Another Moroccan who was attacked for condemning Hamas on October 7 ~ EoZ

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Another Moroccan who was attacked for condemning Hamas on October 7

Last week, I noted a Moroccan intellectual who condemned the Hamas attack on October 7 (in French, not Arabic), and how other Moroccan writers condemned him in turn.

It turns out another Moroccan citizen and proponent of the Abraham Accords, Ahmed Charai, had written an article on October 7 itself at the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune (which is part of a large Moroccan and international media conglomerate that he owns.)

The title is "We are all Israelis."

Excerpts:

The 1973 Yom Kippur War began as a surprise attack on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. On October 7, 2023, history has repeated itself.

Earlier today, Hamas, an Iran-backed terror group, launched a surprise attack by land, water, and air – including glider assaults and more than 5,000 rocket strikes in the first 20 minutes. On the ground, Hamas terrorists punched through the border fence and drove through two checkpoints that Israel keeps open for humanitarian supplies. They attacked armored vehicles, and waged gun battles with police and Israeli reservists for hours. Neighborhoods became battlefields. Dozens of civilians and soldiers have been taken hostage. Updated reports say 500 Israeli civilians were murdered....

Today is Simchat Torah, a holy day of celebration, which translates as “joy of the Torah.” On this day, observant Jews do not work, drive, write, or turn on electronic devices. A perfect day to attack a quietly celebrating democratic nation.

Already, social media is polluted by those trying to justify the unprovoked barbarity of the surprise attacks. Some said that Israel should give land for peace. This ignores that Hamas planned these attacks from the Gaza Strip, which Israel handed over in 2006 to make peace. Others talked of the “humiliation” of having to show their identification at the border fence, just as millions do at border-crossings and airports all over the world. Still others talk about self-determination—forgetting that Palestinians elected their own leaders in the Gaza Strip and those leaders ordered these attacks.

And all this babble ignores the human view: wives who watched their husbands die outside their homes, children lost in rocket attacks or slain by stray machine-gun rounds. The suffering by the many, who have no part in politics, is immense.

If we tolerate extremism, it will erode the rock of security and ultimately destroy all US efforts to stabilize the Middle East.

Hamas’ leader, Ismail Haniyeh, should no longer be received as a hero in Arab capitals. The US Treasury must sanction Haniyeh and his loved ones and deprive them of travel and international payments.

It is also not normal that Hamas continues to be supported by a series of non-state initiatives and foundations, some of which are based in Europe.

When the smoke clears, it is likely that American citizens will be among the dead and wounded. Hamas is now a threat to America’s national security and its attempts to bring peace to the region.

Keep in mind that this article was written on the day of the massacre, before any real Israeli military action. Yet even so, there were very angry responses to this article in Morocco, condemning Charai for saying anything negative about Hamas.

The head of Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party wrote his own "We Are All Palestinians" response, invoking the Al Aqsa Mosque as a reason for Hamas' massacre.

Journalist Omar Labchirit considered the article to be treason, saying that no one should write anything that is against Moroccan foreign policy. (As far as I know, Morocco did not issue any pro-Hamas statements.) He considered this article to be “blackmail and pressure on the position of the Moroccan state for the benefit of the outside.”

Writer Idris Al-Kanbouri considered the article a gross insult to Morocco, saying it "goes beyond the state’s position and harms Morocco and desecrates its reputation.”

Perhaps the best description of antisemitic Moroccan reaction to the article comes from this article summarizing the incident, where the author says, "The public also expressed its deep sadness and anger to hear this opinion from an Arab citizen of Moroccan nationality and from Arab countries, and that we all carry the Arab identity and we should express our Arab .identity and stand with the Arabs in all places." Honor demands a single unified position towards Israel, and there is nothing Hamas can do that is too heinous to not be supported as long as it is against Jews. All in the name of Arab solidarity.

At least that is more honest. But not honest enough.

Because Charai's critics tried to discredit him immediately when they started spreading what they consider a damning photo of Charai - standing next to a religious Jew.