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Israeli media reported on Tuesday that two family members of the leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Amir Peretz, died in Morocco after contracting the coronavirus.
In fact, Casablanca businessman and philanthropist Ari Peretz, 58, and his mother Simone Peretz, 75, died in a hospital in Casablanca, after being infected with the coronavirus. They have reportedly attended a wedding ceremony held earlier in March in Agadir.
On Israeli television i24news, Amir Peretz said he called «Dr. Yael Habib, who in turn called a hospital in Casablanca to check on his family members». «He told me that Ari was receiving the best treatment, but that he was in a critical condition», he added. Peretz said that an adviser to King Mohammed VI «called him to offer him condolences and share [his] sorrow».
For his part, the president of the Council of the Jewish community in Morocco (CCIM), Serge Berdugo, quoted by i24news recalled having «ordered free tests for all members of the community and demanded that they do not leave their homes». «It was a happy event that ended in a great tragedy. They were among the pillars of the Jewish community», he said.
The CCIM had previously published a statement in which it announced the creation of a crisis cell, made up of Moroccan Jewish doctors and volunteers, to provide the necessary assistance in full coordination with the Moroccan authorities.
It should be noted that Amir Peretz, born March 9, 1952, is from the city of Bejaâd. His family immigrated to Israel after Morocco gained independence in 1956. He is fluent in Arabic and Moroccan, in addition to French and Hebrew.
Peretz is also the first Jew of North African descent to lead the Labor Party, which has ruled Israel since 1948 until the Likud took power in 1977.
