Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
March 8, 2008

Moroccan women have achieved a lot, more needs to be done, Minister.
Rabat, Mar. 8

Women in Morocco have achieved many objectives in the endeavor to improve their situation, but a lot more is still needed, especially in terms of economic and social rights. The remarks were made by Minister of Social Minister, Family and Solidarity, Nouzha Skalli, at a seminar held Friday on the occasion of the International Women's Day (March 8).

Women in the north African country have realized a number of achievements she said, citing mainly the new family code that gives more rights to women, and the new nationality code, which grants children of a Moroccan woman their mother's nationality. Ms. Skalli noted, however, that promoting women's economic and social rights require more time and an efficient presence of women in decision-making positions. Speaking on the occasion, Labour Minister, Jamal Rhmani underlined the importance of including the gender at all the levels of planning and launching programs relating to labor and vocational training.

In an interview published in the Friday issue of the French-language weekly, La Nouvelle Tribune, Ms. Skalli recalled that Morocco counts seven women ministers and 34 MPs. She pleaded for setting a quota – like that established in the House of Representatives – to enable women to participate in the government of communes. They only comprise today 0.56% of commune representatives, and 0.2% of commune presidents. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box5/moroccan_women_have/view
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Family Code either ignored or misunderstood, survey.
Fez, Mar. 6

The Family Code provisions, which were amended in 2004, are either ignored or misunderstood, according to a survey commissioned by the Fez-based Center for People's Rights (French acronym CDG). Ahead of International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8, CDG on Thursday released the survey on "the perception of the Family code", which reveals that Moroccans' gaps are particularly related to divorce and the division of property acquired during marriage.

The survey, conducted in partnership with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and polling 10,000 respondents from all Moroccan regions, shows that most of the respondents are poorly informed about the provisions of the code and derive their information from their family circle, which is rather misinformed. Women, themselves, ignore their rights under the Family code, mainly those related to child custody, alimony, paternity, polygamy and divorce, the survey highlights. The survey also shows that nearly 52% of Moroccans believe that the Family code protects the unity of the family in the first place, while 30% of the respondents agreed that this code protects firstly women's rights. For some respondents, the Family code, which is meant to enhance the living conditions of women and children, comes up against complex and cumbersome proceedings.

Founded in 1999 by a group of human rights activists in the region of Fez, the Center for People's Rights aims to create a national network for the defense and education to human rights.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_social/family_code_either_i/view
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Morocco, ADFD sign agreements to fund social projects north.
Abu Dhabi,Mar. 4

Morocco and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) inked Tuesday two agreements, amounting to USD 4Mn, to build a school and a road station in the northern city of Assilah. The agreements provide for supporting the education sector in the region and building parking areas for buses as well as other facilities. Created in 1971, the ADFD is a public autonomous institution supervised by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Its contribution to development amounts to a total of USD 4.49Bn, covering 223 projects in 55 countries.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_social/morocco_adfd_sign_a/view
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Cardiovascular diseases behind 30% of deaths in Morocco, expert.
Casablanca, Mar. 3

Cardiovascular diseases are the cause of 30% of deaths in the world, and this percentage applies to Morocco too, Ahmed Bennis, head of the hearth disease ward in Casablanca Ibn Rochd Hospital said on Saturday. This illness represents an epidemiological challenge and a major problem of public health in the north African country, Professor Bennis said at the first International Cardiology Day held in the hospital on Saturday.

Although the disease strikes men more than women, the repercussions of a heart fit are more dangerous for a woman than for a man, the expert told MAP. There's an increasing number of patients having factors of a cardiovascular risk in Morocco, he regretted. These include 33% suffering hypertonia, 29% with high cholesterol levels, over 13% having obesity, and around 7% diabetics.

Professor Bennis stressed the importance of prevention (sports, fighting overweight…) to spare patients the need to go to hospitals since 10,000 surgeries cannot be operated today because of difficulties to access healthcare, and costly surgeries. The number of cardiologists is also below what is needed, he said, and even those available are concentrated in the Rabat-Casablanca region.

In order to face this situation, the Professor calls for decentralizing health services, a plead that goes hand in glove with a recently devised, five year strategy that was announced by Health Minister, Yasmina Baddou, and which will, down the road, ensure equity in offering healthcare services between the different regions of the country, and facilitate access to healthcare for the poor and the rurals.

