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The descendants of Jewish families who were killed in 1948 in Jerada and Oujda are set to ask the state to recognize those killed in the events as victims of «terrorism». According to Israel Hayom , the descendants of these Moroccan Jews are «on the verge» of submitting a petition about the subject to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
The majority of the descendants of the victims, who currently reside in Jerusalem, hope «to establish a monument for the dead where they can hold a memorial ceremony each year», wrote the newspaper. To authorize the construction of such a monument, the signatories think that «the Ministry of Defense must recognize these riots as a terrorist event».
There are currently «hundreds of descendants», who have already signed a petition. This will then be sent to the Israeli government in the coming days.
Abraham Cohen, the descendant of a family that lost 17 members in the events, said such a move «correct a historic injustice that cries out to heaven». «The massacre there was a terrorist attack. Forty-one people were murdered just because of their efforts to bring Jews to the Land of Israel, and it is no coincidence that this happened so soon after the State's establishment», Cohen said, affirming that «these people who were murdered and their actions deserve to be remembered».
For this Israeli, families are not asking for «special budgets or pensions». «We only ask that someone care enough about their commemoration», he said. «We ask that they include this in the curriculum so that today's generation will learn about the riots», he added.
A catalyst event for the emigration of Jews to Israel
On June 7 and 8, 1948, Oujda, the capital of the Oriental and the city of Jerada witnessed bloody events during which more than forty Moroccan Jews were murdered. The events which coincided with a wave of protests in various Arab countries following the recognition, by the United Nations, of Israel as a State on Palestinian lands.
These events were preceded by a speech by King Mohammed V, then Sultan Mohammed Ben Youssef, warning against any form of solidarity with the state but recalling that the Jews were protected as Moroccan citizens. The proclamation of the state of Israel, however, created a sense of indignity among Moroccans and hatred against Jews among others, who had attacked members of the Moroccan Jewish community during the protests.
In Oujda, five people were killed and 15 others were injured while in Jerada, 37 Jews were murdered, including the community rabbi Moshe Cohen, and 29 were injured.
In the aftermath of this tragedy, the emigration of Moroccans of Jewish faith to Israel had increased. In 1949, one year after these events, approximately 18,000 Moroccans of Jewish faith had definitively left the Kingdom.
Even though King Mohammed V had banned the emigration of Jews, granting them rights and asserting that they fully enjoy their Moroccan citizenship, after the independence of Morocco, the emigration of Jews continued, especially after his death.
