After Israel, Will Morocco Normalize with Christians?
As fledgling local church movement lauds increased ties with the Jewish state, Moroccan believers debate if official recognition of their faith is needed at home.
Jayson Casper|
January 8, 2021 01:45 PM Image: Illustration by Mallory Rentsch / Source Images: Fadel Senna / Getty Images/ Nagesh Badu / Fabio Santaniello Bruun / Unsplash / WikiMedia Commons
President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords have been singular in focus build Middle East peace upon Arab states establishing full relations with Israel.
And although not officially linked, three of the four nations to normalize with the Jewish state this year received something from the United States in return.
Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 87.42 million, death toll at 1 888 982
More than 87.42 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1 888 982 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
- REUTERS
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The United Kingdom said on Thursday it would extend a ban on travellers entering England to southern African countries in a measure to prevent the spread of a new Covid-19 variant identified in South Africa.
Morocco's health ministry on Wednesday approved the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb said. Morocco had announced it plans to launch a free vaccination campaign targeting 25-million people, or 80% of its population.
Brief Analysis
The recent rapproachement between Morocco and Israel can be partly understood through Morocco’s long history of relations with its Jewish minority.
The recently announced rapprochement between Morocco and Israel goes back several years, especially in the economic and commercial field. The Moroccan decision to normalize relations with Israel is thus not a question of recognition itself but rather a resumption of earlier relations: with Moroccan recognition, trade with Israel could now also grow.
Most notably, the Kingdom has now acceded to an old Israeli request: the establishment of a direct air link for the transport of members of the Moroccan Jewish community and Israeli tourists to and from Morocco. The recognition of the Moroccan Sahara by the United States, in return for the normalization of diplomatic ties between Morocco and Israel, also promises economic benefits though it may raise tensions with Algeria or the Polisario.