Before she died, Johanna’s father Devico Ohana asked her to promise him one thing: “if I die while I am in France”, he insisted, “take me to Fez”.
He also asked her to take care of the Jewish cemetery, a role he was responsible for before his death. His daughter agreed to both requests, and her father is laid to rest at the cemetery she manages.
‘We lived in harmony’
“My father is a Moroccan lover and a Fez lover”Ms. Ohana, who was born and raised in the city, said. “We lived in harmony. No stress. We all know whether we are Jewish, Muslim or Catholic, and we have never had any problems on that side.”.
Located in the north of Morocco, on Wadi Fez, the city was founded in the ninth century and was the ancient capital of Morocco for hundreds of years. In 809, King Idris II encouraged the Jews to move to Fez, so that the city could benefit from their skill.
Today, Fez is known for its religious, artistic, scientific, craft and commercial activities. the fez Medina, often described as the cultural and spiritual center of Morocco, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage.
It also retains a mix of cultures and identities, and a Jewish neighborhood, named ‘Mellah’. The word literally means ‘salt’ or ‘salt zone’, in reference to the source of salt water in the area or the previous presence of a salt stock, but ‘Mellah’ is now used as the name for the Jewish quarters. in Morocco other cities, including Rabat and Marrakech.
The Jewish cemetery, nestled in Mellah, is distinguished by semi-cylindrical tombs that document the history of the Jewish flourishing in Morocco.
A ‘convergence of confluences’
The age-old intermingling of peoples has made Fez a suitable location for ninth forum of the United Nations Union of Civilizations (UNAOC), taking place in November 2022.
Opening the event, Andre Azoulay, a senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco – and father of UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay – who is a Jew himself, stated that Morocco ““was built around a model of openness, harmony, and synergy that has seen the convergence of Arab-Islamic, Amazigh and Saharan-Hassanian confluences that have, at the same time, been enriched by African, Andalusian, Jewish and Mediterranean branches”.
When asked how she felt when she learned that Fez had been selected to host the Ninth UNAOC Forum, Ms. Ohana said she felt proud when Fez was selected: “For Morocco, it accurately reflects the reality of our image, our culture”.
