It's Throne Day on Monday 30 July, and Lumen went along to the Maimonides Centre in Fez last night to attend the Jewish Community's celebration of this auspicious day.
Throne Day marks the accession of HRH King Mohammed VI to the throne in 1999. The Jewish community in Fez has a history of celebrating this occasion with a reception and dinner at the Maimonides Centre in Fez. The leafy patio of the club was set with tables and chairs, and an Andalous orchestra played while the Wali of Fes-Boulemane, the Mayor of Fez, the French Ambassador and various dignatories arrived. To start the proceedings, the Rabbi said a prayer in Hebrew praising His Majesty, which was followed by another in Arabic. Finally, the grandson of Dr Guigui, President of the Jewish Community, read a prayer in French.
A delicious buffet was served inside the club and it was a wonderful evening. There are currently around 200 Jewish people living in Fez, though they no longer live in the Mellah. Most Moroccan Jews left Fez either when Israel came into being or at independence in 1956. They have dispersed across the world - to Israel, France, Canada and some just as far as Casablanca where there's a much larger community than in Fez. What was poignantly sad about the evening was that there are now so few young people, and only five children were present.
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
3 comments:
Nice ;-)
Nobody else celebrates that day in Morocco?
Hello Tsedek. Yes, everyone in Morocco celebrates Throne Day and it's a public holiday with public buildings draped in flags. However, the Jewish community celebrated it early, on Thursday evening.
This sounds like a I really interesting event.
I am actually travelling with three friends to Morocco in a few weeks and will have shabbat on Friday 17th and 18th (2014).
Are there any members of the jewish community I can get in touch with about Jewish goings-on, a synagogue service, a meal etc. in Fes?
Many thanks!
Joel
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