‘Academic Normalization’ of Israel Continues to Spark Anger in Morocco

Doha – A recent decision by Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan to include Israeli nationality as an option for master’s program registration has ignited fierce controversy and opposition in Morocco.

The move, seen by many as an alarming escalation of academic normalization with Israel, comes amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza that have resulted in thousands of Palestinian casualties.

This inclusion of the Israeli nationality option was first reported by local news outlets, prompting swift backlash from students, academics and anti-normalization groups across the country.

Critics argue the decision undermines long-standing support for the Palestinian cause in Morocco and opens the door to further Israeli influence in Moroccan institutions.

In an interview with Morocco World News (MWN), Aziz Hanaoui, Secretary General of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalization, called the university’s action “extremely dangerous” and “one of the most severe forms of normalization.”

Hanaoui warned that allowing Israeli students into Moroccan universities could enable espionage and theft of scientific research. “This grants Zionists numerous opportunities for direct espionage and infiltration of Moroccan scientific research from within laboratories and institutes,” he said.

“It also allows for infiltration of the student body and recruitment of researchers to serve an agenda of penetrating the university and industrial, economic and cultural sectors.”

The anti-normalization activist framed the move as part of broader official normalization efforts being “imposed despotically against the popular will that rejects it.”

He noted that students and professors at Abdelmalek Essaadi University had signed petitions against normalization just months earlier, yet “the university administration insists on defying its students and professors.”

Aroua Eldibouni, a doctoral student and member of the National Union of Moroccan Students’ national committee, echoed these concerns.

The decision “goes against the will of students and the public to reject normalization and oppose it in all its forms,” Eldibouni told MWN, stressing that it demonstrates “the extent to which Zionist influence has permeated these Moroccan universities” despite ongoing Israeli military actions in Gaza.

She further noted that some Moroccan universities, including the Faculty of Arts at Hassan II University in Casablanca and the Faculty of Sciences at Shuaib Doukali University in El Jadida, have made it possible for Israeli students to complete their master’s programs in Morocco after graduating from universities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“The National Union of Moroccan Students will work to combat all types of academic normalization until the normalization agreement is withdrawn,” Eldibouni vowed. “We, the Moroccan students, firmly reject this reckless choice made by these Moroccan universities and hold them entirely accountable.”

University response

On September 22, Abdelmalek Essaadi University issued a statement categorically denying it had adopted Israeli nationality as a registration option. The university expressed “astonishment and denunciation” at what it called false claims in recent news reports.

“The presidency of Abdelmalek Essaadi University considers the publication of these texts, in this sensitive circumstance, as nothing but an ill-considered step aimed at undermining serious and citizen academic and scientific work,” the statement read. It accused those behind the reports of seeking to damage the country’s and university’s reputation.

The university emphasized its commitment to high-quality education and scientific research. It also stated its doors remain open to journalists to verify information, while warning against “falling into the trap of blackmail” that its institutions often face at the start of new academic years.

Background on ‘academic normalization’

The controversy at Abdelmalek Essaadi University is the latest flashpoint in ongoing tensions over academic cooperation between Moroccan and Israeli institutions since Morocco normalized relations with Israel in late 2020.

In June, over 600 professors and staff at Abdelmalek Essaadi University signed a petition calling for the cancellation of a partnership agreement with the University of Haifa in Israel. The petition also demanded an end to all forms of normalization with Israel and its academic institutions.

This was followed by a broader push against academic normalization launched by thousands of Moroccan students in July. In a petition to the Ministry of Higher Education and university presidents, students demanded the immediate reversal of normalization agreements and cancellation of all partnerships with Israeli entities.

The academic normalization process began in February 2021, when education ministers from Morocco and Israel agreed to launch a student delegation exchange program and hold educational competitions in Arabic and Hebrew. This initial step faced strong opposition from Moroccan anti-normalization associations and organizations.

Despite the pushback, Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education signed in May 2022 the first cooperation agreement between Moroccan and Israeli universities and research centers with his Israeli counterpart.

More recently, anti-normalization groups announced plans to file a legal complaint against members of a Moroccan youth delegation that visited Israel in July. The complaint, submitted to the Public Prosecutor in Rabat, argues the visit constituted support for Israeli military actions in Gaza and requires legal accountability.

The academic normalization debate comes against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza, which Gazan health authorities say has killed over 41,000 Palestinians since October 7.

The mounting death toll and destruction in Gaza have fueled large pro-Palestinian protests across Morocco, with many calling for an end to normalization with Israel. However, the Moroccan government has not officially commented on the recent university controversies or partnerships with Israeli institutions.