Morocco is home to around 2,500 Jews – the largest remaining Jewish community in North Africa – and has long recognised and promoted its Jewish identity.
The kingdom officially enshrined its “Hebraic tributary” in its 2011 constitution to legally protect and preserve Jewish presence in Moroccan society.
Meanwhile, a wide variety of projects aimed at safeguarding Jewish history and culture are being implemented in the country. They include the restoration of crumbling heritage sites, workshops aimed at fostering religious tolerance and understanding, or programmes in rural communities for beneficiaries of all faiths across a variety of sectors.
However, beyond these admirable projects lie programmes with a more hidden political agenda, led by foreign organisations known for actively promoting Zionism and supporting Israel, including through funding to its army in occupied Palestine.
The Jewish organisations involved in such activities have a key role in shaping future narratives on Israel and Palestine. They regularly parade young Moroccans around Israel. When taken to Holocaust sites in Europe, the organisations make sure to take pictures of the youth clutching the Moroccan flag in one hand and the Israeli flag in the other.
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The ultimate aim appears to be diluting Morocco’s traditionally strong pro-Palestine stance by influencing the next generation, shifting public discourse over time through youth engagement and so-called educational and cultural programmes.
A large-scale plan from the 1960s by the Jewish Agency, the operative branch of the World Zionist Organisation in charge of fostering Jewish immigration to Israel, seems to have set the blueprint for today’s abundance of Israeli-focused non-profits operating inside Morocco.
The so-called Operation Yachin, which moved nearly 90,000 Jews, or 54.6 percent of the kingdom’s community, to Israel between 1961 and 1964, included the creation of Zionist youth clubs meant to spread propaganda to Moroccan youth.
Today, the approach feels more “organic” and subtle, according to former participant Yasmine, blending Israeli and US support with Jewish diaspora involvement and local partnerships.
‘A lapse of judgement’
Yasmine, a young Moroccan anthropologist identified by a pseudonym for security reasons, was involved in some of these projects a few years ago before realising their political nature.
“Many young participants often don’t clearly distinguish between Judaism as a religion and Zionism as a political ideology. Many of these projects operate within that grey zone: they present cultural and historical content, but they also subtly introduce political narratives,” she told Middle East Eye.
‘Many young participants often don’t clearly distinguish between Judaism as a religion and Zionism as a political ideology. Many of these projects operate within that grey zone’
– A young Moroccan anthropologist who participated in an interfaith programme
These blurred lines help the initiatives effectively shape attitudes, she said, adding that the more sinister aspect for her was “how easy it is to fall into their narrative without realising it”.
She explained that upon joining a Moroccan-Jewish interfaith dialogue programme by an organisation whose name she wishes not to disclose, she “genuinely believed that it was something purely cultural and academic”.
Now she refers to this period as “a lapse of judgement”.
Things changed for her when she was suddenly interviewed on camera by an Israeli news channel while facilitating a workshop. It was then she realised “how seamlessly cultural programming can blend into something more political”.
Later, Yasmine saw her words reframed on national Israeli television as “part of a larger Zionist narrative I was not conscious of”, she recalled.
According to Yasmine, the organisations work in a calculated way to lure young Moroccans into programmes seemingly devoid of political dimension.
Comparing them to the Zionist youth clubs of the past, she said the goals “are essentially the same in terms of fostering connection, but the methods have shifted dramatically”.
In the Operation Yachin era, the projects were shaped by “state interests, sometimes even intelligence-driven priorities, and the goal was essentially to expose young Moroccans to Israel and Jewish history through a direct, top-down approach”, Yasmine said.
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This approach was anything but subtle, and “it was not designed to be; it served a clear political purpose”, she added.
However, this direct strategy became less sustainable as the Moroccan public’s steadfast support for Palestine became increasingly clear, especially after the 2020 controversial deal to establish open relations with Israel, and the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
The public scrutiny on Israel extended to criticising participants in Israeli-Moroccan exchange programmes, and this backlash “created pressure” on the organisations, Yasmine said.
