 195o United HIAS moved not quite if.00 persons from Morocco; and an indefinite, but not-too-large number may have reached France. Actually, not many doors are open to the would-be emigrants. Some South American countries, and Canada, primarily, have been places of resettlement, and it is not known to what extent Canada will open its doors this Spring. Nor is there any great active backlog of persons waiting to leave, perhaps 800 altogether, while a few thousand have made inquiries of United HIAS at one time or another. It is of course probable that, were there greater opportunity to move, this movement would swell.

The Moroccan government also gives passports to Jews who want to go to other countries for tourism or business reasons. Over a year ago, when the International Zone of Tangiers became part of Morocco, persons from Tangiers who wanted to go to some other country had to find people who would "go bailtY for them, as assurance that they would come back. Also, previously, there had been reports of orders being issued to the Moroccan police not to give passports to Jews. On this last visit to Morocco, however, I heard that these forms of discrimination were no longer practised.

Today, however, each demand for a passport by a Jew is rather carefully examined. There are often unjustifiable delays, even for better-off persons who are well-known to the Moroccan - 11 -

authorities, and who want to quit the country temporarily for business or tourist reasons. And poor persons, and others suspected of wanting passports to go to Israel, find their re- quests refused.

The emigration problem really centers around emigration ' to Israel. In the decade following the establishment of Israel, more than 100,000 Jews left Morocco for the new state, in succes- sive waves of emigration. In 1956 the Moroccan authorities closed down the Jewish Agency office, Cadima, which had previously been permitted to operate in that country. There were over 6,000 Jews in the Cadima camp not far from Casablanca at the time; and the Moroccan government permitted their departure only after arduous negotiations. Following this, for a short time, the authorities also obviously tolerated some illegal exit movement. Since July 1957* however, Moroccan police have been striving to clamp down on the movement of Jews out of the country. This has given rise to several incidents, particularly in March of this year*

In July 1957 the police closed down on a group of Jews who were in Tangiers waiting to move across the Gibraltar and thence to Israel. In October 1957 they arrested a group of Jews trying to reach Gibraltar through the Spanish port enclave of Ceuta, from Tetuan. Last year six Jews were put on trial in Tangiers on charges of undermining the security of the state, because they had been picked up in connection id th emigration. They were convicted by the Tangiers court and given varying sen- tences; and the case still has to come before the Moroccan Supreme Court,

A group of 125 Jews was picked up by the Moroccan police last August as they tried to leave the country. Men, women and children were put into jail. The women and children were released after a few weeks. Of the 22 men, 10 were released only about a month ago. The other 12 are still in the Tangiers jail, plus 2 more who have been arrested recently on suspicion of promoting illegal emigration. Between March l\. and March li(. there were seven separate incidents involving about 50 persons arrested by the Moroccan police.

While I was in Morocco, 1 received word of the arrest of a group of 25-35 Jews when trying to cross the Moroccan border near the little town of Nador, near Oujda, to make their way into Algeria. Although I had had no intention of meeting with Moroccan government authorities on this visit to the country, the opportunity presented itself for me to meet with the Moroccan Minister of Interior, Mr. Driss M'Hammedi, at a dinner sponsored by the Moroccan Foreign Press Association, at which the Minister was a guest speaker. 1 also met on the same occasion with his chef de cabinet, Mr. Said Manou.

In my conversation with the Minister, % $oid hiM tfeat' > I heard reports of the arrest of a group of Jews who were trying - 12. -

to cross the border, and also rumors that they had been beaten up by the police. He said that he knew nothing about this. He added that he was surprised to hear about such movement inasmuch as#anybody who wished to do so could leave Morocco legally. I said that while 1 knew it was possible for persons who wanted to go to countries other than Israel to leave Morocco, it was my understanding that Jews who sought to go to Israel were not given passports. Mr. M'Hammedi replied that everybody knew that Jews who wanted to go to Israel simply requested passports for Spain or Prance and went there, and thence to Israel. He continued that Moroccans could understand that Jews might want to visit Israel for- strictly religious reasons and come back from that country, as Moslems went to Mecca, I asked if he knew of any such cases and he replied no. (The Moroccan government, actually, does not permit the return of any Jews who have gone to Israel.) The Minister said, furthermore, that he did not know that there was an emigration problem; that it was a year and a half since anything of this nature had been called to his attention; and that I could send him a report on the matter or have somebody come and see him.

At the dinner I sat beside his chef de cabinet. I told Mr. Hamou that insofar as I could determine this problem of emigration was the only real source of major misunderstanding at present, and that I hoped that Morocco would take steps to make free movement truly possible. Mr. Hamou admitted implicity that the departure of Jews to Israel was not permitted. He promised that he would look into the affair of the arrests at Nador, and that I could call him for further information.

