Yossi Ben David, of Moroccan origin, at the Israeli liaison office in Rabat

Yossi Ben David, a Jew of Moroccan origin, is thus taking over from David Govrin, forced to leave Morocco following accusations of sexual harassment and Moroccan protests denouncing the Israeli military operation in Gaza in October 2023.

Aged 55, Yossi Ben David is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. His political experience is limited to local functions: deputy mayor of Tiberias from 1998 to 2003, then mayor from 2013 to 2018.

This appointment comes as civil society and some Moroccan political parties express their discontent with the maintenance of the liaison office and the normalization process with Israel, initiated in 2020 under the auspices of the United States.