Jewish Tourism in Morocco Hilloulot As a Case Study

Jewish Tourism in Morocco Hilloulot as a Case Study

Hanane Sekkat

Abstract Is it possible to bring together Jews of Moroccan origin wherever they may live and con- vince them to keep in touch with Morocco? This is not merely a question of visiting the country for tourism but, above all, of convincing Moroccan Jews to serve as promoters of Moroccan diplomacy. To achieve this aim, it was imperative to make brave decisions, which is indeed what King Hassan II has done. To give more consistency and significance to the ties of loyalty, the Moroccan state is taking remarkable measures, organising hilloulot (Hb. ‘pilgrimages’), moments of intense spiritual experience evoking a long Jewish presence in Morocco spanning two thousand years. Keywords: diaspora, hilloula, Moroccan Jewish heritage, quest for identity, religious tourism

Jewish tourism in Morocco: hilloulot as a case study

his article discusses how the Moroccan state made remarkable efforts Tto reconnect with its Jewish children scattered all over the world and to make the country an emotional attraction for them. In order to achieve this, Morocco capitalised on a long-standing political, religious and symbolic legacy, used various marketing techniques and resorted to the indispensable support of several ‘transmitters of the Jewish heritage’. The organisation of hilloulot (Hb. ‘pilgrimages’, sing. hilloula) to the burial sites of the tsaddikim (Hb. ‘revered saints’) is one of the most notable aspects of such efforts. It is remarkable that ritualistic traditions such as these have been perpetuated and kept alive by a now signifi- cantly reduced community made up of some four thousand Jews still living in Morocco. As is well known, the Moroccan state, being theo- cratic, attaches particular attention and importance to religious events,

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Hanane Sekkat • Jewish Tourism in Morocco whether Muslim or Jewish. In this respect, the hilloulot are in many ways a permanent link that connects a diaspora population to its country of origin. This bond requires support and preservation. Morocco needs its Jews not only to promote its sustainable development projects but, especially, to lobby in favour of its ‘sacred’ causes, foremost of which is ter- ritorial integrity (the Sahara question). The late King Hassan II liked to say that few countries could boast of having 750,000 ambassadors living in Israel, as is the case with Morocco. Far from mere rhetoric, he was referring to the visceral attachment of Moroccan Jews to the kingdom and its symbol, the Alawite monarchy. Morocco’s Jewish ambassadors are not limited to residents of Israel. Moroccan Jews who have settled in Western Europe and North and Latin America are also considered part and parcel of the Moroccan nation. Together they constitute the Moroccan Jewish diaspora.

The revival of Moroccan Jewish tradition

In 1986 the Council of the Jewish Communities of Morocco launched a major initiative to organise a travelling moussem (Ar. ‘gathering’, ‘fair’) that would bring together a large number of Jewish pilgrims from various countries, including Israel, to participate in a journey that would connect the sanctuaries of at least six Jewish saints. The tour spans more than a thousand kilometres, crossing several major regions and giving the pilgrims the opportunity to relax, sightsee, and reconnect with their country of origin. The brochure advertising this event is unremarkable and is similar to those found in the tourist offices of major Moroccan cities. It contains the standard phrases and images used to market Morocco as a tourist destination: sun, mountains, beaches, friendly people, legendary hospi- tality. However, it highlights one exception. The last two pages have a relatively religious tone. The penultimate page features a photo of Rabbi Yahia Lakhdar’s mausoleum together with a short biography of the saint, as well as an icon of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yahia. The last page extols the greatness of these tsaddikim, their faith and their ability to perform miracles. The brochure closes with the following sentence: ‘If you think like us that it is essential to keep alive the memory of our masters of Judaism, fly. It is easy, fast, and pleasant’.1 As can be imagined, this package is the outcome of carefully con- ducted market research involving several government departments and agencies. In fact, the project had been approved prior to its launch by dif- ferent ministries, especially the Ministry of the Interior, whose approval

