Turkey Replaced

June 18, 2010


With Turkey turning toward the East and its relationship with Israel left in tatters, the question stands where does Israel turn? Morocco represents the greatest potential for political alliance for an Israel searching for a state to serve as a bridge to the Muslim world. The strategic importance of Israel having an asset such was Turkey cannot be ignored, and yet Israel’s government is today lacking an alternative policy to stave off the damage done to Israel’s geo-political position by an Islamist Turkey. Such an alternative, I believe, does exist in Morocco, where Israel will find a political bridge far more sustainable, with greater flexibility and potentially greater profit then Turkey ever was or ever could be.


One of the greatest factors contributing to a Moroccan-Israeli alliance is that Morocco is not situated within the Middle East, actually it is the most western nation on the N. African coast (Maghreb). This, for some, may be a disadvantage, but it is this fact that gives this relationship its greatest potential for cogency. If anything, the lesson Turkey teaches Israel, is that the Middle East is a seething cauldron infecting any state that wishes to have any sort of regional influence. Future Moroccan-Israeli relations, due in large part to Morocco’s outsider status will not be as susceptible to the tumultuous nature of Middle Eastern politics. The geography between these two states will safeguard this alliance from the hateful passions in the Middle East that has co-opted the Israeli-Turkey relations.

Morocco viewed as a bridge-builder between East and West may not have the sort of allure the Kemalist upheaval attracts, but Morocco no less has the credentials to make the argument that it is today one of the very few moderate and sturdy Muslim states in the world. Unlike Turkey’s hegemonic past, Morocco has no such pretention to empire, thus it is far less susceptible to an Arabist populist foreign policy that inevitably turns on Israel. Morocco, like Turkey shares an international border with the West; a border with Spain, straddling both Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea which includes the Gibraltar Straits, serving to reinforce its moderate orientation towards the West.


It cannot be ignored that the Moroccan – American Treaty of Friendship (1777) is the oldest non-broken friendship treaty in U.S. history, and it’s often glossed over that Moroccan soldiers served in the French army in both WWI and WWII. Also, Morocco is the fourth largest Arab population, and yet its history speaks of a rich ethnic history, hosting Carthaginians, Phoenicians, and Jews from the east, Sub Saharan Africans from the south, and Romans and Andalusians from the North. Morocco has a melting pot culture, where there is a fair bit of tolerance for pluralism; a cultural commodity precious to a Jewish State often subject to political prejudice and ethnic demonization.


From an institutional standpoint, Morocco also offers advantages. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch still has extensive executive power. The monarchy is subject to a check by an elected parliament, and as of the 1996 constitutional reforms, has an independent judiciary. The democratic elections in Morocco have been monitored and are considered free and fair. As of 1998, there is an opposition party that governs, making Morocco the first Arab country that has an opposition party assuming power from an elective process. The unusual blend of tradition and progress, democracy and history are well represented in Moroccan institutions similar to the Jewish State.


Israel finds in Morocco a stable, democratizing, and liberalizing Arab Muslim nation, a state that enjoys free trade agreements with the U.S. and the E.U. and an economy based on free trade principles. It cannot be ignored that Israel provides many carrots for Morocco. For one, it gives greater national prestige by making it a power broker in the region, further, by Morocco passing the Israel litmus test it will exponentially bolster its status as a moderate in a region bereft of such a title. Lastly, Israeli economic incentives of joint technology-industrial initiatives that will develop Morroco into a 21st economy and invariably be profitable to both countries. Morocco is still a work in progress, whereas Turkey was already a major nation when Israel and Turkey became allies, but this is an advantage as far as Israel is concerned. A nascent Moroccan bloom allows Israeli-Moroccan relations far greater potential for depth and influence that was acutely lacking in the Turkey-Israeli alliance.  

Israel must make the case to Morocco that it will be in a far better economic and diplomatic position then if it continues its status-quo approach towards Israel. Before any strategic alignment can occur, Israel must take the steps necessary to increase industrial initiatives, sign a free trade agreement, and increase diplomatic visibility to soften the Moroccan populous to such an embrace. It must be said that the only true hindrance is not the resume of these two nations, but the imagination of their leaderships to seize upon such a strategic opportunity. Israel, if it does decide to approach Morocco, must be very careful in how it approaches the process, where public relations becomes just as, if not more important, than the papers signed between the two. In essence, iIsraeli diplomats must walk a difficult tight rope that initiates the conversation but at the same time manages to play hard to get, in order to a catalyze Moroccan government into serious action.


The geo-political significance of a Moroccan alliance cannot be ignored for both countries, and yet where do these relations stand today?  As of now Israel-Moroccan relations are friendly but distant, what there is in back channels, is negated by a lack of an ambassador, it is clear that Israel has a long way to go to make this initiative a reality. All the same, Israel must not miss this current opportunity to engage Morocco now when Turkey’s Muslim bent has been disrobed to the world, and it is only a matter of time before the West will once again be looking for a moderate Islamic alternative. Israel can capitalize in a strong alliance with Morocco only before the West internalizes Turkey's eastern turn and goes shopping again. Israeli relations in fact can provide a smooth and rapid Moroccan transition to Western bridge-builder status, thus accorded a diplomatic usher status of its own, which in turn will make Morocco a far greatest honest broker for Israel when it comes to its neighbors. With a confident, consistent and well-balanced approach to Morocco and her interests, Israel could nurture a diplomatic relationship that would not only replace Turkey, but also transform its loss with a diplomatic relationship far more fruitful for Israel and of far greater benefit to the peace of the Middle East.