Is Morocco's ties to Israel normalising Zionism in the country?

For Morocco, normalisation with Israel has been official policy since December 2020 – when a joint declaration between the two countries - presided over by King Mohammed VI - was signed within the Palace walls.

Since then, a raft of agreements have been signed between Moroccan officials and Israel (some also ratified by parliament)- encompassing the economic, agricultural, military, cultural, educational, health, and media sectors.

Indeed, Morocco's normalisers have openly declared their activities for all the world to see - at times with a degree of shamelessness difficult to stomach – for example, travelling to Israel and posting selfies with Zionist officials and soldiers. Such brazen provocation is possible as they know they are protected by the pro-normalisation Moroccan authorities (maybe also by other agencies they have pledged their loyalty to and to whom they offer their services).

Meanwhile, those who express their opposition to normalisation are subjected to repression, abuse, and arrest.  

Normalisation from above

This is the dismal reality in Morocco today, the king leads the Al-Quds Committee [established in 1975 to safeguard Jerusalem's cultural heritage in particular the Al-Aqsa compound – translator's note] but endorses normalisation - while at the same time mass protests have repeatedly erupted on Morocco's streets demanding an end to normalisation and the total severance of relations with the Zionist entity.

Normalisation has become a reality, imposed on the Moroccan people by the supreme authority of the country, despite protest and objections from what could well be millions (were people able to freely express their opinions without fear of punishment).

However, the danger in Morocco today is even greater than normalisation as a reality imposed from above.

This danger now facing us is "Zionisation". This is not a new phenomenon, but one which has been rapidly growing - especially on social media in the wake of Israel's brutal and ongoing assault on Gaza following 7 October 2023.

'Zionisation': Internalising Israel's propaganda

The aim of the "Zionisers" is showing devout loyalty to Zionism by pushing Israel's narrative of events; defending and justifying its crimes; attacking its critics; smearing anti-Zionist activities and initiatives, and dismissing the massive demonstrations all over Morocco which have unequivocally condemned Israel's massacres and demanded that the Moroccan state halt all cooperation with the colonial state.

The Zionisation discourse works to promote the false Israeli discourse: "The Israelis are oppressed"; "their aggression against the Palestinians (and, now, against the Lebanese) is self-defence and to protect them from being annihilated by their neighbours", and that "the war of aggression being waged by Israel is against Iran and its proxies in the region" - not against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians.

Moreover, this Zionist propaganda is being disseminated by a diverse set of individuals via their social media pages, as well as online sites and private radio stations, some of which receive funding directly from the Moroccan taxpayer to spread Israel's propaganda far and wide for the consumption of the public.

Nor is this being done via anonymous accounts – some of those participating in this disinformation are known journalists, writers, intellectuals, university professors and imams (particularly Salafi) – who don't even attempt to hide their Zionisation.

They spread the same lies repeated endlessly by the Zionist media - defending Israel's narrative while simultaneously treating the resistance fighters - both Palestinian and Lebanese - with contempt and branding their actions "terrorism" and "Shiism".

They will aggressively pile on anyone standing against this framing of events. In fact, they will attack anyone who shows the smallest sign of being opposed to normalisation in Morocco. Moreover, as they know they'll be protected from facing any kind of legal repercussions, they'll resort to the vilest abuse and smear campaigns to intimidate their opponents and push them into silence.  

The danger of this embracing of Zionist rhetoric is that it is being promoted openly, with the apparent collusion of the state and its agencies, and scores stand ready to take on anyone standing in their way.

State policy or societal penetration?

This raises the question as to the origin and direction of this trend – whether it is an official but unannounced "policy" , in which case the country is being taken in a dangerous direction which necessitates exposure, or this phenomenon indicates that the penetration of Zionist propaganda and ideology into the Moroccan state and  society has reached such a degree it would now be almost impossible to uproot, or halt its progression. The second scenario bodes an even more dangerous development for the state, its stability, security and unity.

What may indicate whether the latter is the case is the petition which Moroccan citizens recently delivered to parliament, which demanded all the children and grandchildren of Jewish Moroccans who emigrated to Israel and became Israelis be granted Moroccan citizenship.

Today, most of these individuals are serving in the Israeli army – which is committing genocidal crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. This petition has reached the ministry that liaises with Parliament, which confirmed that it had received the petition and that it was studying its legality before deciding whether to accept or reject its submission to Parliament.

However, in order for a petition to be put before parliament, the law stipulates that over 20,000 people must sign it.

So if this petition is accepted to appear before parliament, this would indicate that over 20,000 Moroccans support this dangerous petition, which would open the doors wide to Zionists of Moroccan origin to come and deepen Zionism's inroads into the Moroccan state and society.  

Undue influence

If this happens, it could spell danger on a scale which could severely undermine the Moroccan state and society - these are tried-and-tested methods Zionists have used to empower themselves in countries much more powerful than Morocco, where today they wield enormous influence over rulers, politicians, intellectuals, institutions, media, armies, and security services.

The Moroccan state's failure to heed this phenomenon – or its tolerance, or worse, its complicity with it – will have grave consequences.

If the Zionist discourse and narrative, adopted wholescale by the Moroccan Zionisers, is able, for lack of effective opposition to it, to percolate into the minds and mentality of the next generation, this will facilitate their deception and manipulation. If this trajectory is not halted or challenged, it does not bode well for the future.    

Ali Anouzla is a Moroccan journalist and writer, and the editor of Lakome. He founded and edited several Moroccan newspapers. He received POMED's 'Leaders for Democracy' award in 2014.

Article translated from Arabic by Rose Chacko. Read the original article here.

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@alaraby.co.uk

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff, or the author's employer.