One day in August of 1953, the French were fed up with the King of Morocco, Mohammed V, who saw them as a foreign conqueror and was constantly striving to get rid of them. They deposed him, sent him into exile in Corsica and then in Madagascar, and put in his place Muhammad bin Arfa, an aristocrat in his own right, who showed extreme loyalty to them. In response, tens of thousands took to the streets and clashed with the foreign government. At the end of two years of bloody riots and heavy popular pressure, and while they were preoccupied with the rebellion that had just broken out in neighboring Algeria, the French admitted their failure and returned the exiled king to his palace. Another year passed, and Morocco also received its independence from them.
Last Saturday his grandson, Mohammed VI, delivered a speech to the nation on the 69th anniversary of the failed impeachment. This is how his father behaved, and this is how he himself behaves every year. In a relatively short speech, about 12 minutes long, the King spoke about the values of that uprising, primarily the sacrifice of the individual for the sake of the homeland and the unity between the people and the crown.
“Unity” is also a central idea in today’s Morocco, even if the context is slightly different. This is thanks to the dispute with Algeria over the Western Sahara, the hottest issue in the kingdom’s foreign relations.
Morocco considers the Sahara an inseparable part of its land and refuses to grant independence to its population. Moroccans tend to divide their friends into supporters and opponents according to their position on the issue. Whoever supports their sovereignty over the rope is a close friend. Those who deny it, want to tear Morocco apart. On the contrary, countries that have opened a consulate in one of the cities of the Gaza Strip, Elayoune or Dakhla, receive a warm Moroccan embrace.
“The Sahara is the glasses through which Morocco looks at the world,” the king exclaimed in his speech this week, “it is the clear and simple yardstick by which the truth is defined and the benefit of partnerships.” Then he surprised with these words: “Therefore, we expect certain countries, Morocco’s traditional and new partners, which have adopted unclear positions regarding Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara – to clarify their positions and reconsider their content, in a way that is not ambiguous.”
Although his words sounded like code, there is only one way to understand them. Morocco’s traditional partners are the French, and the new ones – the Israelis. These two have so far refused to express a clear and explicit position, at the highest level, regarding the conflict in Western Sahara. Each one and its reason. The reasoning of the French is taking effect right now. Their president, Emmanuel Macron, landed yesterday in Algeria for an important and publicized visit. Paris strives for good relations with both of them, and therefore refuses to dip its hands in the domestic conflict. The Israeli refusal, on the other hand, stems from a deep internal problem that we will get to later.
Quiet Israeli compensation
Until that moment, when the king pointed to the elephant in the room, everything in the relationship between Rabat and Jerusalem seemed sweeter than honey. In these two years, the Moroccans demonstrated a deep affection for Israel and showed that, unlike others, they have no intention of hiding them or apologizing for them.
One of the images that has the power to express this symbolism was posted about a month ago. Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi visited Morocco, and was photographed walking among the Jewish graves in the ancient cemetery of Marrakesh. The number one officer, wearing a uniform, on Arab soil, at a site that symbolizes not only a Jewish presence, but also a long history with deep political and national meanings. In the cemetery In this one, on plots that had already been erased in favor of nearby residential buildings, the first Jews who were expelled from Spain about 500 years ago were buried.
Jerusalem responded to the king’s speech with thunderous silence that continues up to this moment, and will continue in the coming period and perhaps in the coming years. Muhammad VI was not satisfied with his direct appeal to the Israeli government. Elsewhere in his speech he hinted that he also expects Moroccan Jews, being part of his nation, to pressure Jerusalem to make its voice heard on the issue. The day after his speech, I asked the Foreign Ministry if Israel had a position on the Western Sahara issue, and if it supported, as the Moroccan palace demanded, Rabat’s right to the disputed territory. Both questions were not answered.
Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi in Morocco (photo: IDF spokesman)Instead, senior officials in the ministry referred me to what Yair Lapid said in March of this year, then during his sabbatical as Foreign Minister. It was after Spain sided with Morocco on the hot issue. Lapid mentioned the Spanish step and called it a “positive development”. This is the farthest the Israeli top brass has come in its treatment of the dispute. The Moroccans are familiar with this stealthy acrobatics, and it is what Mohammed VI was referring to when he said “indistinct positions”.
Israel is indeed caught in its own entanglement on this issue, and therefore stammers in embarrassment. Recognizing Morocco’s right to the Western Sahara, it invites fundamental questions about territory, borders and sovereignty. Thus our support for Morocco may come back to us like a boomerang. After all, if Israel has such a clear opinion regarding Morocco’s control over the Western Sahara, then surely it also has a firm position regarding its own control over the Palestinians.
The compensation for its political neglect of its vital needs, Israel gives to Morocco as it knows how – under the table and away from the spotlight. Major General Kochavi did not visit the kingdom out of affection for Couscous and not to walk among the graves in Marrakesh. His visit is part of cooperation between the armies. What is the connection of the IDF to the army thousands of kilometers away from here? You will find the answer in the defense industries. Algeria is not only Morocco’s enemy, but it is the top sponsor of the Polisario Front. To maintain its control over Western Sahara, Morocco needs a military advantage over both. Israel provides her with a considerable share of this advantage. Not rifle bullets that can be obtained in every market, but advanced systems and exclusive equipment reserved only for the few.
Israel has a triple profit from this engagement. In addition to the good revenues from arms exports, it brings an important Arab friend closer to it, and indirectly also slaps Algeria in the face. In recent years, especially under the rule of President Abdelmajid Thaboun, Algeria has approached the Iranian camp with cautious steps.
Therefore, Kochvi was not the only one who visited there. In the past year, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his men, senior officials in the defense industries, officers as well as Israeli experts related to sensitive military systems visited Moroccan soil. These relations do not stop at the bilateral channel, the US is also a partner in them. Washington’s presence allows Israel to also offer Morocco military equipment developed jointly with the Americans or with their funding. This fact in itself enriches the stake in the relations between Jerusalem and Rabat, which is out of sight.
It is hard to miss the building that houses the diplomatic mission of Morocco in Tel Aviv. At the end of Yarakon Street, not far from the Tel Aviv port and the beach, stands a narrow and tall four-story building. It is similar to an embassy, houses diplomats in a quorum indicating an embassy staff, and is headed by a senior Moroccan of ambassadorial rank or even higher. Despite this, on the sign in front of the building it says that a liaison office is located here. There is a close connection between the meager wording on the sign and the king’s speech on Sunday. Israel wants very much to be promoted to embassies, but her friend is delaying the award, because she has not yet received her award. It is asking for support for its position in the border dispute, and it expects to be loved to the fullest. As two souls who ask for a hug, and until it arrives, they find other consolations for themselves.
The writer is the commentator on Arab affairs of Gali IDF