Morocco Restores Historic Jewish Cemetery in Fez, Preserving Cultural Heritage

It was in 2015 that the restoration work on this cemetery began. Morocco has undertaken to restore the rich Jewish heritage. "The Jewish cemetery of Fez has been restored and embellished, on the initiative of Sylviane and Elie Devico, but this restoration could not have seen the light of day without the generous donors. A large number of Jews have contributed to the project by donating substantial sums of money. About $300,000 has been raised so far," said Henri Cohen to i24NEWS.

During his intervention, Henri Cohen revealed that there were "three old synagogues in the Fez cemetery, dating from the late 19th century and the early 20th century". He explains that "the first synagogue is that of Vidal ha Serfaty". Today, it has been adapted for prayer and public visits. "The second synagogue, Raphaël Abensour, also serves as a museum, as it contains rare historical objects, images and books. The road leading to the interior of the cemetery was hardly passable, but we have rebuilt it to facilitate access to the synagogue," he continued.

"The third synagogue is Haim Cohen. It was closed for years because of its poor condition. But today it has been fully restored," he explained. The Fez cemetery has about 22,000 graves, and serves as the resting place for many historical, political and religious Jewish Moroccan figures. Rabbis, judges and notaries are buried there.

He stressed that during the excavations, a "surprising tomb" of nearly 149 years was found, bearing a marble plaque written in Hebrew, with the name of Eliyahu Monsonico. "Many Moroccan Jews would like to return to Morocco, settle there and start projects in various fields," he concluded.