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Morocco king to renovate Jewish sites in the country

December 14, 2021 at 8:52 am

King Mohammed VI of Morocco attends the signing of bilateral agreements at the Agdal Royal Palace on February 13, 2019 in Rabat, Morocco [Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images]

King of Morocco Mohammed VI recently introduced an initiative to renovate Jewish heritage sites in the country, Israel Hayom reported yesterday.

The initiative includes the renovation of hundreds of synagogues, cemeteries and Jewish heritage sites in several cities across the kingdom.

According to the Israeli newspaper, the Jewish cemetery in the city of Fes, which includes 13,000 graves, is included in the initiative.

Meanwhile, the king has decided to reinstate the original names of some of the country’s Jewish neighbourhoods.

This move, Israel Hayom reported, is part of the recent rapprochement between the Arab country and the Israeli occupation state which came as part of the US-sponsored Abraham Accords. In December 2020, Morocco resumed diplomatic relations with Israel in return for American recognition of its sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz visited Morocco last month and met with his counterpart Abdellatif Loudiyi.

They signed a memorandum of understanding formalising defence ties and allowing for smoother cooperation between their defence establishments.

READ: Spain concerned about Israel-Morocco rapprochement