Morocco makes history with Arab world’s 1st university synagogue

The fruits of the rapprochement between Israel and swathes of the Arab world continued to ripen this week, with Morocco becoming the first-ever Muslim country to inaugurate a synagogue at one of its universities.

The thaw in relations between the Jewish state and countries in the region resumed two years ago with the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and Bahrain and the UAE – the first treaty of its kind since Israel and Jordan signed a peace deal in 1994.

Israel and Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic relations in December 2020, two months after the Abraham Accords were signed. The new synagogue at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) symbolizes the ongoing embrace of the Jewish world by the North African country.

The inauguration of the synagogue comes in no small part thanks to the efforts of Mimouna Association, a Muslim-founded Moroccan nonprofit organization that aims to promote the country’s Jewish heritage, and the American Sephardi Federation.

The event was attended by Rabbi Elie Abadie, the senior rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates in the UAE; Magda Haroun, the president of the Egyptian Jewish Community; and Jacky Kadoch, the president of the Jewish community of Marrakech-Essaouira. Guests also included representatives from Mimouna Association and other Moroccan Jewish and non-Jewish leaders.

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