Israel and Morocco: Reflections One Year After Normalization

On the occasion of the first anniversary of Morocco and Israel announcing the normalization of their relations, American University’s Center for Israel Studies will feature two leading experts to discuss the deep roots of Jewish history and culture in Morocco and the meaning of this announcement for political relations between Morocco and Israel.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister and Tel Aviv University History Professor Shlomo Ben-Ami was born in Tangiers, Morocco and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. In his academic career he has written books on the Spanish Civil War and on the modern Middle East. As Israeli Foreign Minister he was intimately involved in the Camp David and Taba peace negotiations in 2000 and 2001. As Vice-President of the Toledo International Centre for Peace he has been involved in conflict resolution processes from Colombia and Georgia to Morocco / Spanish Sahara.

UCLA Anthropology Professor Aomar Boum, a native of Morocco, has researched and written widely about religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East and North Africa. His ethnographic work engages the place of religious and ethnic minorities such as Jews, Baha’is, Shias and Christians in Middle Eastern and North African states. Among his book publications are Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco and an edited volume on the Holocaust and North Africa.

The discussion will be moderated by Professor Michael Brenner, Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies at American University.

For questions or to request accommodations contact:

Laura Cutler