There is great concern over the increase in anti-Semitic discourse in Morocco following the war against Hamas. Since the massacre on 7 October, Moroccan politicians and journalists have lashed out at Israel and even the Jewish community.
The main figure so far is former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdullah Ben Kiran, who headed the Justice and Development Party. It is the local Islamist movement, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood streams, which was defeated in the last elections. Ben Kiran recently publicly praised Hamas and called Jews "idiots," noting that few of them are as intelligent as Albert Einstein.
Former Moroccan PM Expresses Support for Hamas: "The Jews Are Dumb" // Arab Networks
The remarks were made at a conference held on November 19 by a body of the Justice and Development Party. Ben Kiran praised the terrorist organization with a huge poster of King Mohammed VI of Morocco behind it. He even claimed that "Jews have a short-term vision. That's why they were Allah's chosen people at first, and then He cursed them. He humiliated them among nations for 2,000 years considering how stupid they were." At the same event, Hamas head abroad Khaled Mashaal also appeared and called on Morocco to sever its relations with Israel. So far, Ben Kiran has not been called for any interrogation.
"In the past, Moroccan authorities have acted against incitement to anti-Semitism. For example, a Salafist imam from Marrakech named Hamad al-Kabaj was punished by the authorities for incitement against Jews in 2016. Among other things, he was banned from running in the elections," a Western source familiar with the details told Israel Hayom.
Another figure is media personality Chema Darshul, who has reversed her positions. In the past, she has visited Israel three times (first in 2016 and twice in 2017) and presented herself as a supporter of normalization. According to two sources who spoke to Israel Hayom, Darshul even went to Yad Vashem and visited the Foreign Ministry. She now argues that Jews have colonial aspirations in the kingdom, putting the Jewish community at risk. "It is believed that the change in its positions stems from contact with elements from Qatar," the sources said.
"Stop talking about normalization", Chema Darshul, photo: None
In one of her performances, Darshul claimed that "the Jew, the Zionist to be clear, wherever he is connected, becomes part of his history and heritage. He will claim that the place is his. And I'll tell you one more thing, do you want Morocco to defend its territory? So we need to expand the government ministry for Islamic affairs in Morocco, to cover all religious matters. Already, no Jew can touch the grave of a Jewish saint without permission from the Interior Ministry. Morocco was under pressure from them (the Jews) before normalization to transfer their martyrs because they want to bury them in Israel." On another occasion, she argued that Arab countries should stop talking about normalization.
"Zionist infiltrator"
Nabila Munib is a member of the Moroccan Parliament and secretary general of the United Socialist Party. In one case, Munib spread a lie that a Moroccan Jew in his 80s, Guy Deri, was a "Zionist infiltrator in the Moroccan government," and she did not trust him. This is despite the fact that he worked in the government for many years.
"Our problem is with Moroccans who immigrated to Israel," Moroccan MP Nabila Munib,
In one of the network's programs, which receives hundreds of thousands of views, the host asks: "Let's say they are Moroccan Jews, did they lobby for Western Sahara? (i.e., promoting the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty in the region; S.K.) Nor are these Jews pushing Israel to solve the Palestinian issue."
Munib replies: "First of all, we have no problem with Judaism. It's a monotheistic religion like Christianity and Islam. It depends on the individual what religion he chooses. Our problem is with Moroccans who emigrated and decided to become settlers and remove the Palestinians from their country and replace them. Moreover, most Moroccans, that is, most of the descendants of Moroccans, participated in wars against our brothers in Palestine, massacring many of them. Is it Jewish? No, it's Zionist. Zionism is an extremist and dangerous ideology."
The politician added, "The Jews who live in Morocco - we have no problem living with them. Still, I don't think they act like Moroccans. Where are the charitable institutions they need to establish to help the Moroccan poor? They help only themselves. If there is financial aid, they send it to Israel directly. They do not help Moroccan Muslims who make up 99% of the population. Moroccans have no problem with Jews, we have a problem with the Zionists." It should be noted that no proceedings have been taken against Munib so far.
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