European Judaism • Vol. 52 • No. 2 • Autumn 2019 157 Hanane Sekkat • Jewish Tourism in Morocco and support guaranteed both the reception and protection of prospective tourists.2 It should be noted that the celebration of hilloulot has suffered only slightly from the mass departure of Jews from Morocco during the course of the twentieth century. Since the first years of Moroccan independence, the Sharifian authorities have taken numerous measures to support religious activities, both orthodox and popular. The hilloulot became the occa- sion on which to affirm Jewish national belonging. The regular presence of representatives of the state at hilloulot is a token of the benevolence of the king, amir al-muminin (Ar. ‘Commander of the Faithful’). Hilloulot have never fallen out of use. Even at times of crisis, they continued to be celebrated, even if that meant modifying the rules. As for the communities themselves, the celebration of the hilloula became the expression of a refusal ‘to die’. It must be stressed that economic imperatives also nour- ished this determination of community officials to keep it alive: profits from the hilloula became a substitute for taxes on wine, meat and other kosher products, a unique opportunity to increase communal funds. Since 1986, hilloulot have become institutionalised. Their organisation is largely the responsibility of the Council of the Jewish Communities of Morocco (CCJM). Local committees are responsible for matters such as safety and catering although, in some cases, it is the descendants of the saint who are in charge of ensuring that the event goes smoothly. The central rabbinate has set up a schedule that aims at extending the dura- tion of the pilgrimage to an eight-day circuit so that pilgrims can attend a maximum number of hilloulot. However, few pilgrims have shown interest in this, preferring instead to celebrate the hilloula of their own particular saint, counting on his baraka (Hb. ‘blessing’) to gain salvation both in this world and the hereafter. The oldest hilloula, and indeed the most prestigious thanks to its simplicity and popularity, is that of Rabbi Amran ben Diwan in Asjen, near Ouazzane. The hilloula of Rabbi David ben Barrouk in Ouled Berhil (Taroudant province) is gaining in importance and attracting growing numbers of pilgrims. The hilloulot of Rabbi Yahya Lakhdar (Ben Ahmed region, province of Settat) and the rabbi of Ouled Ben Zmirou (province of Safi) have also survived, each attracting thousands of pilgrims. In the north of the country, especially in Tetuan, we are witnessing the revival of Rabbi Itshak Ben Gualid’s hilloula, with three hundred people attend- ing in 2013. In Meknes, however, the hilloula is celebrated in a private apartment while in Fez the community club serves as a meeting place. The most popular hilloulot are the rural ones (Ar. beldi).3 They have a special flavour or smell as candles are burnt throughout thehilloula and are thought to increase the intensity of the prayer. The more candles

158 European Judaism • Vol. 52 • No. 2 • Autumn 2019 Hanane Sekkat • Jewish Tourism in Morocco are lit, the wider the doors of heaven will open. One prays for oneself, for loved ones, for the king, for peace and, in one’s inner self, for Israel. Everyone remembers at least one anecdote about some miracle that has been fulfilled. Demonstrating their fervent and sincere faith, men and women pray for the end of this or that person’s suffering, or pray for those who have become blind, deaf, mute, sterile, paraplegic, insane or possessed, hoping that when the pilgrims leave the saint that individual will be able to see, hear, speak, have children, be wise or exorcised. Some even claim to have personally witnessed such miracles. In its present form, the hilloula confirms the desire to identify with one’s ancestors. It is intended to reproduce, albeit in a crude way, the rituals and customs that highlighted the authenticity and rootedness of Jewish values. Except for a very observant minority, most pilgrims are not religious. Nevertheless, during the hilloula they return to a stricter observance of religious tradition. Communal joy stimulates the spiritual ego and brings out the Jew in them. The hilloula responds to the pilgrims’ yearning for the supernatural, providing a palliative for the pain caused by nostalgia. Hilloulot also serve an important function for those Jews still living in Morocco, symbolising their union with the wider Moroccan Jewish community outside Morocco. Needless to say, for the makhzen (Ar. ‘state’), it is the Moroccan Jewish diaspora that counts the most.

