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Morocco’s Jewish community to hold first democratic elections in five decades

King Mohammed VI instructed the Minister of the Interior to supervise elections for the positions, which have been unfulfilled since 1969, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.

Zaouit el Bir Dades Jewish Cemetery, Ouarzazate Province, Morocco. Credit: Joaoleitao/Wikimedia Commons.
Zaouit el Bir Dades Jewish Cemetery, Ouarzazate Province, Morocco. Credit: Joaoleitao/Wikimedia Commons.

Morocco’s Jewish community will hold its first elections in half a century to select its communal representatives.

King Mohammed VI instructed the Minister of the Interior to supervise elections for the positions, which have been unfulfilled since 1969, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry on Friday.

The ruler also called for the elections to occur periodically in accordance with the provisions of Dahir of May 7, 1945, a royal decree about “the reorganization of the Jewish communities,” reported Asharq Al-Awsat.

About 2,500 Jews currently reside in Morocco, which once boasted a community of 270,000 Jews, most of whom fled after Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.

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