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Morocco completes ambitious Jewish cemetery restoration project | Washington Diplomat
Reporting from an event held on Capitol Hill honoring Morocco’s restoration of historic Jewish cemeteries:
Nearly 200 Moroccan and U.S. officials, members of Congress, religious leaders and guests attended a Nov. 17 reception honoring Morocco’s just-completed “Houses of Life” project, which since 2010 has restored 167 Jewish cemeteries under the patronage of King Mohammed VI.
Co-sponsored by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco (CJCM), the Capitol Hill event featured a photo presentation of the project by CJCM President Serge Berdugo, as well as remarks from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who is Jewish, and Rep. André Carson (D-IN), who is Muslim.
Moroccan officials, acting on behalf of the king, presented awards to Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig of Washington Hebrew Congregation; Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, and Imam Talib M. Shareef, president of The Nation’s Mosque, Masjid Muhammad, for their leadership on inter-religious cooperation, tolerance and peace…[FULL STORY]