Surge in Moroccan Citizenship Applications from Jewish Diaspora Following Israel-Morocco Ties

Influx of applications from descendants of Moroccan Israelites in Moroccan consulates to acquire Moroccan nationality. Information confirmed by Serge Berdugo, Secretary General of the Council of Israelite Communities of Morocco in an interview with Medias24: "Israeli, European, American, Canadian... citizens who descend from Moroccan Israelites who left the Kingdom after the country’s independence are increasingly filing applications in Moroccan consulates abroad to obtain Moroccan nationality." These are the second and third generation of expatriate Moroccan Israelites.

In total, 800,000 Israelis are eligible for Moroccan nationality. To this are added 200,000 Moroccan Jews living in other countries where they have acquired nationality, particularly in Europe, Canada and the United States. The number of Israelis eligible for the precious document therefore rises to 1,000,000. "A non-negligible part of them already have it. You just have to file a file in the Moroccan consulates of the world with a Moroccan family record book and an identity card or passport proving that the applicant’s parents or grandparents were Moroccan," explains Serge Berdugo, stressing that the procedure is much faster than a naturalization elsewhere.

The official also explains the legal procedure that any person who does not have administrative documents could initiate to obtain Moroccan nationality. "For those who do not have administrative documents proving the Moroccanness of their ancestors, they just have to initiate legal proceedings with the rabbinical court of Casablanca to obtain proof, such as a certificate recognizing the applicant’s lineage as a Moroccan Jew." This procedure takes six months.