AJC Delegation Visits Morocco

An AJC delegation has concluded consultations with senior government officials, diplomats, Jewish community leaders, and business and civil society figures in four Moroccan cities – the latest in a more than 20 year history of periodic AJC visits to the North African kingdom.

The 14-member group, led by AJC Associate Executive Director for Policy Jason Isaacson and AJC Executive Council member and AJC Paris Chair René-Pierre Azria, discussed Moroccan counter-terrorism efforts with Interior Minister Mohammed Hassad and other security officials, and the urgency and historical validity of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region with Deputy Foreign Minister Mbarka Bouaida and others. The delegation exchanged views on Muslim-Jewish relations and a range of political topics at the Royal Palace with André Azoulay and Omar Azziman, advisors to King Mohammed VI.

An overarching theme in conversations with government and non-government interlocutors alike was Moroccan distinctiveness as a tolerant Arab state oriented toward the West and proud of its Jewish heritage. The preamble to the country’s new constitution, adopted by referendum in 2011, cites Morocco’s “Hebraic” roots. Judaism was practiced in Morocco for some seven centuries before the arrival of Islam.

“In a strategically vital but tumultuous region, Morocco has proven itself an essential ally of the United States and Europe in confronting Islamist extremism, defending pluralism, and setting a positive example for development in the Maghreb,” said Isaacson. “Our visit, in which we conferred with Ambassador Serge Berdugo, president of the Communauté Juive Marocaine, an AJC international partner, as well as leaders of local Jewish communities and other civil society activists, reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening U.S.-Moroccan and European-Moroccan ties.”

Topics explored in discussions with senior Moroccan officials, as well as with U.S. and Moroccan diplomats, included the ongoing political and humanitarian crises in Syria and Libya, educational and other tools to counter extremist recruitment, effective means to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace, and Morocco’s efforts to restore its Jewish cemeteries and synagogues.

The AJC delegation celebrated Shabbat in Casablanca, home of the country’s largest Jewish community, and conducted meetings in Rabat, Fès and Marrakech.