The baraka of the saint in the service of the state: indispensable Jewish support

The interest Morocco has shown in Jewish communities of Moroccan origin, and its quest to reconnect with those who are constantly considered its children and eternal subjects of his majesty, is justified by several imperatives. The most decisive of these is the political and diplomatic stalemate that has resulted from the deterioration of the situation in the Moroccan Sahara. The Sahara Affair, which the government has rightly used as a powerful tool to reinforce national cohesion and make the Alawite throne the only nationalist pole of attraction, has plunged the country into a difficult situation both economically and militarily. Forced into a defensive position and unable to count on the full support of Western powers, Moroccan diplomacy chose to push ahead its role as mediator between the Arabs and Israel. As a facilitator for peace talks (especially by mediating between Sadat’s Egypt and Israel, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and Jewish-Muslim dialogue), the Moroccan government has managed to win the favour of the Jewish lobby around the world. In doing so, it

European Judaism • Vol. 52 • No. 2 • Autumn 2019 159 Hanane Sekkat • Jewish Tourism in Morocco has in return benefited from the Jewish community’s support for the Sahara question. Morocco turns to Israel for political, diplomatic and military support, benefiting from the revival of Moroccan Jewry. Several clues suggest that Hassan II reflected and anticipated an action plan that could be called the good use of Moroccan Judaism. He has, for example, been able to count on close Jewish advisors active in international economy. Indeed, the Moroccan state, with its tradition of tujjar al-sultan (Ar. ‘merchants in the service of the sultan’), relies on these elites to disseminate the Jewish Moroccan heritage in the Moroccan Jewish diaspora in Europe, North and South America and Israel.4 The vast majority of these elites are executives working in multinational companies (André Azoulay), entrepreneurs (Robert Assaraf) or community representatives (David Amar and Serge Berdugo). It was thought, and rightly so, that these entrepreneurs would be able to build and sustain a positive image of Morocco. In short, because of their professional training, their communal involvement and their contacts, the prominent figures mentioned above have converted nostalgia into a commercial product. To do so, however, it was necessary to carry out a marketing operation on a global scale in order to sell the product: Morocco, country of tolerance and cohabitation. This move is based on several assumptions. In the first place, let us recall the return to the basic principle of Moroccan nationality: perpetual allegiance. Moroccan nationality is never lost. Whatever the reason for departure and whatever the destination, a Moroccan can still be considered a loyal subject of his or her sovereign. This means that any Israeli citizen of Moroccan origin can claim Moroccan nationality and visit as a tourist, or for any other purpose, at any time and will not be denied access to the country, even with an Israeli passport. There is another much more relevant factor: the heroic action of Sultan Mohammed ben Youssef (King Mohammed V) on behalf of his Jewish subjects during the Vichy period when the sultan vetoed anti-Se- mitic laws on the status of Jews and is thought to have said, perhaps apocryphally, ‘In Morocco there are no Jews, there are only Moroccans’. Not surprisingly, Mohammed V is held in high esteem in Jewish memory. Indeed, an immense literature has evolved reinforcing one of the found- ing myths of the Moroccan nation: tolerance is a Moroccan virtue and the Moroccan is by nature tolerant. Jews have lived in perfect harmony with the Muslim majority, have flourished and lived in peace. Like all myths, this is not devoid of truth. It is based on several historical events all of which refer to the action of a strong and just king, Mohammed V, who attached great importance to his Jewish subjects. It is this point that

