The Abrahamic Agreements, which normalized Israel's relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, have brought about quite a few historic collaborations in the fields of economy, tourism, medicine and the environment.
This week, thanks to the agreements, a first-of-its-kind academic collaboration was also recorded.
A delegation of 11 Muslim scholars from Morocco, dealing with Hebrew law, first arrived in Israel as part of the first Israel-Morocco conference, held at Bar-Ilan University.
The conference, initiated by the Dahan Center at the University, lasted two days.
During the conference, an agreement was signed for academic cooperation between the university and the Center for Jewish Law Research, located in the picturesque coastal town of Essaouira in Morocco, headed by Dr. Abdullah Ozitan. The participants were greeted by President Yitzhak Herzog, Moroccan Ambassador to Israel Bar-Ilan, Dr. Shimon Ohayon.
Academic cooperation was made possible, as stated, thanks to the Abrahamic Agreements;
But the one who pushed for its execution, with the blessing of the King of Morocco Muhammad VI, was Andrei Azoulay, the king's adviser and associate and one of the leaders of the Jewish community in Morocco.
The guests from Morocco and the participants of the unique conference toured Israel, participated in lectures and signed agreements for the publication of research and the holding of research projects concerning the cultural values shared by Israel and Morocco.
"We were all surprised"
"Following this agreement with Bar-Ilan University, we expect to strengthen the connection of Jewish law to the Moroccan legal system, thus emphasizing the Jewish-Muslim connection in the Moroccan heritage," said Dr. Ozitan. "Of great significance to relations between the countries."
However, despite the keynote speeches and lectures, there is no doubt that most of those present at the conference will not forget a special moment in it: .
"It was amazing," one of the conference participants told Israel Today.