The conference was attended by national and international experts coming from France, Belgium and Switzerland who discussed also the surgery of neonatal cardiac anomalies, and new technologies in congenital surgery.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box4/cardiovascular_disea/view
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Health sector difficulties in Morocco due to management shortcomings, Minister.
Rabat, March.03

Health sector difficulties in Morocco are ascribed to shortcomings in terms of management rather than the volume of funds allocated to this sector, minister of health, Yasmina Baddou, said on Monday. Speaking in an interview with the Moroccan daily "Al Ahdat Al Maghribia", Mrs. Baddou affirmed that this problem has nothing to do with her department's budget which, according to the minister, is not low (USD1Bn) as it stands at the 4th position following that of the ministries of defense, interior and national education.

After recalling the efforts undertaken by the Health ministry in recent years (the construction and equipment of new hospitals, rehabilitation of existing ones and adoption of programs to combat diseases), the minister highlighted the difficulties facing Moroccan citizen especially in terms of services, medical care, and pharmaceutical management. Mrs. Baddou also went over the difficulty experienced by the poor population especially in rural areas to have access to health care services, and the inequitable distribution of these services, adding that the heath sector faces other difficulties, including corruption, absenteeism, and the lack in human resources. She recalled, in this regard, that her department has adopted a 2008-2012 strategy, which aims to ensure equity in the provision of care between regions and between urban and rural areas, and to facilitate care access to poor people, particularly in rural areas.

The strategy also aims at reducing maternal mortality rate to 50 deaths per 100,000 and infant mortality rate to 15 deaths per 1,000 by 2012, and having a performing competitive public health service.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/health_sector_diffic/view
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Tourism sector propels economic success in Morocco, publication.
London, March 2.

Morocco's tourism strategy, dubbed Vision 2010, devised with the aim of boosting national tourism, begins to yield its fruits, notably in infrastructure improvements, British online publication "Easier.com" wrote, stressing that "the future is looking brighter than ever in Morocco." The Vision 2010, which aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2010, provides for creating 160,000 beds, thus bringing the national capacity to 230,000 beds. It also aims at creating some 600,000 new jobs.

Investors, who chose luxury property in the six Resort developments, are buying into a rock-solid and fast-growing tourist market, the publication said, noting that the north African country welcomes tourists who seek that unmistakable Arabic culture, along with outstanding natural beauty where they can enjoy a wide variety of attractions and activities. Recalling that Morocco has attracted outstanding investors since the 1970s such as Malcolm Forbes, founder of the well-known Fortune magazine, the publication underlines that the north African country is seeing, today, unprecedented growth, in terms of both its infrastructure and visitor numbers, with tourism demand increasing by 6% in 2006, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The World Travel and Tourism Council predicts an annual growth, in real terms, of 4% in the country’s tourism between 2008 and 2017, and concurs that Morocco’s market share of worldwide travel and tourism will continue to increase, the publication said. The source notes that tourists from the United Kingdom were up 29% in 2007 compared with 2006, totaling 418,606 visitors to the country. It pointed out that much of Morocco’s strong performance in recent times has been attributed to increased foreign investment. The country has been particularly successful at attracting FDI from Gulf countries, mainly the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

According to UNWTO, the publication reports, a number of mega projects, part of the Vision 2010, are due to come into fruition within the next 5 years. “Morocco is (…) a unique location for property investors and offers the opportunity to purchase property early in an emerging market at very favorable prices,” Sara Romero, product analyst at the British company propertyshowrooms.com, said, adding that “what is unique about the market for property in Morocco is the sense of security for investors.”

According to Moroccan Tourism and Craft Industry Ministry, around 7.45 million tourists visited Morocco in 2007, which represents a 13% rise from the year 2006
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_economy/tourism_sector_prope/view
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Moroccan researcher wins Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
Abu Dhabi, Feb.25

Moroccan researcher, Mohamed Saâdi, on Saturday won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the category of young authors. The Moroccan PhD holder was announced winner of the prize for his book "Future of International Relations in the light of Civilzations' Clash," which is, according to the Award's Secretary-General, Rachid Saleh Al Oraimi, a remarkable contribution to Arab Politics and Philosophy.

