THE HOLOCAUST AND THE UNITED NATIONS OUTREACH PROGRAMME

Holocaust Remembranceand Education in Morocco 101
The Sultan refused to differentiate amongst his loyal people and
he was offended to see that his authority was overtaken by the
French authorities.
The Sultan waited for the anniversary of his
coronation to publicly announce that he forbade
these measures against the Jews. On differentiate amongst
“The Sultan refused to
this occasion, the Sultan generally offered a his loyal people and
banquet attended by the French representatives
and eminent Moroccan personalities. that his authority was
he was offended to see
For the first time, the Sultan invited to the overtaken by the French
banquet representatives of the Jewish community
who were seated next to the French
authorities.”
officials. He declared to the French officials,
who were surprised by the presence of Jews at this meeting,
I absolutely do not agree with the new anti-Semitic laws and
I refuse to associate myself with a measure I disagree with;
I reiterate as I did in the past that the Jews are under my protection
and I reject any distinction that should be made amongst
my people. 6
It was only on 8 November 1942, with the landing of the American
troops in Morocco and Algeria during “Operation Torch”, that action
to end this discrimination could be taken.
Holocaust Education in Morocco
There are people all around the world in every country that claim
the Holocaust never took place. While Morocco is one of the countries
where there were particularly good relations between Jews
and Muslims, Holocaust denial has made its way to the young generation
of Moroccans, largely due to the lack of Holocaust education
in schools and politics in the Middle East. Holocaust education
is not mandatory in the schools in Morocco and it is hard to find
Holocaust publications, such as The Diary of Anne Frank published
in French and nearly impossible to find it in Arabic. This is why