Morocco is unique among Arab countries in its efforts to preserve and celebrate its Jewish heritage. Its constitution recognizes the Hebrew component of Moroccan national identity, the government has restored synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, and King Mohammed VI has repeatedly emphasized that Jewish history is an integral part of Moroccan history.
But that doesn't mean antisemitism has disappeared from Morocco. As I noted recently, a Moroccan newspaper promoted grotesquely antisemitic historical narratives.
That is not an anomaly. For years, efforts to promote Jewish-Muslim coexistence have been under attack.
On Monday, the Moroccan news site Journal24 reported that Moroccan academics participating in an event about historical Jewish-Muslim coexistence had been criticized by opponents of normalization with Israel. Their objection? Discussing Jewish-Muslim friendship during the Gaza war might improve Israel's image. They argued that such events should address the Palestinian situation rather than simply celebrating coexistence.
This is hardly an isolated attitude.
In July 2023, the Moroccan Front for the Support of Palestine and Against Normalization, a coalition of Islamist and leftist organizations, explicitly condemned the proliferation of associations promoting "coexistence, tolerance, peace, and living together," claiming they were designed to mislead the Moroccan public and advance Zionist influence. It warned Moroccans against joining such organizations.
On October 5, 2026, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the same Front was campaigning against educational, cultural, and academic normalization, warning of supposed Zionist infiltration of Moroccan schools.
These activists have expanded the concept of "normalization" to include organizations that accept Jews as full citizens of Morocco.
The assumption is that Moroccan Jews cannot simply have their history celebrated. Their cultural heritage is presumed to serve a hidden Zionist agenda unless accompanied by the appropriate political condemnations.
The Journal24 article even acknowledges that it lacks sufficient information about the event to determine whether it had anything to do with normalization. The suspicion apparently precedes the evidence.
When celebrating Jews and their history becomes suspicious simply because it doesn't condemn Israel, that isn't criticism of Israeli policy. It is antisemitism.