“Anything connected to Israel is automatically controversial in Morocco simply because public support for Palestine is so deep and consistent,” she told MEE, noting the pressure changed the way the associations worked.
“They have become more discreet in their public messaging and focused on cultural or historical angles, rather than anything potentially political.”
From Jewish heritage to support for the Israeli army
The US brokering of the so-called Abraham Accords in 2020, which established ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain alongside Morocco, only helped to bolster the expansion of these projects.
One of the most prominent organisations born out of the deal was the Israeli-founded Sharaka.
Sharaka (“partnership” in Arabic) runs in Morocco and four other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with over 1,000 participants in its programmes and 100 staff members. It says it seeks to become a main actor “promoting warm peace and normalisation on the people-to-people level between Israel and the broader MENA region” and regularly runs trips for Moroccans to visit Israel and former Nazi concentration camps, among other activities.
Some of the group’s members, who hail from countries including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have faced criticism for their reluctance to discuss or condemn Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
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Youssef Elazhari is the director of Morocco’s Sharaka branch and works to promote Israel-Morocco ties. In September 2024, he made headlines after he voiced controversial remarks on a trip to Israel, reportedly claiming that the “Prophet Muhammad was a Zionist”.
We Are Mena, formerly (4MENA Network), is another well-established organisation in Morocco. Created in 2021 by the Israeli government, it operates in over 15 countries in the region. In 2025, it launched “From hate to hope”, a scheme involving 25 Moroccan educators to teach 1,500 students about the Holocaust.
Under the 2025 pilot project, Moroccan participants were planned to have training in their home country with “essential information on Holocaust history, understanding hate speech, history of antisemitism and the definition of genocide”.
There was also a week-long trip to Germany and Poland, and upon returning home to Morocco, the participants were expected to co-develop pedagogical tools to bring what they learned to “classrooms across the Arab world”. From MEE’s understanding, Morocco was the first to roll out the programme.
One of the main organisations linked to multiple projects in Morocco is the American Society of Overseas Research (Asor), a US-founded group that has run programmes related to Jewish heritage in the kingdom through partnering with USAID.
Asor claims to be “apolitical and has no religious affiliation”. But digging deeper into its connections reveals a different story.
In 2014, Asor founded JGive, a non-profit platform providing technological infrastructure for “charitable giving” for people to “find and support Israeli charities and non-profits”. JGive is also a direct supporter of the Israeli army.
From October 2023 to December 2024, when over 45,000 Palestinians had already been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the JGive fund distributed 548 grants, totalling 29 million Israeli shekels ($8.8m), to “nonprofits delivering essential aid in the field”. JGive specified in its 2024 financial report that this included “vital support for soldiers on the front lines”.
Another organisation that is very active in Morocco and clearly supports the Israeli army is Dror.
Founded by the Israeli government, Dror focuses on “education and action to strengthen the values of Zionism, democracy and equality”. With a turnover of $25.8m a year, it supports the efforts of the Israeli army in terms of education, rehabilitation and care support of soldiers, in partnership with the Israeli defence ministry.
Like Dror, Asor works closely with many Moroccan Jewish groups. Financial records and partner lists on the websites of the dozen associations that MEE was able to investigate show all of them were connected – either directly or indirectly – with either Asor, Dror or other organisations linked to the Israeli government.
These include the Mimouna Association, which is known for holding dialogue sessions on Moroccan-Jewish culture and heritage, connecting the Moroccan Jewish diaspora, and running trips to Israel and Holocaust sites. Mimouna, which openly supports Zionism, in turn works with many local Jewish associations.
Another well-known Moroccan non-profit, High Atlas Foundation (HAF), which predominantly focuses on community agricultural and women’s empowerment projects, receives funding from Asor for Jewish Moroccan heritage site preservation schemes.
