Resistance, Normalization, and Morocco

Abstract Following normalization with Israel, an increasing number of academic institutions and civil society organizations in Morocco have adopted a neoliberal approach to pluralism that divorces research and related projects on Moroccan multicultural history, particularly Jewish and Amazigh topics, from an anti-colonial praxis. Since October 2023, silence from these groups on Palestine demonstrates that much work on cultural patrimony in Morocco conflates Zionism with neoliberal multiculturalism against Palestinian human rights. Simultaneously, Moroccan civil society has repeatedly demonstrated solidarity with Palestine through demonstrations and projects like bds Maroc, despite continued censorship. Contrary to the current landscape, post-independence Morocco was characterized by Jewish and Amazigh heritage movements in solidarity with Palestine, a legacy that has been overshadowed recently to justify normalization. As doctoral students and having worked on heritage preservation in Morocco, we believe that speaking up against the ongoing Nakba is imperative for collective liberation and to protect pluralistic Morocco from Zionist cooptation.