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Spiritually Touched In Morocco

\_ LAUREL A. SILLS
Special to The Jewish News

I

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\ _

went to Morocco just recently
without a great deal of knowl-
edge about what to expect. I
knew it was a Moslem country
and that it was in Africa. While there,
I felt culture shock about being a
Westerner with money compared to a
largely poor Islam culture. I did not
expect to have to pay money, even
small change, to use the Casa Blanca
Airport's bathroom. I did not expect
to see many young people on crutches
and with a deformed gait due to polio.
I did not expect to see sheep heads
hanging in the market on the walls.
And I certainly did not expect to
have a strong sense of pride for being
Jewish amongst a French or Arabic
speaking, predominantly Islamic cul-
ture.
There were six Jews on our tour of
19 people. I learned that Morocco had
many Jewish people living there at one
time. Today, most have gone to Israel.
In Meknes, we saw a very old school
where the Torah was studied. In Fez,
we walked through the Jewish ceme-
tery that was situated very close to the
king's palace. The most recent marker
read 1998. Jews are still here.
In Marrakech, we visited the only
synagogue, a Chabad Lubavitch temple.
I had a strong reaction to being in
Marrekech's only synagogue. While I

Laurel A. Sills is a licensed clinical psy-
chologist in West Bloomfield.

am not a religious Jew, I
have always had a deep
sense of pride inside for
being Jewish. I grew up
amongst mostly non-Jew-
ish people in Bloomfield
Hills when it was not so
Jewish. Though I was
never very traditional, I
did get confirmed and
attended Temple Beth El
through the 10th grade.
I have always struggled
to find my place to fit in
within our Jewish her-
itage.
I enjoy non-Jewish
people but always feel dif-
ferent from them. I enjoy
Jewish people, but never
feel totally connected to
them either. I practice
Judaism my own way, but
I still feel Jewish.
Laurel A. Sills in Morocco in January.
Our group /was sat
together in the synagogue,
alone then (if my memory of the
ignoring the traditional seating
rabbi's story serves me correctly), but
requirements that separate men and
King Mohammed V refused to com-
women. I listened to the Berber
ply,
saying, "There are no Jews, no
Moroccan rabbi at this Chabad Lubav-
Christians
or Moslems living here —
itch Synagogue while admiring the
just
Moroccans.
I make no distinction
elaborate carvings in the wood of the
"
between
us.
ark and the pews of the middle bimah.
What a change! Someone with power
The rabbi told us how King
actually
protected the Jews. Morocco
Mohammed V protected the Jewish
suddenly felt safe, not so foreign to me.
people from the French Vichy govern-
I was proud to be Jewish and noticed
ment around World War II, a govern-
tears building up in my eyes.
ment that wanted a count of Jews liv-
I felt very touched and very proud.
ing in Morocco at that time. There
I
was
also quite shocked by my reac-
were about 15,000 Jews in Marrekech

LETTERS

Meat Of Conference
Was Not Noted

The article "Dissenting Students"
(Feb. 5) featured the reactions of
number of Jewish college students to a
comment made by Israel's chief
Sephardic rabbi.
The reporter gathered the com-
ments.at the Michigan Political Leadr-
ship Conference, "From the Great
Lakes to the Dead Sea," held Jan. 31
at the University of Michigan Hillel.
The event was sponsored by the
American Israel Public Affairs Com-
mittee (AIPAC), Michigan State Israel
Alliance, Israel Michigan Public
Affairs Committee, Hillel and the
Consulate General of Israel.
The daylong conference was
intended to teach students how to

become effective pro-Israel activists on
their campuses and in their communi-
ties and to update them on the U.S.-
Israel relationship and Michigan state
politics. The conference did not
involve any discussion of the rabbi's
statement, the issue of religious plural-
ism, nor is this issue part of AIPAC's
agenda.
Some 150 students from around
Michigan took an entire Sunday out
of their busy schedules to disprove the
theory that today's youth are political-
ly apathetic. That was the story that
should have been reported.
Throughout the day, students heard
speeches on a variety of subjects. Some
of the sessions included a talk on the
threat of Iraq to Israel and the rest of
the world, a panel discussion that gave
students different perspectives on
Michigan's current politics, sugges-

tions on how students could become
more politically active and also effec-
tive ways to lobby a congressman.
The keynote speakers of the semi-
nar were U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and
U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers. The senator
gave an update on the U.S.-Israel rela-
tionship and also conveyed the great
importance of such a bond. Represen-
tative Rivers allowed the students to
ask questions about her position on
the U.S.-Israel alliance.
The decision to use this conference
to provide support and/or condemna-
tion of a completely unrelated matter
was inappropriate and misrepresenta-
tive of the true nature of the confer-
ence.
The convention's participants refut-
ed the hypothesis that students take an
unresponsive approach to politics and
activism.

tion. I turned to the other five Jewish
people in our group for support. Out-
side the sanctuary, I looked at an 83-
year-old amazing dynamo Jewish
woman and said, "I am all choked up.
I don't know why I am crying."
She hugged me. I clung to her
while sobbing quietly. She understood.
She was Jewish. Another Jewish lady
in her early 70s was not surprised by
my feelings and said positively, "It's
because you are Jewish."
She also seemed to want me to take
MOROCCO on page 34

Your article ignored the fact that
students from around the state attend-
ed the conference to learn how to
become more politically active. Hope-
fully in the future, your reporters will
more accurately portray important
events that affect our community.

Andy Bocknek
Michigan State University freshman and
Michigan State Israel Alliance member

Touro Boasts
Top Credentials

As a former Detroiter and now dean
of students of Touro College Israel, I
feel a particular need to respond to the
article ("A Shortcut for Shas" Feb. 5)
published in your newspaper concern-
ing an academic program for which I

2/26
1999

Detroit Jewish News

31