Michel Tordjman contracted COVID-19 in early March after participating in a well-attended wedding in the city of Agadir, which saw hundreds of citizens from France fly into Morocco to join in the festivities. He passed away three weeks later on March 30.

He was a popular leader in the Jewish community of Casablanca, the city in which he lived his whole life. Morocco itself has the largest remaining Jewish community in North Africa.

Tordjman was part of a family committee responsible for maintaining the Benarroch Synagogue, and he took great pride in the position.

He was an innovator, championing efforts to make the synagogue ever more available for Jewish cultural events and causes. He also welcomed dignitaries who visited the synagogue and the city of about 2,000 Jews.

Tordjman was one of a number of other members of the Jewish community in Morocco who succumbed to the devastating virus.

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