Summary:
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Johanna Devico Ohana’s father urged her to make him a promise before he passed away: “Bring me to Fez if I ever die while I’m in France,” he said.
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Ohana, born and raised in the city, claims that her father loved the country of Morocco and the city of Fez. “
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The city, founded in the ninth century and located on the Wadi Fez in northern Morocco, was the first capital of Morocco for a long time.
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The word “Mellah” is now used to describe Jewish communities in cities like Rabat and Marrakech in Morocco.
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An “intersection of confluence”The ninth UNAOC Forum, which took place in Fez in November 2022, was a good fit for the region due to the long-standing intermixing of people there.
Johanna Devico Ohana’s father urged her to make him a promise before he passed away: “Bring me to Fez if I ever die while I’m in France,” he said.
In addition, he requested that she look after the Jewish cemetery, which was his duty until he left. Both of his daughter’s requests were granted, and her father is now buried in the graveyard she currently looks after.
“We coexisted in peace.”
Ms. Ohana, born and raised in the city, claims that her father loved the country of Morocco and the city of Fez. “We coexisted peacefully.” There wasn’t any stress. We never encountered any issues on that side because we all knew we were Jews, Muslims, or Catholics.
The city was built in the ninth century on the Wadi Fez in northern Morocco. For a long time, it was the capital of Morocco. King Idris II urged Jews to relocate to Fez in 809 so that the city might take advantage of their skills.
Fez is well-known today for its trade, craftwork, and trade-related activities. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Fez Medina is often called the cultural and spiritual heart of Morocco.
A Jewish neighborhood called “Mellah” and a mixture of ethnicities and identities are still there. The word “Mellah” is now used to describe Jewish communities in cities like Rabat and Marrakech in Morocco. The word means “salt” or “saline area,” about either a saline water supply in the area or the former presence of a salt warehouse.
In the Jewish cemetery, which is tucked away in the Mellah, the semicircular tombs stand out because they show the history of Morocco’s thriving Jewish community.
An “intersection of confluence”
The ninth UNAOC Forum, which took place in Fez in November 2022, was a good fit for the region due to the long-standing intermixing of people there.
Andre Azoulay gave the opening speech at the event. He is the top advisor to King Mohammed VI of Morocco and the father of UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, who is also Jewish. He said that Morocco is “built around a model of openness, harmony, and synergy that has seen the convergence of Arab-Islamic, Amazigh, and Saharan-Hassanian confluence, and that has, at the same time, been enriched by African, Andal
Ms. Ohana said that she was pleased that Fez had been chosen because “for Morocco, it matches the truth of our image, our culture” when asked how she felt upon learning that Fez had been selected to host the UNAOC’s ninth forum.
