US’ Biggest Jewish Lobby Invites Moroccan FM as Distinguished Guest

Rabat – The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has invited Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, to partake as a distinguished guest in a video conference organized by the Jewish lobby.

The organization invited Bourita to participate in a video conference scheduled for May 6, which will see the participation of many prominent personalities and politicians from both Israel and the US. This year’s event will mark the first time that AIPAC will interview Morocco’s Foreign Minister, as part of meetings with key “decision-makers and policy leaders helping reshape the region.”

Other guests include the Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Yuval Steinitz, the Director of Politico-Military Affairs at the Israeli Ministry of Defense Zohar Palti, and the Director of Affairs corporate at Noble Energy Binyamin Zomer.

This will be the first time for AIPAC to invite a Moroccan senior official as a guest of honor, indicating the warming relations between Morocco and Israel after the signing last December of a tripartite agreement between the two countries and the US.

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The ties between Morocco and Israel have been rapidly growing since the two countries renewed their relations, as illustrated by an accord to establish direct flights and the signing of many other economic agreements.

Established in the US in 1963, AIPAC currently comprises more than seventy Jewish organizations closely and over 100,000 members. It is one of the most powerful lobbies in the US.

Martin Indyk, former US special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiation, noted in 2016 that AIPAC is “a powerful lobby on behalf of Israel” and that “there’s no doubt that its influence constrains what an administration can consider that it would do.”

In 2017, AIPAC ran into trouble when over one thousand protesters from the If Not Now movement showed up to disrupt the 2017 annual AIPAC conference in Washington DC.

An organization of young Jewish Americans opposed to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, “If Not Now” themed their rally “Reclaim, Resist and Reimagine.”