The translation award went to Jordanian Faiz Al Sayagh, while the arts award went to Iraqi architect, Rafa Al Jaderji, and publication and distribution award went to the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. The Libyan novelist Ebrahim Al Kowni won the literature award, while Huda Al Shawa, a Kuwaiti, won the child literature award. In all, 512 candidates from 30 Arab countries contended for the second edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards. The winners will be honored during the next session of Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, billed for March11 through 16.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/last_culture/moroccan_researcher/view
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Two Moroccan authors win Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity.
Sharjah, Feb. 18

Moroccan authors Hassan Bakour and Zakaria abou Maria won the second Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in the short story and novel categories. Hassan Bakour was awarded for a collection of short stories "Rajoul Al Karassi" (The Chairs Man) while Zakaria abou Maria won the prize for his novel "Jelfar".

In the short story category, the first prize went to Iraqi writer Samarkand Hamoud Jaber for his short story "doubban saghiran" (Two Small Bears), while the third prize went to Syrian Raya Mohamed Abdelai and Egyptian Mouna Ahmed Shimi. As for the Novel category, Syrian writer Hanadi Omar Shanar received the first prize for "Basaïr Moutaqatea" (C ِ ross Perspectives), while the third prize went to Egyptian writer Abdelmoumen Abdelali.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/two_moroccan_authors/view
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Morocco plans to cut health-care costs.
02-03-2008

The Moroccan government has drafted a five-year health plan aimed at cutting the citizens' share of the health-care costs to 25% by 2015. Mother mortality will be slashed to 50 per 100,000, and child mortality to 15 per one thousand by 2012, according to the 2008-2012 strategy presented recently by health Minister, Yasmina Baddou at a colloquium called "Together for the Right to Health".

According to MAP, Ms. Baddou conveyed the strategy would, down the road, ensure equity in offering healthcare services between the various regions of the kingdom, and facilitate access to healthcare for the poor and the rural areas. The government wishes through this move to restore the confidence of the Moroccans in the health system through boosting the accommodation capacity, providing information, emergency, cleanness and improving the availability of medicines, as well as cutting healthcare and medicine costs. The strategy, according to her, is based on three main axes, namely repositioning the various actors in the field by striking partnerships; providing quantitatively and qualitatively sufficient services; and introducing medium and long-term strategic planning.
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Minister identifies four priorities to boost tourism in Morocco.
Berlin, Mar. 8

Training, improving the quality of the tourist product, achieving the projects launched part of the Vision 2010, and developing tourism professions are four aspects that need to be set as priorities in order to boost tourism in Morocco, Tourism Minister said here. Mohamed Boussaid, who is taking part in the 42nd International Tourism Bourse (ITB) held in Berlin on March 5-9, said these priorities hinge primarily upon the achievement of the projects launched part of the ambitious Vision 2010 strategy, through which Morocco aims to attract ten million tourists by 2010.

The requisites include also developing aerial tourism, and marketing and promoting the tourism products, the minister said, noting that reaching these goals needs "more efforts." He stressed that training is a "challenge" for Morocco, since the country has included providing a high quality product in its plan to develop tourism. Quality, as a priority, is linked to the tourist environment, he said, hence the need to protect the environment in order to develop what he called “responsible tourism” and improve the accommodation conditions.

As to developing tourism professions, Mr. Boussaid pleaded for revisiting the legal framework governing the professions of tourist guides, transport providers, and travel agencies. The minister deplored the lack of interest among Germans in the Moroccan product, especially that Germany has tremendous capacities as one of the world’s biggest tourist emitting countries. Morocco’s representation in the ITB includes over 100 professionals from the different regional tourist councils, and a large number of hotel and TO managers.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box2/minister_identifies/view
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King launches several social projects in Fez.
Fez, Mar.9

King Mohammed VI launched on Saturday several social projects in the central city of Fez, part of the large-scale anti- poverty program, "National Initiative for Human Development" (INDH). The king launched the construction works of several citizens' houses worth some USD 930,000.

The sovereign also received explanations on projects to combat precariousness and social exclusion in urban areas. The USD 12Mn projects, which will benefit some 302,000 people, provide for, among other things, the construction of training and youth integration centres, a qualification centre for rural women, a center for abandoned children, child protection centres, and the reinforcement of the economic capacities of craftsmen.

