The council of Jewish communities in Morocco has addressed a message of condolences to Mahmud Abbas, President of the Executive Committee of the PLO and temporary successor of Yasser Arafat.
The community wrote that they feel genuine sorrow for the departure of Yasser Arafat "who strove to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital." They noted how Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
The community also expressed its hope that hatred in the region will cease and that Israelis and Palestinians can recreate the fraternity of Abraham.
The community said it is willing to do all in its power to help in the pursuit of peace. Morocco has a small Jewish community of about 3,000 who are allowed to maintain contacts with relatives in Israel. Before most of the 2000-year old community immigrated to Israel in the 1950s and 1960s, it numbered just under 300,000. (albawaba.com)
