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The Days Of The Years Of Joseph Amar’s Life
By Deanna Amar Pool

My father, Joseph Amar was born in 1909, in the imperial Capital City of Rabat, Morocco, to Hananiah Amar and Aaliyah Saba, whose pious families counted rabbis and dayanim among them. He had nine siblings and was distinguished as a "Child of Brazil," in recognition of the fact that he was born after his father came back from Brazil. Joseph held a special place in his father's heart. A “son of his father's old age,” he was exceptionally bright and handsome, loving and romantic.
Strong from his nurturing upbringing, this ghetto child courageously left the secure confines of his home to confront the foreign world of the French colonial regime that lay just beyond the ramparts. He quickly learned the French language, and embraced the fashion, manners and culture of France, which he eagerly taught his family and peers .
At the age of 27, he was appointed Secretary General of the Jewish Community of Rabat, a post he held with distinction until 1947. Reelected in 1961, he served his community in the same capacity until he left Morocco in 1969. He was also unanimously elected by the Jewish communities of Morocco to be their administrative secretary general. His integrity was recognized once more when the chief Rabbi of Morocco, Rabbi Shaul Abu Danan put him in charge of the administration of the Orphans’ Fund. Hebra Kadisha, Bikur Holim, Ozar Hatorah, Talmud Torah, World Jewish Congress: he served them all with enthusiasm and generosity. His literary skills were appreciated at the Jewish Gazette of Lausanne for which he wrote a monthly column assessing the situation of the Jews in Morocco.
Yet it is in the moments that test the true nature of a man that Joseph Ben-Hananiah shines forth. When the Pisces, a smaller trawler illegally ferrying illegal immigrants to Israel, foundered in tumultuous waters off the coast of Morocco, and all its passengers drowned, it was he who decided on the course of action the Jewish community should take. Despite the fact that the law had been broken, he could not accept that 53 Jewish men, women and children lay buried in a Muslim cemetery. He interceded with the King to have the bodies removed from the cemetery where the Moroccan Coast Guard interred them.
Not willing to offend the clerics or the secular authorities, the King refused to intervene, leaving Joseph to plead before the Muslim clergy the cause of those who lay silenced. A parcel of land carved from the Muslim cemetery was given to him. It is in a Jewish cemetery that the remains of these 53 fellow Jews now repose .
In another instance, the milk sold to the Jewish community was spoiled by the time it arrived in the ghetto, triggering severe diarrhea among Jewish children, often with fatal consequences with the poor medical services available at the time. Circumventing the chain of command, Joseph wrote to the wife of the Resident General in Morocco, Madame Lyautey, decrying the negligence of City Hall. He repeated his charges of criminal negligence when summoned to City Hall, winning the grudging admiration of one French officer for his courage. From that day forward, milk was delivered to the ghetto early in the morning .
Despite the fact that Morocco had joined the League of Arab Nations and Zionism was declared illegal, he opened his home, at great personal risk, to the Israeli emissaries who came to help with the illegal aliyah.
The holidays were taxing on his family, who would wait for him for hours; he was still distributing matzah, money, blankets, shoes, clothes, medicine to those of his brethren too ashamed to come in person for help .
When he left his beloved Morocco, it was with an ultimate display of courage. Defying the laws that made all Jewish artifacts part of the cultural heritage of the kingdom, he carried an ancient Sefer Torah in a suitcase, that never touched the ground, lest its contents be profaned. A tiny community had entrusted it to this man, who's indomitable courage soared high and implacable as the Atlas mountains, their home from time immemorial. Joseph Ben Hananiah honored their trust.
On the 19th of Adar II 5760, ( March 26th, 2000 and ( My brother Claude and his lovely wife Esther honored Joseph Ben Hananiah by dedicating a Sefer Torah in his memory.



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