A group of Jews pray in in a public place in Morocco. Antisemites freak out. ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Thursday, April 23, 2026

A group of Jews pray in in a public place in Morocco. Antisemites freak out.

Lakome (Morocco) reports:

The local front for supporting Palestine and opposing normalization in Marrakesh announced that it will organize a protest today, Wednesday, at 7 pm near the Bab Doukkala wall, to denounce what it described as “provocative and normalization practices,” and in defense of the Palestinian cause.

This protest comes after the widespread circulation of photos and videos documenting dozens of people in Jewish religious attire (whose nationalities are unknown) performing rituals near the Bab Doukkala wall in the old city of Marrakech, in a scene mimicking prayer in front of the “Western Wall” (Wailing Wall) in occupied Jerusalem.

...This has renewed accusations of opening the door to “forms of Zionist infiltration” under the guise of religious tourism.

The head of the Moroccan Jewish community, Jacky Kadoch, explained that they were tourists and they realized they needed to pray in an appropriate time. It was an ad-hoc minyan of which one can see happening every day in sports stadiums, airports and trade shows. The Jews realized that they could not reach a synagogue in time.

To their credit, most Moroccan media are supportive of the Jews' rights to pray in public. One pointed out the hypocrisy of Muslims being allowed to worship in public but Jews being treated suspiciously:

Throughout the world, Muslims perform their prayers in public spaces. We see them in the streets, airports, universities, parks, and squares. We see them individually and in groups. And sometimes in the heart of major European cities, and in New York and Washington. When this happens, many consider the scene normal, or at least understandable within its religious and human context.

Indeed, many voices rightfully defend the right of Muslims to practice their rituals wherever they are found, as long as this is done in respect of the law and public order.

So what changes when those performing the prayer this time are Moroccan Jews? Has the public space changed? Or the meaning of prayer? Have the rules of freedom changed? Or is the real problem for some that the person standing to pray is not a Muslim?

If the standard is respect for public order, then it should apply to everyone. And if the standard is refusing to pray in open spaces, then it should also apply to everyone. But for the same act to be considered normal for one group and provocative for another is not a defense of principle. It is blatant selectivity.

This double standard doesn't merely reveal a passing tension; it exposes a deeper flaw in the understanding of religious freedom itself. The right to worship does not lose its legitimacy with a change of religion. Those who defend the right of Muslims to pray wherever they are, yet reverse the same principle when it comes to Jews, are not defending freedom. They are defending an exclusive privilege they seek to monopolize for a single identity.

Freedom is not a selective right. It cannot be used when it serves our identity and then rejected when others benefit from it. Those who do so are not protecting the public sphere; they are merely reshaping it to fit their own biases.

Another blamed the criticism on Algerian media always trying to make Morocco look bad.

No other Arab country is as openly supportive of Jews in their media as Morocco is.