On the same occasion, the monarch inaugurated a neighbourhood house and a training centre for children and youth in difficult situation, with a total cost of USD 500,000. Built over an area of 160 square meters, the project of neighbourhood house aims at improving social benefits, reinforcing and upgrading the city’s infrastructures, promoting income-generating activities, and fighting school dropout. With a hosting capacity of 100 people, the training centre for children and youth in difficult situation seeks to ensure family, economic and social integration of children and youth to combat the phenomenon of street children. It is built on a 400 square meters area.
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Morocco’s Tetouan town revisited: Contrary to media claims, Moroccans aspire for peace, prosperity in northern town of Tetouan.
By Stephen Coulthart - NEW JERSEY

I was eating breakfast one morning when my father slapped down the New York Times Magazine in front of me. “You might want to check out this article. I believe this is the town you will be studying Arabic in,” he said, pointing to an article that chronicled the visit of a Times reporter to Tetouan, Morocco where she investigated six youth: five of whom went to Iraq under the pretext of holy war and another who was involved in the 2006 Madrid train bombings. Tetouan, which means “eyes” in the local Berber language, is a modest town of over 300,000 people in northern Morocco. It is nestled between two mountains, which, if climbed on a clear day, reveal a commanding view of Mediterranean waters.

One month after the article was published, I was walking on the sprawling streets of the old city where pirated DVDs of the latest Western movies and traditional Moroccan sheepskins are sold side-by-side. Traditionally, Tetouan has been at the crossroads of European and Arab culture, a fact that makes the area culturally rich but has occasionally also resulted in tension. Many Moroccans watch as European neighbours, like those in Spain, attain higher standards of living while they continue to lag behind.

Militant religious leaders have tapped into the frustrated sentiments of youth who are trapped between a conservative society and the secular lifestyle seeping into their country.

During my stay, I was invited to dinner at a friend’s house. Over dinner, his mother asked me why I was in Morocco. I replied that as a student of international relations, I wanted to learn Arabic. “Americans come here and learn about us,” she replied, “but then they bomb the Middle East.” I was quick to refute the claim and we continued with dinner as if nothing controversial had been uttered. Though Moroccans are famous for their hospitality toward Western visitors, it was apparent that many are frustrated by past Western imperialism and current American foreign policies.

Sipping Moroccan tea one evening with Zyad, the director of my language school, I asked him about the boys I’d read about. He said that he too had read The New York Times article and was alarmed by its implications. Zyad then pointed to a section of the city – the neighbourhood where the militants came from. Very little light emanated from the area. In that particular neighbourhood, poverty was pervasive, and many young men have been easily seduced by extremist religious leaders who promise them eternal glory by pursuing a militant form of Islam against Western forces.

Yet if so many Moroccans experience these same frustrations, why are they not propelled to the same type of violent extremism as the boys in the article? One theory is that a variety of factors play a role. When specific ingredients are in place – socio-economic ills (a sense that their lives are going nowhere), aggressive religious sentiment (a way to give meaning to their lives), and political frustration (a symbol to rally against) – men and women may become more susceptible to engaging in violence.

Toward the end of my stay in Morocco, I began to wonder why we in the West focus on people, like the few young boys from Tetouan, who had chosen the path of violence, while most of the Moroccan people share the same hopes for peace as young people in the West. Americans and Moroccans alike must pool knowledge and resources to find ways to jointly combat the various factors that can lead to violent extremism. If we make an effort to understand our global neighbours and help one another look for solutions, we can begin to take steps to resolve the problem of violent extremism.

A week earlier – on Christmas day – I had spoken to a class of Moroccan students. Many of them asked me why I came to Morocco. Instead of responding as usual, telling them about my desire to learn Arabic and enter the field of international relations, I became aware that my true mission was to serve as a civilian diplomat because there were many misunderstandings between our nations and cultures. These students wished to learn more about my country, as I did of theirs. This desire to understand one another is a first step toward working together to find solutions to larger issues. In their eyes, I could see the same hope shared by my friends in America: to build peace across cultures in our lifetime.

Stephen Coulthart is a graduate student studying diplomacy and international affairs at the Whitehead School of Diplomacy at Seton Hall in New Jersey. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service and can be accessed at GCNews .
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Meals on the go in Morocco.
March 9, 2008

David Whitley tries a food court in Marrakech, where there are no microwaves or plastic containers to be seen.
WHAT Djemaa el-Fna, in the middle of the medina quarter.
WHERE Marrakech, Morocco.
WHY GO On the whole, food courts are usually grim, soulless places. They're fine for wolfing down a quick sandwich or see-through tub of pasta with plastic cutlery, but hardly the ideal spot to hang around in.

