News from December 7 to December 13
Israel-Morocco relations, Netanyahu's rival, and honorable mentions
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Morocco to normalize relations with Israel:
What happened? Last week, President Trump announced that Morocco had agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel. The announcement represents the latest in the Trump Administration’s Abraham Accords initiative, which seeks to establish overt ties between Arab and Muslim-majority nations. In return, the United States will recognize Moroccan claims over Western Sahara, land that the international community has historically regarded as disputed territory. Functionally, the deal represents a resumption, rather than an establishment, of diplomatic relations; Morocco and Israel established relations in 1994 after the Oslo Accords, but Morocco withdrew from its liaison offices during the Second Intifada in 2000. Under the deal, Morocco will re-open its liaison offices, allow Israeli airliners to fly over its territory, and develop economic ties to Israel. It is presently unclear if the countries intend to open embassies or if the diplomatic facilities will remain limited.
What is the Western Sahara conflict? For a detailed profile of the conflict, check out this long-form piece from Foreign Policy. For a smaller, more digestible explanation, check out this Wall Street Journal piece. Otherwise, I’ll give a general overview here:
In 1975, the Spanish withdrew from Western Sahara, leaving a substantial power vacuum. Mauritania, Morocco, and the Polisario Front, which is generally made up of Sahrawis (inhabitants of the region), all believed they had a right to the land, kicking off several decades of war between the three groups. Mauritania signed a peace treaty with the Polisario in 1979 and gave up its claims over the land. Morocco and the Polisario continued to fight until 1991, when the U.N. brokered a ceasefire between both parties. There have since been proposals on the table for a referendum to decide the status of Western Sahara, but Morocco has objected. Last month, after Morocco launched a military operation into an area controlled by the U.N., the Polisario declared war on Morocco. President Trump’s recognition of the land as Moroccan territory represents a significant about-face from the United States’ longstanding policy to support a U.N. peace process between Morocco and the Polisario.
Is this a big deal? As with the other Abraham Accords deals, it is always good to see normalization between Israel and Arab countries. For Israel, this deal could have particular importance because there is a substantial Moroccan Jewish population in Israel. Morocco has also since announced that it will include Jewish history as part of its official curriculum. Moreover, the North African nation has a special relationship with the Jewish community as its King famously refused to hand over Jews to the Nazis during World War II and even recognizes Jews as a critical part of society in its constitution (even though Jews emigrated from Morocco to Israel throughout the 20th century). Still, the situation in Western Sahara is complex and volatile, and it is difficult to say how the United States’ policy change will affect the region. The deal has also faced bipartisan opposition, with Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) stating that he was “saddened that the rights of the Western Saharan people have been traded away,” and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY16) saying he is “concerned this announcement upends a credible, internationally supported U.N. process to address the territorial dispute over Western Sahara.” Jared Kushner, a top aide to the President, said that the deal recognizes an “inevitability of what is going to occur.”
Anything else? In addition to Morocco, Israel established diplomatic relations with Bhutan, a Buddhist country in the Himalayas. The diplomatic breakthrough, unrelated to the Abraham Accords, makes Israel one of around 53 countries that have relations with Bhutan. Neither the United States nor China maintains official diplomatic contacts with Bhutan.
A diplomatic source also told the Jerusalem Post that they believe Indonesia and Oman will be the next countries to normalize relations with Israel.
Further reading:https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-renewed-western-sahara-conflict-and-the-abraham-accords/
Gideon Sa’ar, a Netanyahu rival, shakes up Israel’s political scene:
What happened? Last week, Gideon Sa’ar, one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most prominent rivals within the Likud party, announced that he intends to quit Likud and form his own party called New Hope. So far, two MKs (the only two) from the Derech Eretz party, Yoaz Hendel and Zvi Hauser, have said they will join Sa’ar. Several other MKs are expected to join Sa’ar’s new party, which will be right-wing and secular. He is also said to be courting former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot to join his party.
When he announced the new party, Sa’ar said, “The Likud has changed and became a tool serving the personal interests of its leader, including in his criminal trial. I can no longer support the government under Netanyahu and I can no longer be a member of Likud under his leadership. I say with regret, as someone who saw him as the right leader to lead the country and served in senior roles in his governments, Israel needs unity and stability now and Netanyahu cannot provide either one.”
Gideon Sa’ar. Source: Olivier Fitoussi via Flash90
How does this affect Netanyahu? You may remember Sa’ar as the Likud MK who challenged Netanyahu for the chairmanship of Likud before the last election. Though he only won 27.5% of the vote, the contest was significant because Netanyahu ran unopposed in the previous primaries. If Sa’ar can capture a substantial portion of right-wing Likud, Blue and White, and New Right votes, he could complicate Netanyahu’s electoral math and theoretically prevent him from forming a coalition. Accordingly, Netanyahu may seek to reach a compromise with Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz to avoid elections, for now.
Further reading:https://www.axios.com/gideon-saar-forms-new-party-challenge-netanyahu-641933d7-d40e-4acb-b2d6-bb6782a96cde.html
Honorable Mentions:
“Democratic Majority for Israel PAC endorses Raphael Warnock, who is under fire for his past Israel views” by Ron Kampeas (JTA)
“Stopping by White House Hanukkah party, Trump laments ‘stolen’ election” by Jacob Magid (TOI)
“The table used to stop Monsey attacker is turned into a menorah stand” by Shira Hanau (JTA)
“Why Biden donated $180K to Chicago’s Jewish federation in 2017” by Melissa Weiss (Jewish Insider)
“Experts say Iran likely to delay retaliation against Israel for assassinated nuclear scientist” by Ariel Ben Solomon (JNS)
“Sheikh who bought into Beitar Jerusalem vows to show anti-Arab fans the light” (TOI)
“Doug Emhoff, Jewish ‘second gentleman,’ to teach law at Georgetown” by Arno Rosenfeld (Forward)
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