“Discovery of an Ancient Jewish Community in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains”

“This research is a new opportunity that sits at the crossroads of changes in the way [Israëli’s] thinking about the Jews of Morocco and the agreement with Israel and the relationship between Jews and Morocco itself,” Dr. Orit Ouaknine-Yekutieli, a researcher who teaches at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, tells All Israel News Staff.

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Her colleague, Professor Yuval Yekutieli, along with other Moroccan experts, discovered the geniza, a repository of historically and religiously important documents and artifacts. “As Moroccans, we say that the many tzaddikim [rechtschapen joden] in maraboutim [heilige mannen van de islam] have taken care of the geniza here and guarded our project,” says the Moroccan-born professor.

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Orit Ouaknine-Yekutieli also praises the Abraham Accords, but clarifies that she was already working closely with her Moroccan colleagues long before Morocco and Israel normalized their diplomatic relations. “Our research takes advantage of this unique intersection of possibilities, but it is also the result of years of close collaboration with friends in Morocco, which has been less formal until now,” she added.