160 European Judaism • Vol. 52 • No. 2 • Autumn 2019 Hanane Sekkat • Jewish Tourism in Morocco is systematically transformed, expanded, reinterpreted and invested with epic meaning. The charm offensive was launched as early as 1976. It began with a sentence pronounced by prime minister Ahmed Osmane. On a visit to the Jordanian capital, he stated that any Moroccan Jew residing abroad had the right to return to Morocco whenever he or she wanted, even without a valid Moroccan passport. The Moroccan press, both official and parti- san, immediately started to capitalise on the importance of the restoration of the honour of Morocco’s Jewish past and the Jewish contribution to Moroccan culture. In this way, Moroccans are rediscovering the Jewish contribution to their heritage. In order to give consistency to the Jewish option, the king engaged personally in the process, holding meetings with Israeli politicians and internationally renowned Jewish intellectuals. In 1976 he welcomed Itzhak Rabin, then Prime Minister of Israel, on his visit to Morocco. The following year he had talks with Nahum Goldman, president of the World Jewish Congress. The master stroke was undoubtedly the king’s meeting in Marrakech with Moshe Dayan, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Menahem Begin’s cabinet.5 There followed further meetings with Dayan in the presence of envoys of the late Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat. In so doing, the king sought to win over prominent Jewish figures and made a major concession to André Chouraqui (the deputy mayor of Jerusalem and a former official of the Alliance Israélite Universelle) by allowing Israelis to visit Morocco with Israeli passports.6 The result was a series of spectacular decisions. In May 1976, a delegation of American rabbis was invited to promote Jewish tourism in Morocco. Visits by Israeli dignitaries of Moroccan origin were also organised. The charm offensive needed an impressive public event that would emphasise a principle that no one could challenge: the promotion of a dialogue with the children of the country. Moroccan Jewish intellectuals created the Identity and Dialogue Association. At the end of 1978, under the patronage of the representative body of Moroccan Judaism, the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, and with the support of the American Jewish Committee and the French Unified Social Fund, an Identity and Dialogue Forum was organised in Paris. This was the first international conference on the history and cultural heritage of the Jews of Morocco. Several Moroccan Muslim intellectuals, including Ahmed Tawfik, the future Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, partici- pated as speakers. The opening ceremony was jointly inaugurated by the Moroccan ambassador and his Israeli counterpart.7 An even more spectacular decision was taken in June 1984 when an international conference was held in Casablanca. This was attended

European Judaism • Vol. 52 • No. 2 • Autumn 2019 161 Hanane Sekkat • Jewish Tourism in Morocco by fifty Israelis, including members of the Knesset and former Israeli ministers. Moroccan opposition leaders such as Abderahim Bouabid, Ahmed Bouceta and Ali Yaatawere attended the closing dinner, which was chaired by Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed. As a direct consequence of this event, Syria severed diplomatic ties with Morocco. During the summer of 1986, Hassan II struck a media coup. He sol- emnly received Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres in Ifrane for official discussion of a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The two men were seeking the conquest of the hearts of the Moroccan Jewish elector- ate, with Hassan II hoping to strengthen his status as a man of peace, a monarch protecting the Jews. He also wanted to put an end to the last vestige of resentment inherited from the time of clandestine Jewish emi- gration from Morocco when a makeshift boat, the Pisces, capsized in 1961 with the loss of many lives.8 At the end of 1992, the king ordered the Jewish emigrants’ remains, which had been buried in the El Housseima cemetery, to be returned to Israel on a special flight. In so doing, the king strengthened his prestige among Morocco’s Jewish population. When, towards the end of the same year, the king claimed that few countries had, like Morocco, more than 750,000 voluntary ambassadors, this was not mere rhetoric. He was referring to an additional source of support for Moroccan causes and, above all, to what he regarded as a natural extension of Moroccan identity. The previous year, the Rassemblement Mondial du Judaisme Marocain was created in Montreal to promote the country’s allegiance. Hassan II dearly wanted to host the meeting in Morocco. Its president was David Amar, a close friend of the king. Thanks to this rally, some ten committees were created all over the world, including Venezuela, Brazil and Europe. Together, they served as pressure struc- tures in favour of Morocco and contributed to financing development projects there. The opening of an Israeli diplomatic presence in the Moroccan capital, symbolising the normalisation of relations between Morocco and Israel, was enough to boost tourism from the Jewish state, and as a result many Israelis of Moroccan origin took the opportunity to return to the place of their birth and childhood. That momentum has continued to the present day. Israelis of Moroccan origin are still exempt from having to obtain a visa, and can freely enter and leave the country. It is inter- esting to note that these policies, targeting Moroccan Jewish communities outside Morocco, were intended to encourage the reformulation of Moroccan Jewish identity. The aim was to rebuild, rather than starting from scratch, and to impose new standards of excellence and norms of existence.