In Marrakech, things are done differently, and its major food court is possibly the greatest in the world. Instead of being tucked under an identikit shopping centre, it is part of the extraordinary circus of Djemaa el-Fna. This is the city's main square, a vast open space surrounded by countless souks, mosques and tiny passageways. By day it's busy, but by night it becomes something unique. The food stalls start to set up just before the fall of dusk, and watching this is a sight in itself.

Empty ground suddenly becomes a flurry of metal poles and canvas, with restaurateurs clambering over makeshift rooftops and wheeling in cooking devices. Once night falls, the smoke and steam from the food rises high above the square - there's no microwaving or letting items sit in trays for hours here - and the fun begins. Competition between the stalls is fierce, and each one has employed touts to lure tourists and locals to their humble benches. It's all good-natured, though. Pat your stomach and say you've already eaten and they'll just tell you to remember the stall number for next time. Say "maybe later" and they'll respond with "alligator!" and a big grin.

The stalls all specialise in slightly different cuisine. Some concentrate on fish, others couscous, others sheep brains. It has to be said that this is not the sort of place to be particularly adventurous. Something with an odd name you've never heard of may only cost 15 dirhams ($2.10), but it's liable to be the most dubious offcuts and entrails of meat imaginable, accompanied by a bit of bread dunked in cooking oil.

It's far better to pay slightly more and get a thoroughly delicious feast. Lured in by a particularly enthusiastic tout, I end up parked on a bench next to a local family. Before I can even look at the menu, a bit of paper is ripped off and put in front of me as a placemat. It's quickly followed by a plate of olives, slices of bread and sauces for dipping.

The chicken tajine (30 dirhams) seems far too good to resist, and the waiter skips away to the merry trio in the kitchen, who are rustling everything up at breakneck speed. He returns a few minutes later with a little brown ceramic pot - the tajine - and inside are a chicken breast and a riot of vegetables, all liberally attacked with herbs and spices. By heavens it's good, though. As I devour the chicken (spiced to perfection) and potatoes (genuinely divine), it becomes apparent that the food is only half of the deal.

Watching the touts do their work on others, and policemen get into arguments with fearsome apron-clad matriarchs makes for fascinating viewing. It's absolute chaos, but fascinating at the same time. And when the whole meal, including a drink and the extras flung on the table before ordering, comes to less than 60 dirhams, it's hard to think of a better dining bargain anywhere in the world.

FREE STUFF Djemaa el-Fna is also a massive entertainment hub. You can hear guitarists and snake-charmers strumming and tootling away while you eat, as well as herds of drummers pounding their traditional African rhythms.

BONUS If the food bargains seem great, then just wait until you get to the fresh orange juice stalls. They line the square, and are piled high with fruit. A glass of the squeezed good stuff will only cost an incredibly cheap three dirhams from any of them (although, if you fail to spot the sign and ask the price, the stallholders are likely to say EUR10,000 and bellow with laughter). If you're very thirsty, it's best to spread the love around and hop from stall to stall until drowning in juice.
Source: The Sun-Herald. This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/06/1204402626979.html
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The Human Spirit: His father's house.
Mar 3, 2008 0:24 By BARBARA SOFER

In 1516, when the Jews of Venice had to move into the old foundry district - ghetto in Venetian - their brethren in Fez, Morocco, had already been living in the cramped old salt market for more than 250 years. Just as the name "ghetto" stuck for Jewish quarters in Europe, so mellah, from the word for salt, became the generic name for Jewish quarters in Moroccan cities.

Mellah sounds better than ghetto, but shared many of the features: crowding, distinctive hats, restrictions on building, and heavy taxes. There were times when Moroccan Jews had to go barefoot outside the mellah or were obliged to wear uncomfortable footwear. Trouble alternated with periods of relatively tranquil relationships in which the People of the Book enjoyed a protected status in Islam and were allowed to practice Judaism as long as they paid the steep tax, known as jizia.

I've come on a maiden trip to Morocco with 41 American teenagers, 18-year-old graduates of city high schools, participants in the Young Judaea Year Course. As part of this new Gap Year program in Israel, they are visiting five Diaspora countries that were significant in the history of Zionism. Frankly, I'm expecting them to be more rambunctious. But five months of studying and volunteering in tough neighborhoods in Israel have matured them. The trips to England, France and the death camps of Poland have sobered them. They're sensitive to the paradoxes in the history and present.

