Morocco was home to a Jewish community estimated at over 200,000 in the late 1940s.
Rabat – Representative of the Jewish diaspora and businessman, Haim Toledano expressed pride in the decision to resume diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco.
Speaking to Moroccan newspaper, Assabah, Toledano said that members of the Moroccan Jewish community would not have left Morocco if not for poverty and lack of employment opportunities.
Toledano said that after Morocco’s decision to establish relations, there is no doubt many members of the Jewish community will return to Morocco.
“They love their country so much. There will be none left in Israel,” he said.
According to Toledano, the Jewish community will make a return and contribute to the agricultural, industrial, and technology sectors under which both Israel and Morocco will collaborate.
On December 10, King Mohammed VI announced Morocco’s decision to resume full contacts and bilateral relations with Israel.
The King announced that the two counties will work to open their liaison offices and will begin direct flights to serve Jewish communities and Israeli tourists.
Israel and Morocco officialized their decision on December 22, when Israeli Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat visited the country along with US Senior Advisor Jared Kushner.
King Mohammed VI received both officials at Rabat’s Royal Palace, where Morocco, Israel, and the US signed a joint declaration.
The declaration emphasizes the importance of the US decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and officialized the announcement to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and Morocco.
The Israel-Morocco deal earned support from Jewish communities across the world who celebrated the move by thanking King Mohammed VI for his initiative and emphasized Morocco’s commitment to coexistence.
Morocco has hosted Jewish communities since Roman days. After the Spanish edict of expulsion in 1492, some 20,000 Jews emigrated from Granada to Morocco. At their peak before Israel became a state in 1948, Jews in Morocco numbered over 200,000.
Between Israel’s founding and Morocco’s independence in 1956, most of Morocco’s Jews emigrated to Israel, Canada, and France.
