Morocco's school curriculum to include Jewish culture and history, first in Arab world

Marking a first in the region, both Jewish history and culture in Morocco will soon be included the school curriculum where Islam is the state religion. Following the US-brokered peace deal with Israel, secretary-general of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, Serge Berdugo reportedly hailed the step which is also the “first” in the Arab world. Even though both Israel and Morocco had no official relationship, reportedly thousands of Jews of Moroccan origin used to visit the land of their ancestors in a bid to celebrate the holidays or make pilgrimages including the ones from Israel.

This week, Morocco became the fourth Arab nation to normalise ties with Israel following deal brokered by the United States after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Sudan. The essential element of the deal brokered by the US President Donald Trump administration was the US recognition of Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over Western Sahara. This came in the backdrop of a decades-long dispute over territories that has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-supported Polisario Front that seeks to independence. 

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Morocco's main Islamist group opposes deal with Israel

Morocco’s significant Islamist groups have rejected the government’s move to normalise relations with Israel. As per the Guardian report, the religious branch of the co-ruling PJD Party of Morocco, the Unity and Reform Movement (MUR) has said in a statement on December 12 that government’s plan was “deplorable” and further criticised “all attempts at normalisation and the Zionist infiltration.”

The irked Islamist PJD party endorsed King Mohammed VI’s actions that backed the Palestinian cause but reiterated party’s “firm position against the Zionist occupation”. Not aligning with its government’s coalition partners that backed the US-brokered peace deal, PJD reportedly took two days to react after disagreements started emerging between the party’s senior leadership, the media outlet reported citing its sources familiar with the matter. 

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Image: Representative