Rabat – A delegation of five journalists arrived in Israel on Monday, February 5 at the invitation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Moroccan delegation, along with four other journalists from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, commemorated the Holocaust amid the presence of senior Israeli officials.
According the official pages of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media, the visit aims to give the delegation “a closer look at Israel, its policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and coexistence among the various micro-components through meetings with leaders from various political circles in government departments and the Knesset.”
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The official spokesman in Arabic for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hassan Kabia received the delegation, which started its visit at the World Holocaust Remembrance Center “Yad Vashem” where senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs talked about current issues.
The delegation is also set to visit the holy sites of the three Abrahamic religions, as well as mixed Arab-Jewish cities like Acre, Al-Nasera, and Haifa.
While Morocco does not have official ties with Israel, Moroccans seem to be a primary target for such invitations, especially over the last couple of years.
In November 2016, seven Moroccan journalists visited Israel at what was described as an attempt to “polish Israel’s image in the Arab media.”
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These visit are often accompanied with outrage from the Moroccan public who accuse a number of Moroccans of being at the forefront of polishing the image of Israel in Morocco.
According to Ynet, the online outlet for the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronot, one of the journalists declared, “I was extremely afraid of coming. We are under pressure from the Arab media, religious people and propaganda about the Palestinian issue.”
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