Aides to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have visited Morocco to prepare the way for a possible official ministerial visit to the North African state. Morocco has not confirmed the trip and recently rejected the idea of inviting her to an international conference.
Foreign Ministry Director General Aharon Abramovitz met his Moroccan counterpart Taib Fassi Fihri to discuss the possibility of an official state visit. If the arrangements are concluded before the coming Israeli elections in February, Livni will be the first Israeli Foreign Minister to visit Morocco since 2003. At the time, Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa greeted Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in the name of Morocco's King Mohammed VI, whom Shalom later met in person.
The visit, if it occurs, will not be the first official contact between Foreign Minister Livni and Moroccan government officials. Livni met with Firhi last week in Brussels and last year, in Paris, she met with Benaissa. The two shook hands in a rare public photo opportunity, but they reserved comment on the content of their talks.
Egypt Approves
Egypt has welcomed Israeli-Moroccan efforts to set up a visit by Foreign Minister Livni to the North African Muslim country. According to an editorial in the semi-official Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, it appears the time has come for contacts between the two countries in order to accelerate the diplomatic process, including efforts to convince Israel to adopt the Saudi Arabian peace initiative.
The 2002 Saudi plan calls for Israel to return to pre-1967 borders and to accept Arab refugees in exchange for diplomatic recognition.
Jews have a long history in Morocco - predating the Arab Muslim invasion of North Africa in the 600s CE - which essentially came to an end within two decades of Israel's foundation. Two-hundred-and-fifty thousand Jews left Morocco over the years since 1948; hundreds of thousands of their descendants now live in Israel, with more living in North America, France and elsewhere. Although Morocco and Israel currently have no formal relations, they have maintained semi-secret contacts for many years, partly encouraged by Jews from Morocco with strong ties to the land of their birth. There are currently fewer than 7,000 Jews living in Morocco.