Moroccan troops welcomed their Israeli counterparts during international military exercise in June
Israel Defense Forces reported that Moroccan soldiers welcomed them with open arms during the “African Lion” multinational military exercise in Morocco last June.
Captain 'O' of the IDF's Golani Brigade recently told The Jerusalem Post he was particularly surprised that the Moroccan troops showed such warmth toward their Israeli counterparts in light of last week's backlash from parts of the Arab world, including Egypt and Jordan, against the IDF's counter-terrorism operation in the Jenin refugee camp.
“We performed joint drills, all of our general efforts, and all of the training conditions were the same and done together. This went on all day, every day, for the whole week. This is not something to be taken for granted. It met all of our expectations,” the IDF officer said under anonymity.
“We were both interested in each other’s culture. Wherever we traveled, we continued various dialogues between ourselves and the Moroccan delegation,” he added.
Capt. O. was also moved by a similar encounter with the local Moroccan Jewish community.
“When it was about to be Shabbat on Friday, we went to a synagogue in the city and we met and sat with the Moroccan Jews," he said. "We talked for a while about what it was like to live in Morocco. It was very special to see the synagogue and to speak to the Moroccan Jews.”
Morocco and Israel established official diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords normalization agreements. However, Morocco and the Jewish state have a history of close covert ties. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Moroccan Jewish descent form a natural bridge between the two countries.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog recently announced that Andre Azoulay, Jewish advisor to the King of Morocco, would receive the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor for promoting ties between Morocco and the Jewish nation.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