At the end of the dinner — where the subject of discussion was the preparations being made for the forthcoming Moroccan elections — one of the journalists arose and said that he had heard of the arrest of Jews near Oujda for illegal emigration* The Minister repeated that he knew nothing about the incident and that emigration from Morocco was free, that anybody who desired could get passports. He also told the journalist that he had asked for a report on the problem of emigration from me. The journalists had been informed about the arrests through anonymous letters and phone calls.

Upon my return to Paris a few day3 later I learned that the women and children who had been arrested near Oujda had been re- leased and urged by the Moroccan authorities to go back to their home towns (Marrakech, Meknes and Safi), but it is not clear whether they have done so. The 11 men in the party, however, were kept under arrest, and are still in jail in the town of Nador. There were considerable fears for two of these men, who were kept incommunicado and who, according to first unconfirmed rumors, were tortured. Since then, however, as a result of various intercessions, a lawyer has seen these people. He has reported that they were maltreated (maltreatment not being defined) but were in good physical shape, and that their morale was good. - 13 -

I contacted Mr. Hamou by phone. He told me that the Ministry of the Interior had no specific information about the arrests as yet, but was sending an investigator both to Nador and to Tangiers; that the Council of Jewish Communities at Rabat had written to the Minister of the Interior asking for information about these arrests; and that he would see to it that I got a copy of the reply of the Minister to the Council of Jewish Communities*

Jewish refugees in Tangiers

The day after my meeting with the Minister of Interior in Morocco I proceeded to Tangiers,, Here I found some 800 Jews living in wretched conditions reminiscent ofthe overcrowded bar- racks in the days of the DP camps in Germany and Austria. In one garage there lived the 125 persons who had been picked up by the Moroccan police near Tetuan last August; and here I met with the ten men who had only recently come out of the Tangiers jail., They told me that after the first few days, when the Moroccan police were fairly rough, their treatment was such as was to be expected in a Moroccan jail. These men must still report to the police regularly. They were of the impression that the other 12 who had been arrested with them would also be released in the not-too- distant future, as the files about them arrived from Tetuan. To date we have had no word of any such release.

The major group of would-be emigrants live in the Ex-Tourist Hotel in Tangiers, Almost £00 persons live crowded into this small three-story building with holes in the roof and only the most primitive of accommodations. Refugees in Tangiers receive their food supplies from the local Jewish community, which gets the funds for their support from the American Joint Distribution Committee* There is no love lost between local Jewish community leaders and the refugees. The former heartily wish that the latter would get out of Tangiers. The refugees would like nothing better -- but they insisted to me that they want to go only to Israel. They say they have left behind their jobs and their homes; that they do not wish to return; and that they are determined to stay until they can leave for Israel. Some of them have beeri in Tangiers now for over two years.

When one questions people as to why they want to go to Israel, one hears a variety of reasons, A predominant one is a desire for reunion of families. A great number of the people to whom I spoke in the hotel had close or fairly close relatives in Israel. There was, of course, the hope of betterment of economic conditions. There were descriptions of a crowding-in on them of the Moslem en- vironment. For, during the course of previous Jewish waves of emigration, when Jews left their apartments in the mellahs -- those densely concentrated areas of Jewish living — very often Moslems moved in. Some of the Jews saw their daughters and sons going with Moslems, and this they did not like. Others just felt uncomfortable at seeing their predominantly Jewish environment change around them. Human, economic and emotional drives like these are among the prime - Ill -

factors in the desire of thousands upon thousands of Jews to go to Israel. No one can estimate with any accuracy how great would be the number of those who would leave Morocco if they could. At the same time there can be no doubt that this number is a very great one.

At present, it can fee estimated that perhaps two to three thousand Jews per year manage to leave for Israel by devious means. There are profiteers in Morocco who prey upon this desire of Jews to go to Israel, At best, they charge exorbitant fees for getting people across the border. At worst, they give their victims false papers, passports and information, although they have no means of assuring emigration at all. Sometimes, too, one hears of Jews who inform to the police on others who are trying to make their way out of the country. Whether because of the hardening of official policy or simply because of increasing efficiency, Moroccan police are closing borders more effectively than ever before.

The classic position taken by Jewish organizations with the Moroccan government has been that it is up to the government to solve this problem by permitting free emigration, in accordance with the Human Rights charter; and that so long as such free emigration is not permitted there will always be difficulties be- cause of the desire of many Jews to leave the country. The emi- gration problem is becoming more exacerbating with the passage of time. It is certain that every effort must again be made to try to find some kind of solution to this question. We are preparing material for follow-up action with the Moroccan Minister of Interior and will keep you informed.