On one hand, there's a campaign to name the late Moroccan King Muhammad V as a righteous gentile. On the other, there are clear signs of persecution. The locals say life is wonderful for the Jews in this Muslim country, but wherever these American Jewish youngsters go, security is heavy (stepped up even more because of the killing of Hizbullah leader Imad Mughniyeh and threats against Israelis and Americans).

Observant Jews they meet are reluctant to wear kippot. Over the past half year, the frame of reference of these American kids has changed. They compare Jewish life in Morocco to Israel, not to Seattle or Highland Park. "The community members managed to live here for generations, to survive and some even to prosper," says Shayna Moliver, from Connecticut, when visiting the Fez cemetery, where famous Jews are buried among common folk. "Fortunately, when things got tough, they had Israel to go to."

AMONG THOSE shepherding the youngsters is Moshik Toledano. A sabra, Moshik can trace his family history back 500 years, since his ancestors left Toledo, Spain, to escape the Inquisition and remain Jewish. His branch of this illustrious family moved first to Salonika, then to Fez, and finally in the 17th century, when Sultan Moulay Ismail built a new imperial capital, to Meknes. The trade city of Meknes drew Jews, and became a yeshiva town.

In the 1940s a match was made between Moshik's paternal grandmother Zohara Calfon, then 17, with his grandfather Eliahu Toledano, then 28. The spoiled youngest daughter of a more affluent if less distinguished family, Zohara insisted that her parents send donkey-loads of treats after she moved in with the Toledanos.

Moshik's father Ya'acov, the oldest of six children, became an activist in the underground Zionist movement, and pressed his parents to make aliya. After a week-long celebration of Ya'acov's bar mitzva in 1955, the family indeed moved to Israel. At a youth movement gathering Ya'acov met his China-born Ashkenazi future wife. He went on to become the mayor of Migdal Ha'emek. Moshik inherited his father's dark-eyed Moroccan looks and his rebellious streak. Only under duress did he agree to his parents' demands that he have a bar mitzva. Moshik hasn't been called up to the Torah since.

EARLY FRIDAY morning we arrive in Meknes. In front of a no-longer-functioning Jewish school we meet a slim Moroccan man named Faoud Dekkaki and follow him through the labyrinth of alleys into the heart of the mellah. A matron, her hair modestly covered with a scarf, carries unbaked bread to the old communal oven along the winding alleys of the cinnamon, rosewater and cumin-scented market, sidestepping donkeys carrying heavy loads.

It is as if nothing has changed, except that the Jews are gone.

Faoud Dekkaki is a manufacturer of decorative fireplace bellows. He welcomes us across the threshold of his home, and voila we are inside Moshik's grandparents' home. The large living room is the now-closed-in patio where relatives and friends feted the bar mitzva of Ya'acov Toledano for six nights before the family left Morocco.

Moshik tells the students his story. Then he phones his dad in Israel to find his father's room. Up some stairs, the reddish floor and wall tiles are still in place. Moshik's usual unflappable manner changes; he purses his lips, his face lines with emotion. This is where his father's Zionist dreams were born, deep inside the mellah of Meknes.

On the phone, Ya'acov Toledano is thrilled at having his sabra son in the house that sheltered Toledanos for 200 years. We see the rest of the house, where the Toledanos kept their livestock, the well right in the kitchen from which water is still drawn. Faoud's wife and sister serve sweet mint tea and homemade bread. Moshik and Fouad exchange gifts. Fouad gets a Koran encased in a mother-of-pearl box from Jerusalem. Moshik receives a giant fireplace bellows.

THE TEENS know Moshik and are spellbound by the Toledano story. Later, family stories pour out of them. A blue-eyed girl named Alexandra explains how she came to be born in Chile, the grandchild of someone escaping Hitler in Italy who found refuge and an Argentina-born wife in the Jewish community there. Now she lives in Hawaii.

Several live in Puerto Rico, their families refugees first from Europe and then Cuba, leaving that safe haven after Castro came to power. A girl from Florida says her father first lived in Iran. Afterward, Moshik brushes off my question about the visit impacting him. "It was very emotional, but nothing changed for me," he says. "I was in a good place before visiting my father's home and I'm in a good place now."

