Now it's Morocco's turn to destroy its Jewish heritage

First fundamentalists wish to turn the shrine of the Jewish prophet Ezekiel into a mosque. Now Morocco is being accused of destroying its Jewish heritage: One night during Passover, one of Morocco's oldest urban landmarks, the Jewish Benchimol hospital in Tangiers, was summarily demolished, without the knowledge and consent of the local Jewish community.

Jews of Moroccan origin worldwide are in shock, as are not a few non-Jewish Moroccans who care about their heritage. All are appalled at this official act of vandalism.

Moreover, people are upset at the underhand way it was done. Security guards on site had their mobile phones snatched away. Why did the demolition squads move in at one o'clock in the morning in the middle of the festival of Passover? The Moroccan newspaper Liberation, lamenting the destruction of Morocco's heritage, blames not just the local municipality for this act of historic vandalism, but accuses the local Jewish community for 'selling' the pre-colonial, 110-year-old hospital in order to raise money for its poor. But the deed was done while members of the tiny Jewish community were away.

"It is not just that this was a Jewish building which upsets me," says historian Ralph Toledano. "All destruction of historic heritage is an irredeemable loss. A heritage cannot be reconstituted." He had heard rumours that the local authorities had been wanting to demolish the building for some time. It is clear, however, that proper procedure was not followed. It appears that the governor of Tangiers, the wali, wanted to turn the site into a public park giving an unobstructed view of the adjoining ancient palace of Sultan Moulay Hafid.

"One must never despise rumours, they often become fact," Mr Toledano says. Rumour has it that the municipality has next set its sights on the Jewish cemetery of Dar el San’a, on rue du Portugal, opposite Bab America. The cemetery was an 18th century concession negotiated between the Sherifian king's representative and the Jewish community on the site of an old Portuguese fort.

The site measures more than a hectare, and commands a beautiful view over the straits. Mr Toledano is horrified at the thought that a site where venerable rabbis and community dignitaries are buried might be bulldozed. Moroccan officials have denied that the cemetery is under threat.

The example of the Benchimol hospital points to the vulnerability of sites of Jewish interest throughout the Arab world, where, with 99 percent of Jewish communities almost extinct, too few Jews remain on the ground to have any influence on the authorities. With the expansion of Arab cities hundreds of synagogues and scores of cemeteries are now prime property, eagerly coveted by developers.

The solution must lie in a greater role for UNESCO, as well putting unrelenting pressure on the local authorities to be more sensitive to the preservation of what is also their historic heritage.

Sign the petition to save Ezekiel's shrine here:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveezekielstomb/