Moroccan king surrenders his country to jews

[yankeedoodle]

Researchers discover ruins of 16th-century Jewish community in Morocco as king orders restoration of sites
https://www.jta.org/2022/01/02/global/researchers-discover-ruins-of-16th-century-jewish-community-in-morocco-as-king-orders-restoration-of-sites

(JTA) — Researchers from Israel, Morocco and France have discovered remnants of a small Jewish community in the mountains of Morocco, Haaretz reported Monday.

The ruins of the community's synagogue in the small village of Tamanart – located on the outskirts of the Sahara desert – were found while conducting a preliminary survey of Jewish sites in the area and after talking to locals who remembered their Jewish neighbors who left the area 70 years ago.

The researchers say Jews lived here from the 16th century until the early 19th century. They recovered scriptures, documents, and Kabbalist amulets from the synagogue's genizah, or hiding place for worn texts that are no longer usable.

Orit Ouaknine-Yekutieli, a researcher of modern Morocco at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, told Haaretz that the site's synagogue had been damaged by looters as well as by natural events like floods, but the researchers were able to salvage texts and transfer them to a secure location for further analysis.

The discovery comes weeks after King Mohammed VI of Morocco ordered the restoration of hundreds of Jewish sites across the kingdom, and a year after Israel and Morocco agreed to formal diplomatic relations. The restoration plan includes the site at Tamanart, as well as cemeteries and hundreds of synagogues.

Jews are believed to have first established communities in Morocco more than 2,000 years ago. In the mid-20th century, the Jewish population reached a peak of 250,000. It is estimated that only 2,000 Jews remain today.

[yankeedoodle]

For the first time in history: The Basketball Association has signed a partnership with an Arab state
https://www.israelhayom.co.il/sport/israeli-basketball/article/7263222

Last Thursday, a zoom call was held with the participation of the heads of the Basketball Association and the Moroccan Association, in which it was agreed to sign a cooperation agreement between the parties. This is the first time that the basketball association has agreed on cooperation with an Arab country and the agreement will be signed at a prestigious event, which will take place in Morocco this spring, and where a showcase game is also scheduled to take place.

The zoom conversation was attended by the union's chairman Amiram Halevi, CEO Yaakov Ben-Shoshan, former player Shimon Amsalem, who also serves as the union's Negev-Sal project and his parents are Moroccan, and the union's trade union coordinator Eran Atia, who is also of Moroccan descent. On the Moroccan side, the president of the association, Mustafa Orech, the secretary general, Tabouh Amjad, and the professional director, Mr. Abdu Kamal, attended. The conversation was led by Mrs. Leah Ben Shabbat, a Jew living in Morocco.

The agreement is supposed to include professional, social and educational ties, and the Moroccan president said that one of the goals of the Moroccans is to learn from the achievements of Israeli basketball. From the Israeli side, Dr. Itzik Ben Melech, who is in charge of international relations at the union, also participated in the conversation from Germany, and he is the one who will coordinate the visit to Morocco.

Amiram Halevi said in the conversation: "We are proud of the cooperation that has been forged between the parties. Sports in general, and basketball in particular, are a great way to bridge gaps and bring people together. We believe that this cooperation will help both parties."

The conversation, which was moving and cordial, ended with the two sides greeting each other in peace and Salam Aleichem and that we would soon meet face to face. The Moroccans said that they know the player Muhammad Abu Arisha well, the Israeli who currently plays in Morocco, a graduate of the association's academy and the youth teams, and that he will be invited to the signing ceremony.