Tag: Moroccan Israelis

Moroccan-Israeli stabbed to death in Tangiers

bataween | Posted on 26 August 2021 | No Comments |

Update: Times of Israel says that the victim was giving food to a homeless person when he was stabbed. The authorities say the assassin’s motive is ‘ not clear’.

A Moroccan-Israeli was stabbed to death in the city of Tangiers on 25 August 2021. Marco Rebibo, 54, had decided to leave Israel and re-settle in Morocco where he opened a kosher restaurant.

Marco Rebibo: moved to Morocco from Israel

The stabbing took place at Rebibo’s restaurant, the Cercle de l’Alliance, in Tangiers. According to Dernières infos d’Algerie the 36-year-old assassin was sporting a Palestinian flag. He was arrested by the Moroccan security forces, and an inquiry into the murder opened.

An ambulance arriving at the scene of the murder

The incident comes as an embarrassment to Morocco, which has recently signed the Abraham Accords with Israel. It shows that normalisation with Israel is a matter of controversy. The Moroccan press has not specified the victim’s Israeli nationality, stating only that he was Jewish. According to the Algerian medium DIA, the murder has created a climate of fear among Jewish hotel and restaurant owners. The police has reinforced security around Jewish sites.

Read article in full (French)

Israeli novel to be marketed in Morocco for first time

bataween | Posted on 2 August 2021 | No Comments |

It is not the first time that Israeli novels in Arabic translation have been made available in Arab countries: Pictures on the Wall, by Tsionit Fattal Kuperwasser, was published in Arabic in 2017 and sold in Iraq. But Blue Shirt Girl by Gabriel Ben Simon is the first Israeli novel to be translated into Moroccan-Arabic (under the name El Mughrebi el Akhir – the last Maghrebian) and marketed in the country. Soly Anidjar reports (with thanks: Michelle):

The jacket of the Moroccan version of the book

A new wind blows over the publishing world with, for the first time, the translation into Moroccan-Arabic of an Israeli novel, which will also be commercialized in Morocco.

Blue Shirt Girl is a love story between an immigrant boy from Morocco and a Sabra (an Israeli born in Israel), who herself is in love with a Holocaust survivor, in the context of the early years of Israel and the great aliyah from Morocco.

Written by Professor Gabriel Ben Simon, and published in 2013 by Yedioth Books, this novel was translated into Arabic and will soon be commercialized in Morocco. Tel Aviv University, where this academic teaches, announced.

The novel was selected for translation into Arabic by Professor Mohammed Elmedlaoui of Rabat Mohammed V University. Mohammed Elmedlaoui ′′ has been following and studying Ben Simon’s work in literature and theatre for many years “, says Tel Aviv University. Gabriel Ben Simon’s novel was therefore translated by a Moroccan university student, Dr. Ayashi Eladraoui.

′′ This is the first time an Israeli novel has been translated into Arabic in Morocco, ” the university claims. The author was quoted as saying: ′′ I had the feeling of having achieved a dream because, as a a Moroccan Jew from Sefrou, the fact that my works are read in my hometown of Sefrou would give me great pride “.

The novelist, who is also a professor at the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University, said that during his university career he ‘ had done much studying of Moroccan culture, which ‘has always had a special place in his heart “, for its characteristic wealth and diversity.

As fortune never comes singly, Gabriel Ben Simon also announced that his play A Moroccan King, produced by Habima National Theatre in Tel Aviv, winner of the Lieber Prize for Classic Jewish Theatre in Tel Aviv, is also scheduled to be staged at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat.

′′ I hope that following the peace agreements, other Israeli writers will soon see their novels translated into Moroccan, ” Gabriel Ben Simon hoped.

Five Israeli women ministers have Moroccan or Iraqi roots

bataween | Posted on 29 June 2021 | No Comments |

The new Israeli cabinet under the leadership of Naftali Bennett has nine women ministers, two with Iraqi roots, two with Moroccan roots, and one with mixed Iraqi-Moroccan roots.

