50,000 Jewish Americans Cancel Their Passover Trip to Morocco

A committee of Jewish Americans is signing a petition to protest against the “Kosher Label Morocco” situation in Morocco. The petition points to Serge Berdugo, who is 86 years old and still serves as the Secretary-General of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, as the person responsible for the dire Jewish situation in the country. 

Before this year, 10 Rabbis approved the Kosher slaughter process, but after most of them had resigned, only two remained to approve the process, which has led to a distrust of what products are actually Kosher. This is especially so after a committee member anonymously revealed to the media that even the members don’t eat the “Kosher” labeled meat in Morocco. 

According to the source’s claims, the label wasn’t genuinely legit. A claim aligned with another American tour operator reported that Serge Berdugo was making it difficult for Jewish travelers to visit Morocco by not providing more transparency about Kosher products. “Nothing is transparent,” added the same source. “We don’t know who these two people are who approve of the Kosher process in Morocco. Our clients won’t fly there without a clear picture of the situation.” To make matters worse, Berdugo requested Moroccan Customs not to allow any other kind of Kosher products into the country except ones stamped with his label. 

“It’s so insane the way he wants to control us,” added the CEO of the American tour operator. “We’ve never experienced such a situation. This situation is destroying the long years of culture and love between Israel and Morocco. Even the Jewish Moroccans who used to visit Morocco year after year have decided to stop visiting.” Many Jewish visitors hope this situation will be solved in the near future to resume their trips to the Kingdom of the Sun.