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Conclusion

Of all the Arab countries, the kingdom of Morocco is the only one to have succeeded in maintaining ongoing relations with its Jewish children, wherever they may have settled. Moroccan Jewish attachment to the supreme symbol of the nation (especially the Alawite throne) has grown. The leitmotif of this special relationship is Jewish loyalty to a common heritage dating back two thousand years that binds Jews and Muslims. Being Moroccan is indeed a source of pride cherished by the majority of Jews from Morocco. This pride is performed during public and private events. Speaking at the hilloula of Rabbi Haim Pinto, André Azoulay stressed ‘the exceptional influx of participants and the fervour of the prayers said for his majesty the king and the Moroccan people and for the prosperity of Morocco’, and explained why the hilloula symbolises ‘the moder- nity of the choices made by our country’. He added that in this global context, ‘our country sends to others this image which is that of a collec- tion of all our stories and the successful and serene synthesis of all our spiritualities’. This immense crowd chanting in Moroccan Arabic and praying for his majesty King Mohammed VI, doing so with the words and the authentic musical tempo of Moroccan Judaism, seems to me both remarkable and emblematic of the rich diversity of our society and our history.9

Hanane Sekkat teaches Modern Hebrew and the history of the Jews in Muslim lands at the University of Fez. She is author of Terrorism and Martyr (Zamane, 2001), and co-author with Emanuela-Trevisan Semi of Memory and Representations of Jews in Morocco: Absent Neighbours of Meknes (Publisud, 2011). She is involved in projects aimed at preserving Jewish memory and promoting Moroccan Jewish culture.

Notes

1. All translations are mine. 2. See Oren Kosansky, ‘Tourism, Charity and Profits: The Movement of Money in Moroccan Jewish Pilgrimage’, Cultural Anthropology 17, no. 3 (2002), 359–400. 3. Semakh Yom Tov David, ‘Le saint d’Ouezzan, Rabbi Amran Ben Diwan, et les saints juifs du Maroc’, Bulletin de l’Enseignement Public du Maroc, no. 160 (June 1938), 281–309. 4. Michel Abitbol, Les commerçants du roi: Tujjar al-sultan: une élite économique judéo-marocaine au XIXè siècle (Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, 1998); Daniel

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J. Schroeter, The Sultan’s Jew: Morocco and the Sephardi World (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002). 5. Moshe Dayan, Paix dans le désert (Paris: Fayard, 1981). 6. André Chouraqui, L’amour fort comme la mort: une autobiographie (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1990). 7. Identité et Dialogue, Juifs du Maroc: actes du clloque international sur la communautés juive marocaine: vie culturelle, histoire sociale et évolution, Paris 18–21 décembre 1978 (Paris: La Pensée Sauvage, 1980). 8. Robert Assaraf, Une certaine histoire des Juifs du Maroc: 1880–1999 (Paris: Jean- Claude Gawsewitch, 2005), 693–695. 9. ‘Moussem: La Hilloula du grand rabbin Haim Pinto témoigne de la modernité des choix faits par le Maroc’, Le Matin du Sahara (2 September 2013), 1.

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