Yesterday, Israeli diplomat David Saranga was chased out of Morocco after a mass demonstration for Palestinian rights spread across the capital. Saranga told the Jerusalem Post that he did not feel in danger, but he chose to leave Morocco at the behest of a security officer.
The protests began in Morocco last Thursday, when the diplomat first arrived and continued to grow through the weekend, until Saranga left the country. "As early as Saturday, when we were discussing the environment, energy and women's rights, I could see people protesting outside," said Saranga. On Sunday "there were maybe a 100,000 demonstrators who yelled and waved signs – and that was that," said Saranga who today spoke with Ynet News.
The protestors in Rabat called for equal access to Jerusalem and for freedom to Palestinian political prisoners. Also Israeli flags were burned. Today PressTV reported the demonstration was held in conjunction with the Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ), an upcoming international day of action where protestors will walk to the holy city. GMJ is scheduled for March 30th, also known as Land Day, or yom al-arda, in order to call attention to the unequal access to Jerusalem, as imposed by the Israeli occupation.
In 1994 Morocco became the second Arab country in North Africa, following Egypt, to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
Now they need to get a bit more freedom for themselves. Maybe it is coming!
Why are there only men in the rally?
Genderapartheid ftw.
Any tourist with a visa can visit Jerusalem. In fact, the tourist visits are encouraged. Who is being denied access, and why?
BTW, can non-believers access Mecca equally?
It’s good for Moroccans to have a bête noir rather than face up to their own social failures, not to mention their illegal occupation of Western Sahara.
Look at this Zionist deflect, deflect, and deflect…
How many “Proudnazis” do you think existed?!
Firstly, Jerusalem holds importance for Islam and Christianity along with Judaism, so Israel cannot possibly restrict one. But they still do restrict Palestinian Muslims, while allowing non-Palestinian Muslims access; ethnic discrimination.
Secondly, Mecca or Medina are not illegally annexed cities under international law, are they? Those cities have been under Muslim control since the 6th century continuously. It wouldn’t be a problem if a city with only Jewish control and presence didn’t let non-Jews (religiously speaking) in, but Jerusalem has been fought over for AGES and like I said, holds importance to the three Abrahamic religions.
Thirdly, even if what Saudi Arabian government does is wrong (oh hello, another one of strongest US allies), does that validate the behaviour of other states?
As for Western Sahara, you are absolutely right about the illegal occupation.
“Any tourist with a visa can visit Jerusalem. In fact, the tourist visits are encouraged. Who is being denied access, and why?”
Sorry Pudnazi, if one is, say, a 25-year old male religious student from the West Bank who wishes to visit al-Aqsa Mosque on al-Haram ash-Sharif for Friday prayers, he would be denied access to his holy place, based on the bigotry of the Israelis.
but as israel’s government insists the arab awakening has nothing to do with the zionist entity’s occupation of palestine?
This is great. BDS works. Israel if you want to steal even more Palestinian land, then fully expect your diplomats and citizens to be thrown out of other countries. As long as you steal then feel the pain of exclusion when you travel abroad.
impressive crowd
It seems great but it was actually a political act by the Adl wal Ihsan movement, which is a banned but tolerated party. After severing ties with the February 20th pro-democracy movement, this is the first major rally by the party. But it seems weird that they would focus on an uncontroversial subject (obviously, the Palestinian cause has a lot of support in Morocco) rather than the recent internal events that have taken place i.e. Amina Al Filali’s suicide, arrest of Walid Bahomane for posting a caricature of the king on Facebook. Seems like they are trying to redeem their public image.
Why am I being moderated? Don’t like what I’m saying?
Everyone on this site is moderated. Jeez, you Israelis have such a damn victim complex. Holy cow. Grow up.
“Why am I being moderated? Don’t like what I’m saying?”
If you could stop whining for a moment (yes, that’s asking a lot from a Zionist, I know) and go read the several posts on comment guidelines and moderation rules, maybe you could figure it out.
Or possibly the system (the thousands and thousands of miles and technologies between your schmutzy fingers and the page) dropped the comment.
You know, Izik, I could draw a perfect picture of you with a kvetch-a-sketch.
“You know, Izik, I could draw a perfect picture of you with a kvetch-a-sketch.”
