Have Moroccans Ever Wondered How Many Moroccan Jews Have Been Killed in Israel?
ALDAR / Analysis
As the armed conflict in the Middle East intensifies—particularly since the outbreak of the Gaza War in October 2023—Israeli media reports have begun to shed light on the human losses among the Jewish community of Moroccan origin, many of whom have lived in Israel for decades.
According to Hebrew-language media outlets, including Yedioth Ahronoth and the Ynet news site, several civilians of Moroccan Jewish descent have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinian factions or by Hezbollah inside Israel.
Other reports indicate that some of the civilian casualties resulting from rocket attacks launched from Gaza, or during operations conducted by Hamas, were of Moroccan origin—either directly or through later generations of migration.
These reports, which appear only modestly in the Israeli press, find little to no echo in Moroccan media and are rarely discussed in public discourse within the Kingdom. This raises legitimate questions about the extent to which Moroccans—both as institutions and individuals—are aware of the human losses suffered by the Moroccan Jewish community residing in Israel.
Israeli sources estimate that more than 800,000 Moroccan Jews emigrated to Israel since the 1950s, making the Moroccan community one of the largest ethnic groups in Israeli society. Among them are many young people who are integrated into various state institutions and serve in diverse fields, including in sensitive government and security roles.
This reality presents a complex discussion—one that intersects history and politics, migration and identity—especially considering that Morocco is home to one of the oldest and richest Jewish heritages in the Islamic world. The Kingdom continues to maintain spiritual and cultural ties with the Jewish diaspora, including those living in Israel.
So, the question arises: Is the Moroccan public aware that a part of its people—those who emigrated or were born in Israel to Moroccan parents—may be killed in a war that neither geographically nor diplomatically involves Morocco, yet affects it morally and historically through the deep human and cultural bond it shares with its Jews, wherever they may be?
