Quake-devastated Morocco accepts aid, after two days of waiting

Historic synagogues among damaged buildings, Jewish Joint Distribution Committee providing aid on ground.

Two days after a devastating earthquake hit Morocco, killing more than 2600 people in the Marrakesh region and overwhelming the country’s rescuers, Rabat had yet to accept offers of assistance pouring in from around the world.

An estimated 300,000 people affected by the quake relied on existing aid agencies in Morocco, including a large UN rescue contingent, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), which has operated in the country since 1947.

The JDC is partnering with the Jewish community of Morocco to provide immediate relief such as food, medicine, temporary shelter, and medical support, including evacuation.

Yesterday international rescue teams, including a major contingent from Israel, were finally able to join the relief effort after the Moroccan government permitted their entry. The death toll is expected to rise and another 2000 people are injured from the earthquake, the strongest to hit Morocco in more than 120 years.

Israeli humanitarian aid groups SmartAID, IsraAID, United Hatzalah and NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief have dispatched teams to Morocco to help the locals in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake that rocked the African country over the weekend.

Another two teams are on the way in a joint effort of the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Ministry of Health and Magen David Adom nationwide emergency response network. The plan is to open a field hospital and assist in search and rescue.

Morocco and Israel established diplomatic relations for the first time in 2020. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted on Saturday night that he had “instructed all ministries and forces to assist as needed to the Moroccan people, including preparations for sending a relief mission to the area. Israel is standing by our friends, the Moroccan people, in their time of hardship. We offer our prayers for their well-being and will assist in any way necessary.”

The French organisation Rescuers without Borders said on Monday that it was withdrawing its offer of help because of the delay. "Our role is not to find bodies," founder Arnaud Fraisse said.

Fraisse said he had a team stuck in Paris waiting for the green light, but the Moroccan government was “blocking all rescue teams.” He said he could not explain Rabat’s conduct.

“We know there is a great urgency to save people and dig under the remains of buildings,” Fraisse said. “There are people dying under the rubble, and we cannot do anything to save them.”

Among the many buildings damaged by the earthquake are the Al Fassayn Synagogue, which suffered significant damage, and the Slat al-Azama Synagogue, which is partially damaged. Both are situated in the Mellah, Marrakesh’s Jewish quarter, which was heavily hit by the earthquake.

Jewish community president Jackie Kadosh said it was uncertain whether it would be possible to use the synagogue for the approaching High Holydays.

Amal, a cleaner in the  synagogue, said her daughter was nearly killed by a collapsing wall in the synagogue. "She moved a split second earlier," she told Ynet. 

One resident said they had nowhere to go. "We are on the street with no food. We have nothing and thus far, no help has arrived," she said.

Slat al-Azama is of  historical significance as it is believed to have been founded by Sephardic Jews who fled Spain in 1492. It is noteworthy for its architecture based on a traditional Moroccan riad and its Islamic-syle zellij mosaics.  It encompasses the city’s Jewish Museum and Jewish Center.

The Mellah in Marrakesh was a walled off city, like most neighbourhoods Moroccan Jews lived in from the mid-1500s until the arrival of the French in 1912. An echo of the European ghetto, Mellahs were meant to protect Jews from attacks, and simultaneously allowed the government to watch and tax the communities.

During the 16th century, the small cities thrived with synagogues, markets, courtyards, balconies and fountains as the Jews shaped their careers as bankers, tailors and jewellers. Marrakesh’s Mellah is mostly inhabited by Muslims as most Moroccan Jews immigrated to Israel after the establishment of the Jewish state.

There are about 1500 Jews living in Morocco, most in Casablanca, with a community of  about 120 J in Marrakesh. No deaths have been reported in the community but at least two families suffered damage to their homes.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said there were 479 Israeli citizens in Morocco at the time of the quake and all have been accounted for.

Donate here to support earthquake victims in Morocco through the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

READ MORE
As crucial hours pass, Morocco yet to accept most aid offers following quake (Times of Israel)

Magnitude-6.8 earthquake kills more than 2000 people, as rescuers dig for survivors (ABC)

Israeli aid groups assist Morocco in quake aftermath (Israel 21C)

Hope for survivors is fading after Morocco's strongest quake in more than a century (NPR)

Marrakech earthquake damages two historic synagogues (Jerusalem Post)

Historic Jewish ghetto in Morocco left devastated by massive earthquake (Haaretz)  

Photo: Families outside their destroyed homes after the earthquake in Moulay Brahim village, near Marrakesh, Morocco (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)