Commenting on Israel’s plan to demand compensation for assets left behind by Jews in Arab countries in 1948, the president of the Canadian Sephardi Federation recalled that Moroccan Jews did not flee the Kingdom. To Avraham Elarar, Jews in Morocco were citizens and not refugees.
Israel is to officially ask for $250 billion from eight Arab countries, including Morocco. The money is to compensate for the assets abandoned by Jews who fled these countries after the creation of Israel in 1948.
According to Israeli researcher Einat Levi, Morocco and Israel have a unique relationship. Israel hosts the second largest Diaspora in the world while the Kingdom maintains historical and cultural ties with Moroccan Jews living there.
According to an Israeli Mivtim’s researcher, ties between Morocco and Israel are warmer that the ones maintained with other Arab countries, such as Egypt and Jordan.
In 1948, Morocco reacted to the creation of Israel in the person of Sultan Mohammed ben Youssef. In a statement, the Sultan called Moroccans to respect the Jewish community all while condemning the situation in Palestine.
Last year, an Israeli TV channel and Al Masdar, an online newspaper, shed light on the history of North African Jews who immigrated to Israel between 1956 and 1962. They revealed the operations carried out by the Mossad through cells established in Morocco, to especially facilitate and secure Moroccan-Jews’ trips to the «Promised Land». History.
A documentary on North African Jewish immigrants has pushed Israel to declassify documents revealing details on how they were treated by the Hebrew state.