Five Israelis die in car accident in Morocco during 'religious trip'

Five Israeli tourists lost their lives in a tragic car accident on a remote road in southeastern Morocco.

The accident occurred on Friday, 6 December, on a rugged stretch of road connecting Tazarin in Zagora province to Alnif in Tinghir province.

Their vehicle reportedly veered off the road and overturned due to excessive speed, killing all five passengers instantly.

The victims—Galant Moshe, 18; Shasha Yisrael Meir, 25; Rabbi Shapira Natan, 36; Teflinski Yosef Chaim, 20; and Rabbi Teflinski Shimon, 33—were followers of the Breslov sect.

They had recently arrived in Morocco with their rabbi, travelling from Amman to visit the grave of Rabbi Yahya Ben Baruch, a revered figure in Moroccan Jewish history whose tomb lies in the region.

On Sunday, the Jewish community in Morocco held an intimate funeral service for the five victims. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, a prominent leader in the Jewish Moroccan community, led the ceremony, describing it as "deeply emotional." 

Yossi Ben-David, head of Israel's Liaison Office in Morocco, attended the funeral and thanked Moroccan authorities for their assistance in recovering the bodies and facilitating their repatriation to Israel.

This accident comes amid growing public opposition to the normalisation of relations with Israel in Morocco, reigniting the debate over whether Israeli tourists should be banned from visiting the country—a demand that has gained more support amid Israel's war in Gaza.

Unlike most countries in the region, Morocco has historically been welcoming to Israeli tourists because of its longstanding Jewish heritage and the significant community of Moroccan Jews in Israel, even before the normalisation.

Between 1940 and 1960, over 300,000 Moroccan Jews immigrated to Israel. Today, about one million of Moroccan origin live in Israel.

Since 2021, Israelis have been able to travel directly from Tel Aviv to Casablanca, although the ongoing Gaza war has since limited these direct trips.

Moroccan authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the fatal crash that killed the Israeli tourists, with the public prosecutor in Ouarzazate—the nearest city to the accident site—overseeing the inquiry.

In March, Israel issued a travel advisory for its citizens, warning against travel to Morocco and other nations in light of increased threats from jihadist groups and Iran.

Since last October, Morocco has not officially recorded any incidents of antisemitism.