Political Party in Morocco Wants to Withdraw Citizenship From Jews in ‘Israeli Settlements’
by Elder of Ziyon
An Israeli settlement. Photo: TrickyH via Wikimedia Commons.
A political party in Morocco is proposing to remove citizenship from any Jews who live in “Israeli settlements.”
The proposal was launched by Elias Ammari, secretary-general of the PAM party, after meeting with former Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal.
The PAM party (Parti de l’Authenticité et de la Modernité) is considered to be close to the monarchy, so this development may be more troubling than if it was just some Islamist party.
No one seems to know how many Israelis still have Moroccan citizenship, and certainly no one knows how many live beyond the Green Line. Approximately 250,000 Moroccan Jews have emigrated to Israel since 1948.
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Simon Skira, secretary-general of the Federation of Moroccan Jews in France, defended the right of Moroccan Jews to preserve their Moroccan nationality wherever they may be — whether inside Israeli settlements or in other areas.
“Despite the passage of about 70 years, Moroccans in Israel still love Morocco and the king, defend his interests and visit him annually to celebrate their holidays and their common historical coexistence,” Skira said.
As for the Moroccans living in the settlements, Skira explained that these Jews did not go there for political reasons, but purely economic: “To buy a house in Tel Aviv, you must be a millionaire,” he said.
He also said that Moroccan Jews in the settlements have good relations with the Palestinians, although I’m not sure what evidence he has for that. Skira is obviously concerned about a slippery slope of disenfranchising some Moroccan Jews right now — and opening up the rest of Moroccan Israelis for possible loss of citizenship down the road.
