A recently surfaced video showcasing Jewish individuals performing religious rituals at the Bab Doukkala gate in Marrakech has sparked significant controversy online. While the Jewish community described the incident as spontaneous, critics of normalization viewed it as a provocative act that undermines the symbolic significance of the location.
The footage, captured on a Tuesday, displays a group of Jews clad in traditional religious attire engaging in prayer alongside the historic walls of Bab Doukkala. This visual prompted some observers to interpret the event as a symbolic attempt to transform the site into a new "Wailing Wall," intensifying the digital discourse surrounding the occurrence.
In the midst of this debate, Jacky Kadouch, the president of the Moroccan Jewish community in the Marrakech-Safi region, provided media clarifications indicating that those involved in the incident were Jews visiting from abroad, belonging to the "Haredim" sect. He explained that they found themselves near the site during their prayer time, prompting them to pray on location. Kadouch emphasized that these visitors were in the Kingdom for religious tours of the "shrines of the righteous" and to explore historical landmarks, denying any political motives behind the incident. He also noted the absence of a nearby synagogue where they could have prayed instead.
The Haredim community is known for its strict Orthodox Jewish beliefs, adhering to a literal interpretation of religious texts, and its members typically lead traditional lifestyles that lean towards social isolation and focus on religious study, while avoiding modern influences.
On the following day, a group of Moroccan youths gathered at Bab Doukkala to clean the area with soap and water, claiming that the site had been subjected to what they described as "desecration." In a related context, the local front for supporting Palestine and opposing normalization in Marrakech organized a protest that evening, attended by dozens of individuals waving Palestinian flags and denouncing the incident. The group asserted that the event should not be viewed as a mere religious practice but as a "provocative act of normalization" that impacts the significance of Morocco's historical landmarks.
The protest was framed as a defense of the Palestinian cause and a rejection of what they termed "all forms of Zionist encroachment into Moroccan society." Meanwhile, Abdelilah Benkirane, the Secretary-General of the Justice and Development Party, cautiously commented on the issue, stating that he lacks sufficient information to draw conclusions about its nature, while acknowledging that Jews have been part of Moroccan society for centuries. He added that matters related to religious practices fall under the jurisdiction of official entities, primarily the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, as well as the royal institution.
As reported by ar.yabiladi.com.
