Morocco

Israeli police officers arrest an Ethiopian Israeli demonstrator during a protest against police brutality and racism in central Tel Aviv, July 3, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

As a Palestinian woman, it is my duty to support the Ethiopian struggle

As the most oppressed group in Israeli society, Palestinian citizens of Israel have an obligation to stand with the Ethiopian Israelis protesting against racism and police brutality. The “Black Intifada” erupted just as I was in the middle of a trip to Morocco with my mother. Yet even there, in that quiet kingdom, thousands of kilometers from home, it…

By Samah Salaime July 15, 2019

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu (right) during a Mimouna celebration. (photo: Activestills.org)

What Israel can learn from Morocco’s multiculturalism

Since it gained independence in 1956, Morocco’s national identity has transformed from a homogenous Arab one to multicultural. Israel could stand to learn a lesson or two. By Einat Levi Two weeks ago, the Knesset passed the controversial Jewish Nation-State Law. Sixty-two members of Israel’s parliament voted in favor, 55 opposed, and two abstained. Several…

By +972 Magazine August 10, 2018

Shakshuka. (Rafram Chaddad)

Jewish food tells the story of immigrants, not of Israeli nationalism

Jewish food has always been a way to demonstrate how Jewish immigrants and refugees mixed and integrated into different societies. So how did it all of a sudden become ‘Israeli?’ By Rafram Chaddad Tablet Magazine released last week a list of “the most Jewish foods,” in which editors Gabriella Gershenson and Alana Newhouse invite “us,” the…

By +972 Magazine March 9, 2018

Latest

The Mimouna Festival, marking the end of Passover, is celebrated in a special tent in Jerusalem, April 16, 1990. (photo: Alpert Nathan/GPO)

Mimouna, a Jewish-Muslim festival everywhere except Israel

Moroccan Jews have always celebrated Mimouna with their Muslim neighbors – and still do in Belgium, Italy and France. But in Israel, this charming custom fell prey to Zionism’s primeval instinct to divide and rule. Mimouna, the Jewish-Moroccan post-Passover festival, always offers an interesting glimpse into Ashkenazi-Mizrahi relations in Israel, by virtue of being the…

By Samah Salaime April 30, 2016

Only a Mizrahi leader, who carries the heritage of Jewish-Arab partnership, can save the Israeli left. (Tal Weintraub)

Why Morocco can be a model for Jewish-Arab partnership

Throughout much of my life, I have been engaged in attempts to improve Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. But a recent trip to Morocco, where Jews and Muslims lived in harmony for centuries, filled me with hope for my country. Life after the conflict: Act One. By Ron Gerlitz Yes we can. We can imagine good…

By +972 Magazine April 18, 2016

The Mimouna Festival, marking the end of Passover, is celebrated in a special tent in Jerusalem, April 16, 1990. (photo: Alpert Nathan/GPO)

Ten things you didn’t know about Mimouna

Mimouna, the traditional festival celebrated by North African Jews on the last day of Passover, is often overlooked when discussing the Jewish holiday of liberation. Here are 10 things you might not know about the celebration that once brought Jews and Muslims together. By Ophir Toubul 1. The name of the holiday, “Mimouna,” has several…

By Cafe Gibraltar April 10, 2015

Still from Kamal Hachkar's film 'Echoes From the Mellah.'

Longing for Jewish-Muslim co-existence in Morocco

Kamal Hachkar’s film, ‘Echoes From the Mellah,’ looks at Morocco’s history, which not long ago included Jews and Muslims living together in peaceful co-existence, and serves as an important resource for building a vision of a shared Jewish-Palestinian existence. By Ronit Chacham (translated by Noam Benishei) The January 6 screening of Kamal Hachkar’s “Tinghir-Jerusalem: Echoes From…

By Haokets April 5, 2015

Shimon Peres, John Kerry and Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan (World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell)

Israel won’t become part of the Middle East until the occupation ends

The chance of Israel’s re-admittance to the Middle East lies in its ability to show initiative, originality and flexibility of thought. Only by attempting sincerely to solve the Palestinian problem will it have a chance to become a public and recognized player. Prof. Elie Podeh A few months ago, former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni traveled…

By +972 Magazine January 26, 2015

Mubarak Awad. (photo courtesy of Meir Amor)

The Palestinian who won’t give up on the power of nonviolence

At the end of 2000, as the Second Intifada was beginning to spread throughout the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli Professor Meir Amor sat down to speak with Dr. Mubarak Awad, a Palestinian expert on nonviolent resistance. Fifteen years later, the two met once again to talk about nonviolence, growing religious fundamentalism, gender equality, Palestinian…

By Haokets December 19, 2014

"My Daughter," a joint work by Michael and Neta Elkayam. From the "Khut Shel Zahav" exhibition. (photo: Michael and Neta Elkayam)

Searching for song and identity, from the Maghreb to the Negev

Neta Elkayam, an upcoming artist and musician based in Jerusalem, tells the story of her multi-faceted identity and presents her own personal mixtape. Café Gibraltar sat down with Elkayam to discuss her experiences growing up in a southern Israeli development town, her life-changing trip to Morocco, and the power of North Africa’s female singers. By…

By Cafe Gibraltar July 9, 2013