Let me guess – it involves me having a big nose and a dollar sign instead of pupils. :)
“kvetch-a-sketch”
My first thought was “Mooser will never be able to top this one”, but I’ve thought that before, and you always did.
“Yesterday, Israeli diplomat David Saranga was chased out of Morocco after a mass demonstration for Palestinian rights spread across the capital.”
The people of Morocco seem to be much more “democratic” and “civilized” than the people of America or Germany, in this case.
People of Morocco have nothing else to do than chase out the Israeli diplomat? Poverty, unemployment, corruption-all is meaningless when compared to that “urgent” issue. What a circus.
Sometimes the most urgent issue a homeowner has is to take out the trash.
BOOM!
Morocco doesn’t need Zionists. Nobody does, really.
Ok, I get it. That’s why we are opening a fourth embassy in China.
link to israelgateway.com
Good luck and best wishes to Morocco on its enlightened path.
Access to Jerusalem for all is a magnificent meme
Zionism has been a miserable bigoted small minded guardian of the holy city.
Never has Jerusalem been as open as it is today. Anyone who favors a return to illegal Jordanian occupation, when Jews were barred from the Old City, raise your hand.
The Jordanian ‘occupation’ of East Jerusalem and the West Bank was not illegal.
The Israeli Occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan IS ILLEGAL.
Jews were NOT barred, ISRAELIS were.
{Raises hand.}
If it would stop the cancer spreading across Arab East Jerusalem by the Israelis, absolutely. Of course, it’s probably too late to compensate the people who were harmed when the Israeli occupiers liquidated the Moroccan quarter… (And it was only Israelis who were barred, just as Israel bars Syrians from visiting their land in the Golan, because of the state of war.) So, yes, please, let’s go back to Jordan controlling the old city.
Sigh, hopmi’s engaging in knee-jerk lying again.
Never has Jerusalem been as open as it is today. Anyone who favors a return to illegal Jordanian occupation, when Jews were barred from the Old City, raise your hand.
Can we just add an automatic response feature to this lying crap that keeps getting recycled no matter how many times it’s debunked? Or maybe just moderate the comment into the dust bin it deserves?
Number one, Jews were NOT barred from the Old City when it was a part of Jordan. Israelis were barred from it. All Israelis. Regardless of religion, due to the state of tension between the two countries. My great aunt (yes, she was a Jewish American) visited there in the mid sixties, prior to 1967. Nobody asked her religion when she entered Jordan, and no one stopped her from going anywhere she wanted.
And second, Jordan did not “occupy” the West Bank. It annexed it with the consent of the Palestinians, and gave all the Palestinians there full Jordanian citizenship. Israel on the other hand still maintains its belligerent occupation after 44 plus years.
As for today, Palestinians are routinely barred from the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, depending on the whims of the Israeli government. Palestinians are also being evicted from East Jerusalem, based solely on their ethnicity and religion, at an alarming rate. And these same Palestinians have limited to no access to West Jerusalem, even if they own homes there, as they are barred from returning to their homes anywhere in Israel on the other side of the Israeli green line, which really only exists for Palestinians, not Israelis. But you think that’s a great thing, right? Wonderful “openness” as long as its Jews doing the discriminating. What a disgustingly fatuous and dishonest statement you made above.
Its bald faced lies like this that make me think you are paid to post here. Its hard to believe that you are really so ignorant as to believe some of the crap you write. You’re clearly a “see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil” kind of guy when it comes to Israel but eager and willing to whine ad nauseum about imaginary threats when it suits your purpose of whitewashing Israeli actions.
link to btselem.org
This film might be useful for anyone who realy cares about how “open” Jerusalem is and was. “Jerusalem: An Occupation Set in Stone?” was released in 1995 by Marty Rosenbluth, an American Jew who became a right wing settler in Israel and then reality changed his whole outlook and he became a researcher for Al-Haq, a Palestinian Human Rights Organization. Remember when you are watching this that it was filmed in 1994, during the Oslo period, six years prior to the Second Intifada, and 18 years ago.
Part One: link to youtube.com
Part Two: link to youtube.com
Part Three: link to youtube.com
Part Four: link to youtube.com
>> Never has Jerusalem been as open as it is today. Anyone who favors a return to illegal Jordanian occupation …
“Israel: We may not be as good as the best but, hey, at least we’re not as bad as the worst!” (c)