‘Even though some associations have been running for decades, they have only received funding from the government on a couple of occasions at the most’
– Source within one of the main Jewish organisations in Morocco
Some of Dror’s direct and indirect partners active in Morocco include We Are Mena, Sharaka, Mimouna, Moroccan NGO Maroc Coexistence Association, and the Israeli association Atidna. The consistent aspect across these partnerships is sending delegations of young Moroccans to Israel and Holocaust sites in Europe.
Most of the funding behind the various projects implemented by these groups in Morocco comes from larger organisations in the US or Israel, according to a source who works within one of the main Jewish associations in the kingdom.
Some of them proudly present Moroccan ministries as partners, but it is not explicitly stated in what capacity. According to the source, the Moroccan government rarely gives funding directly to those running the Jewish-Moroccan projects.
“Even though some associations have been running for decades, they have only received funding from the government on a couple of occasions at the most,” the source told MEE.
Middle East Eye reached out to the main organisations running in Morocco for comment and allowed them to share their learning materials and the purpose of the trips. MEE was unable to investigate the totality of Jewish groups operating in Morocco.
Strategically targeting Moroccan youth
Another common denominator across the projects run by these organisations in Morocco is the focus on youth participation. Similar to the historical tactics of spreading propaganda through Zionist youth clubs, targeting Moroccan youth of all beliefs is a strategic entry point today.
A source in Asor told Middle East Eye that the organisation sees youth involvement as “essential” and key in the projects’ longevity.
Yasmine said youth participation is “not just a demographic; they are the most influential communicators in today’s social landscape”.
The participants selected appear to not be chosen randomly. Sharaka, for example, “tend to choose young people who already have a presence, whether in entrepreneurship, activism, political parties or civil-society leadership”, she said.
Participants usually have a large social media following and are also commonly found speaking publicly about economic inclusion, gender equality or expressing support for Morocco’s claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara. They are also involved in major political movements in Rabat or Casablanca.
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Selecting people like this is all part of the strategy. “They have audiences who trust them, follow them and engage with what they say,” Yasmine said.
Si Mohammed Darghali is a perfect illustration of what she describes. With over 5,600 followers on Facebook alone, the young Moroccan regularly posts about political topics while pledging his devotion to Sharaka and Muslim-Jewish coexistence.
After an Israeli TV show praised his “brave efforts” in “dedicating his life to bringing Jews and Muslims together”, Darghali reposted the interview, commenting: “This is the model image that we are trying to export to the whole world, we promise you to work more […]”. An emoji of the Moroccan and Israeli flags side-by-side punctuated the post.
For some young Moroccans, participation is fuelled by genuine curiosity about their country’s Jewish heritage, “especially since it is increasingly being recognised as an essential part of national identity,” Yasmine told MEE.
There are also personal incentives. These projects offer a lot of opportunities, including travel to the US and Europe when visa bureaucracy often limits Moroccans’ options for international trips, building their CV and connecting with high-profile people.
“These opportunities offer international exposure, access to networks they wouldn’t otherwise have,” Yasmine said.
“As for the recruitment process, people often imagine something dramatic or hidden as if the selection happens in a basement full of screens and intelligence officers,” she joked. But the reality could not be further from that.
“Recruitment happens completely out in the open, exactly the same way any other civil society initiative in Morocco promotes its activities,” she said, adding that if anything, the openness makes it feel “trustworthy, that’s why so many young people don’t question it”.
Another way to gain the trust of young people is through partnerships with local associations.
The source in Asor explains the organisation sustains the success of its Moroccan projects by “sourcing youth engagement” through local partners “that already work with communities, schools and cultural centres”.
MEE learned that Asor’s partners, such as Agadir’s University of Ibn Zohr, helped it “identify interested young participants, share calls locally and ensure broad youth inclusion”.
This is another key dimension of their strategy, Yasmine noted. “They learned that in Morocco […] You need cultural legitimacy, you need local partners, and you need narratives that resonate.”