Our group arrives in Casablanca, the last active Jewish community in Morocco, for Shabbat. At services in the Neveh Shalom synagogue, each of the young men in our group is offered a chance to be called up to the Torah. Moshik, too. Someone has told the men his story. From the women's section above, I wonder what he will do. He rises and chants the blessings: You have chosen us from all the people of the earth and granted us the Torah. The gabbai who has heard his pedigree showers him with good wishes.

I whisper to the Moroccan woman sitting next to me in the upstairs balcony that Moshik is a genuine Toledano from Meknes. Her eyes open wide. "I, too, am a Toledano from Meknes." She knew Eliahu and Zohara. Her name is also Zohara. After services she hurries to meet her cousin from Jerusalem.

FORTY COMELY Moroccan Jewish 12th graders join the 41 Young Judaeans for lunch. In a jumble of French, Spanish, Hebrew and English the teenagers manage to make themselves understood. There's a lot of non-verbal communication, and soon it's hard to tell who is who. The perky conversation is mainly about the future - what they want to study, where they want to live, when they're spending time in Israel.

I'm feeling good, thinking how much better it is to plan where you are going when you know from whence you have come.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1204127199390&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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US official: Morocco could export renewable energy.
06/03/2008

Morocco has the potential to develop and exploit its renewable energy sources, MAP quoted US Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner as saying on Tuesday (March 5th) at a workshop organised by the Moroccan embassy in Washington. According to Karsner, Morocco could develop wind, hydro, thermal and solar energies to become a leading player in the sector. He added that if Morocco invests in renewable energies, the country could reap huge economic benefits by exporting electricity to neighbouring countries and to Europe. Moroccan Energy Minister Amina Benkhadra stressed that Morocco is eager to make profitable use of its natural assets and invited US investors to visit the country.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/03/06/newsbrief-04
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Moroccan elected president of Anna Lindh Foundation.
06/03/2008

Prominent Jewish-Moroccan Andre Azoulay was elected president of the Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures on Wednesday (March 5th), MAP reported. Azoulay's nomination was supported by the Arab League's Council of Foreign Ministers in late January. Also a senior advisor to Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Azoulay will lead the Foundation until 2010. As the first common institution jointly established and financed by all 35 members of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the foundation aims is to promote co-operation between the people and organisations of the EU and the southern Mediterranean region. Headquartered in Alexandria, Egypt, the Foundation predominantly promotes cultural and religious tolerance.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/03/06/newsbrief-05
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Children’s National Medical Center Expands Telemedicine Program with Partnership in Morocco: Collaboration with hospital expands capabilities to improve clinical care and health education for children in other countries.
Washington, DC ( Vocus / PRWEB ) March 4, 2008

Children’s National Medical Center announced a partnership with organizations in Morocco that will enable clinicians in Washington, DC, to provide clinical support and share medical developments and health education via videoconferencing. The new partnership expands Children’s National’s international reach through the Telemedicine Program, providing videoconferencing for live cases and distance education, as well as providing access to medical records via a physician portal.

“This new partnership with our colleagues in Morocco brings us closer to providing all children with the quality care they deserve – no matter where they live,” said Craig Sable, MD, Medical Director of Telemedicine at Children’s National. “Through this program, we can offer consultations to children in Morocco and share clinical and research advancements with the international medical community.” Along with Children’s National Medical Center, partners in this project include Rabat Children’s Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Rabat, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Marrakech, and National Institute of Health Information, Ministry of Health – Rabat.

Children’s National’s Telemedicine Program is funded in part through the support of Mosaic Foundation, Intelsat, iDirect, Cisco, and Tandberg.

About Children’s National’s Telemedicine Program
Children’s National’s Telemedicine Program serves community hospitals, suburban health centers, inner-city health clinics, national hospitals, and international partners across a wide range of pediatric subspecialties including neurology, genetics, radiology, and general surgery. Distance learning initiatives are focused locally, regionally, nationally, and in many countries throughout the world, including Germany, Morocco, Uganda, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Iraq. The team provides more than 1,000 consults a year.

Children's National Medical Center, located in Washington, DC, is a proven leader in the development of innovative new treatments for childhood illness and injury. Children’s has been serving the nation's children for more than 135 years. Children’s National is proudly ranked among the best pediatric hospitals in America by US News & World Report and the Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit www.childrensnational.org
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