‘No to artwashing apartheid': Morocco's BDS decries filmmakers' participation at Israeli festival

The Moroccan branch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has denounced government attempts to "artwash Israeli apartheid" after the screening of Moroccan films at an Israeli festival.

"These sorts of Moroccan-Israeli artistic collaborations aim to artwash apartheid," Sion Assidon, the Jewish-Moroccan co-founder of BDS Morocco and deputy coordinator of the Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine and Against Normalization, told The New Arab. 

"They depict artists of the occupation as highbrow creatives while actually they actively participate in killing Palestinians," he added.

Earlier this month, seven Moroccan movies, including ‘Bleu Caftan’ and ‘Queens’ were shown at the 38th International Haifa Film Festival in Israel.

A number of Moroccan filmmakers attended the festival, which ran from 8 to 17 October, including the renowned director Nabil Aayouch, who gave a master class as part of the event’s tribute to Moroccan cinema.

The festival was also attended by Youssef Britel, a representative from the Moroccan ministry of culture and communication, who announced that an agreement between Rabat and Israel regarding film production would be signed soon. 

These moves have been rejected by pro-Palestinian Moroccan activists. 

"We have never imagined that the Moroccan Cinema Center would go as far as signing agreements with the apartheid Zionist state," Assidoun told The New Arab.

Assidoun warned of the dangers of "ar washing" in Morocco and how it might lead "to legitimising the apartheid colonial system".

"Practicing art with Zionist occupiers, who participate in killing Palestinians during their mandatory military practice, tends to seed the idea that it is okay to collaborate with people who kill our brothers in Palestine. This 'openness' contributes to giving a 'legitimacy' to the apartheid colonial system," added the activist.

Moroccan-Israeli artistic collaboration flourished this year after direct flights between Morocco and Israel were launched and Covid procedures were eased in 2021.

The two countries signed an agreement to normalise ties in 2020.

Several protests have taken place in Moroccan cities over the past months against cultural normalisation. 

Moroccan officials have avoided addressing the controversy in public. 

Assidon said that BDS Morocco had tried to convince some Moroccan artists to boycott pro-Israeli events but no one responded. 

Morocco and Israel have signed several agreements in various fields and exchanged official visits since the 2020 normalisation deal.