Morocco and Israel have agreed to preserve the Moroccan-Jewish shared heritage through the strengthening of their cooperation in archives and the exchange of historical documents for the generations to come.
The agreement was inked Wednesday in Rabat by Head of Morocco’s Archives Jamaa Baida and visiting Israeli Ruth Avramovitz to honor the Moroccan-Jewish memory and enrich the records of the two institutions.
The documents relating Jewish-Moroccan memory come mainly from the diplomatic Archives Center of the French Foreign Ministry, the Shoah Memorial based in Paris and the Universal Israelite Alliance which has millions of archives, in addition to private collections donated to the institution by Jewish personalities, said Mr. Jamaa Baida.
These documents shed light on various aspects of daily life of Jewish Moroccans in the 18th & 19th centuries, and show their cordial ties with Muslim compatriots, he said, highlighting plural identity of Moroccans and its Hebrew component recognized by the Moroccan Constitution.
For her part, Ruth Avramovitz said Israel State Archives, which contain millions of historical documents, photographs and videos, offer its rich collections and know-how for the consolidation of ties between Moroccan and Israeli peoples.
Israel will also share with the North African Kingdom its experience in the use of artificial intelligence to optimize the management of archives, she said.