*The four ministers with Moroccan roots (Photo: Moroccan World News): Meir Cohen, Karine Elharrar-Hartstein, Yifat Shasha-Biton, Meirav Cohen*

*Three with Iraqi roots: Yifat Shasha-Biton becomes Minister of Education; Ayelet Shaked, Minister of the Interior and Major-General (reserve) Orna Barbival, Economics Minister. (Photo: RT)*

Morocco World News reports:

Meir Cohen has taken up the post of Israel’s new Minister of Labor, Welfare, Social Affairs and Social Services. Cohen was born in the Moroccan coastal town of Essaouira in 1955, migrating to Israel with his family when he was seven years old. The minister started a career in politics by successfully running for mayor of Dimona in 2003. Since then he has worked with several parties, most notably Yesh Atid, a centrist party under which he served as Minister of Welfare & Social Services between 20134 and 2014.

Yifat Shasha-Biton, born to a Moroccan-Jewish mother and Iraqi father in 1973, will now be heading the Ministry of Education. Shasha-Biton received her doctorate in education in 2002, from the University of Haifa. She previously served as Minister of Construction and Housing under the Likud party between 2019 and 2020.

Meirav Cohen, for her part, will continue working as the Minister of Social Equality, a post she’s held since 2020. Continuing her post, she has changed the party under which she works, migrating from the Blue and White party to Yesh Atid. Cohen was born in Jerusalem to two Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Morocco.

Karine Elharrar-Hartstein, an Israeli lawyer and a politician, has taken up the post of Minister of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources. Elharrar was born in 1977 to Moti and Colette Elharrar, two Moroccan Jewish immigrants. She currently serves under the Yesh Atid party.

The new Israeli government, headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, is keen to further enhance the relationship between Tel Aviv and Rabat. “Israel views Morocco as an important friend and partner in the efforts to advance peace and security in the region,” Bennett said.

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Fashion world mourns passing of Alber Elbaz, 59

bataween | Posted on 2 May 2021 | No Comments |

One of the fashion industry’s leading designers, Alber Elbaz, has died of COVID-19. Elbaz was born in Casablanca and immigrated with his family to Holon in Israel when he was eight months old. Aged seven he was already sketching dresses. His mother encouraged him and sent him off to New York to become a professional designer with $800 in his pocket.

Albert Elbaz: ebullient

The fashion world reeled with shock and grief to learn that Alber Elbaz, the designer best known for his spectacular rejuvenation of Lanvin from 2001 to 2015, had died at a Paris hospital. He was 59.

His death on Saturday, due to COVID-19, was confirmed by Compagnie Financière Richemont, his joint venture partner in AZ Factory, his latest fashion venture.

He was among the leading fashion figures who have died of COVID-19, who include Kenzo Takada and Sergio Rossi.

An ebullient character prized for his couture-like craft, Elbaz took a five-year hiatus after being ousted from Lanvin and just launched AZ Factory, hinged on solutions-driven fashions, entertainment and tech.

While his name was not on the label, the start-up was steeped in Elbaz’s personality, humor, and his inimitable flair for soigné fashions.

“I have lost not only a colleague but a beloved friend,” Richemont founder and chairman Johann Rupert said in a statement, expressing his shock and sadness at Elbaz’s sudden passing.

“

Alber had a richly deserved reputation as one of the industry’s brightest and most beloved figures. I was always taken by his intelligence, sensitivity, generosity and unbridled creativity,” Rupert said.

“He was a man of exceptional warmth and talent, and his singular vision, sense of beauty and empathy leave an indelible impression.

Read article in full

Funeral of a legend in Holon

Moroccan Israelis demand Oujda massacre be recognised

bataween | Posted on 13 April 2021 | No Comments |

Descendants of families murdered in the 1948 riots in the northeastern Moroccan towns of Oujda and Jerada are set to ask the Israeli government to recognize those killed in the events as victims of terror. JNS News reports:

Jewish cemetery at Oujda

Abraham Cohen, a descendant of a family that lost 17 members to the attacks, said such a move would “correct a historic injustice that cries out to heaven.”

Four Jews were killed when the riots broke out in Oujda on June 7, three weeks after Israel declared independence. They then spread to the adjacent city of Jerada.

Rioting there took the lives of 37 Jews, among them community Rabbi Moshe Cohen. Women and young children were among those killed. Dozens were wounded.

Jewish stores were looted and homes were destroyed as Muslim women encouraged the acts, according to survivors’ testimony.

The riots were in response to the founding of the Jewish state and the underground activities of Moroccan Jews smuggling community members to the border with Algeria.

Located just two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Algerian border, Ojeda was a base for smuggling Jews. In what was an open secret at the time, members of the underground would hide and smuggle Jews, raise funds and falsify identification cards, angering Muslim locals who felt a sense of solidarity with the Arab population in Palestine.