Thursday, October 29, 2015

Moroccan Group Petitions Ministers To Stop Public Incitement To Murder Jews - MEMRI



by MEMRI

While it is the absolute right of every citizen to publicly express his support for a cause he considers fair, it is illegal to call to murder people [just] because of their religious affiliation.
At a mass rally held in Casablanca, Morocco on October 25 in support of the Palestinian Intifada, children wearing shrouds spattered in red chanted slogans such as: "We will sacrifice our soul and our blood for you, Al-Aqsa" and "Millions of martyrs march to Jerusalem." The demonstration included men dressed as  stereotypical Orthodox Jews being led, handcuffed, at gunpoint.[1] 



The next day, a group of Muslim and Jewish Moroccan activists calling itself "Moroccan Citizens against Incitement to Murder the Jews of Morocco" posted, on Change.org , a petition which, while recognizing the right of Moroccans to publicly support various causes, deplored the "murderous antisemitic" displays in the demonstration, warning that they constitute incitement that threatens the safety of Morocco's Jews and Jewish-Muslim coexistence in the country. The petition, which is in French and has so far been signed by 4,900 people, called on the Moroccan ministers of justice and the interior to identify those involved in the incitement and bring them to justice. 

The following are translated excerpts from the petition: [2] 

"To the Moroccan Minister of Justice and Minister of the Interior,

"We, a group of Jewish and Muslim Moroccan citizens, wish through this petition to bring to your attention the very disturbing excesses that marred the demonstration in support of Palestine held yesterday in Casablanca... As part of this march, which described itself as a march of solidarity with the Palestinian people, organizers staged displays that explicitly called for the murder of Jews. For example, [demonstrators] dressed as masked Palestinian rioters pointed guns at the backs of men dressed up as religious Jews. Photos circulating on social networks also show children holding plastic weapons or trampling the Star of David, the symbol of Judaism. 

"While it is the absolute right of every citizen to publicly express his support for a cause he considers fair, it is illegal to call to murder people [just] because of their religious affiliation. These morbid theatrics, orchestrated by unknown parties and reminiscent of displays orchestrated by the worst of terrorist groups, have sown fear and a sense of degradation in the Moroccan-Jewish community in Morocco [itself] and around the world, and also among many Muslim Moroccans. These blatant and murderous antisemitic excesses pose significant danger to the security of Jewish Moroccan citizens and to coexistence in our country. They also go against the pluralistic and tolerant values advocated by the supreme law of the [Moroccan] Kingdom, which, as should be recalled, recognize the 2000-years-long Jewish influence as an undeniable component of Moroccan identity. These deplorable excesses are also contrary to the royal directives calling for the preservation of Jewish-Muslim coexistence in Morocco, a unique model [of coexistence] in the Muslim world.

"Therefore, we, a group of Moroccan Jewish and Muslim citizens, call upon you to take the necessary steps to identify the perpetrators and those involved in these excesses and to bring them to justice. The future and the social peace of our dear country are at stake.

"Signed, 
"The Group of Moroccans Citizens against Incitement to Murder Jews in Morocco
General Coordinator: Mouna Izddine."[3] 


Endnotes:


MEMRI

Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/8823.htm

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