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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 February 2000 Issue No. 467 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 February 2000 Issue No. 467
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Slow on normalisation
By Dalal Abu GhazalehAmerica and Israel have eased the pressure on Morocco's King Mohamed VI to upgrade diplomatic ties with Israel, Israeli prevarication in its peace talks with both Syria and the Palestinians having meant a parallel slow-down in efforts to make Morocco join ranks with Mauritania in a North-African rapprochement with the Jewish state.
Pressures on Morocco had mounted earlier this month during a high-profile visit to the country by Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy, who met secretly with US Ambassador to Rabat Edward Gabriel and the Moroccan monarch at the royal palace.
Levy said that the visit to Morocco, which is his country of origin, had been successful and that the personal invitation from King Mohamed -- who is eager to safeguard historic links with his kingdom's former Jewish subjects -- was a promising sign.
However, no tangible progress was made on key issues such as full ambassadorial relations between the two countries and the opening of a direct airlink between Tel Aviv and Casablanca. No date was set for a state visit to Morocco by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, which would have been the first since 1995.
The visit again placed Morocco in its traditional position of encouraging regional peace through delicate moves in its own foreign policy. However predictably, Levy was told that improved ties would hinge on real progress in the Middle East peace talks, especially on the Palestinian track.
Morocco faces domestic opposition to its high-profile ties with Israel, and is loathe to mar its excellent relations with the Gulf Arab states. A Moroccan official told Al-Ahram Weekly that "things will have to move step by step, [though] we are eager to see things move on the peace front."
Under the late King Hassan, Morocco played a pivotal role in the 1970s in bringing Israel closer to the Arab world.
During the 1960s, King Hassan developed secret ties with Israel with an emphasis on security. The relations were based on the two countries' common distrust of the Arab nationalist regimes in Egypt and Algeria. But Morocco froze relations with Israel following the election of Benyamin Netanyahu as Israeli prime minister, only promising to help revive the peace talks after Ehud Barak's election.
The Moroccan monarchy has historically viewed itself as the protector of the country's Jewish community, which has dwindled from nearly 300,000 before Israel's creation to fewer than 8,000 today. Many Jews still revere the present monarch's grandfather, King Mohamed V, for his refusal to deport Jews to Germany at the height of the Holocaust. King Hassan allowed Moroccan Jews who wished to emigrate to Israel after the 1967 war to keep their Moroccan passports.
Despite his often lukewarm relations with Israel, King Hassan often tried to be a behind-the-scenes catalyst in the Arab-Israeli peace process. Morocco is a strong advocate of the Palestinian cause, with King Mohamed inheriting from his late father the high-profile title of Chairman of the Jerusalem Committee, an affiliate of the Jeddah-based Islamic Conference Organisation (ICO).
However, stagnation in the peace process has not altered Moroccan policy towards its past and present Jewish citizens. Jewish immigrants, even those with Israeli citizenship, are permitted to visit relatives in Morocco, and Moroccan Jews have held leading positions in the business community and in government.
Though Jews no longer reside in the traditional Jewish mellahs (quarters) in Moroccan cities, intermarriage with the Muslim majority is still rare. As a community, Morocco's Jews have developed certain unique traditions, and annually large numbers of Moroccan Jews from around the world, including Israel, throng to the graves of local sages.
Rabat is clearly inclined to have tolerance and flexibility inform its relations with resident Jews and the Jewish state alike. Balancing its regional relations, though, is more of a challenge, and Rabat-based diplomats say Morocco is worried that Israel will drop the Palestinian track while pursuing peace talks with Syria.
To some extent the future of Moroccan-Israeli relations is out of Rabat's hands. It can effect a rapprochement with the Israelis only if the Israelis are themselves willing seriously to pursue peace talks with the Palestinians and with the Syrians.
And, as the last month has shown, American and Israeli nudging can only go so far when the peace process itself is in abeyance.
