VZCZCXRO8089
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHRB #1204/01 3661641
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 311641Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9502
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 3557
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA PRIORITY 4437
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1109
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0880

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 001204 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/IPA - PAYTON KNOPF, NEA/MAG AND IO/UNP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2018 
TAGS: PHUM MOPS ASEC KPAL KWBG MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: GAZA ANGER GROWS; SCHOOLS SHUT 
 
REF: RABAT 01202 
 
Classified By: DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C/NF) Summary:  Moroccan public and official response to 
the recent Israeli air strikes in Gaza continues to be 
universally critical of Israel and, increasingly, the United 
States.  Almost every article, statement, and interlocutor 
has used the word "disproportionate" to describe the action. 
Media reports indicated that schools took the unusual step of 
closing in protest.  At the same time, there has been little 
mention of HAMAS's recent unilateral decision to end the 
cease-fire or to resume of rocket attacks on southern Israel. 
 King Mohammed VI and his government, while clearly critical 
of the events, have been careful to moderate their remarks to 
avoid inflaming sentiments.  The overall tone of individuals 
quoted in the media and in comments posted in Morocco's 
Arabic-language blogosphere has been more demanding of a 
concrete response from Arab leaders and the broader Arab 
masses than in past instances of Arab/Israeli conflict, such 
as the summer 2006 Lebanon war.  In support of USG efforts to 
achieve a cease-fire, Mission delivered points conveyed in 
Acting A/S Feltman's email of December 30.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Clear but Modulated Official Criticism 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) King Mohammed VI, in his capacity as Chairman of 
the Al-Quds Committee, condemned the airstrikes and the 
"disproportionate use of force and the tragic escalation of 
violence."  In a communique issued by the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and Cooperation (MFA), he called for an immediate 
halt to hostilities and asked the UN Security Council and the 
Quartet to facilitate dialogue.  The Rabat-headquartered Arab 
Maghreb Union (AMU) published a similar statement on its 
website but only in Arabic.  In a break with its standard 
practice, the AMU did not make a French version available. 
Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri, in a statement on the 
margins of a December 30 meeting of Maghreb Foreign Ministers 
in Tripoli, expressed hope that the December 31 conference of 
Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo would lead to "concrete 
results." 
 
------------------------------- 
Stinging Public and Media Anger 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Arabic and French-language dailies continued to use 
strong language and graphic images in their front-page 
coverage, with today's focus shifting to popular protests, 
school closings, and sit-ins across Morocco.  Independent 
French-language daily "Aujourd'hui le Maroc" headlined, 
"Israel refuses calls for a cease-fire and pursues carnage in 
Gaza."  Al Jazeera also reported that Moroccan public schools 
were closed today to protest the Israeli attacks, with 
thousands of students in most Moroccan cities taking to the 
streets to express their anger and solidarity with the 
Palestinian people. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The moderate, Islamist, Party of Justice and 
Development (PJD)-affiliated Arabic-language daily "Tajdid" 
reported on a large PJD-led demonstration in front of 
Parliament in Rabat with people carrying signs in Arabic 
reading "no to international silence."  (Comment: In a 
welcome departure from prior practice in reporting on Israeli 
action, Tajdid (under the editorial leadership of former 
Humphrey Fellow Mustapha Khalfi), is quoting other 
organizations rather than editorializing itself in news 
articles on the front page.  End Comment.)  Tajdid quoted 
Abdul Hai Amor, Chairman of the Scientific Council in Fez, as 
saying that the Israeli action justifies and requires Arabs 
to wage "defensive jihad" in response. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The December 24 edition of Tajdid has a picture of 
the poster for the new Adam Sandler comedy "You Don't Mess 
with the Zohan" about a Mossad agent turned hairstylist 
juxtaposed with a picture of a family carrying a dead child 
wrapped in the Palestinian flag.  Below the montage is a 
cartoon of a Palestinian man throwing a shoe, into which he 
has slipped a bomb, at an Israeli soldier.  More recent 
articles reflected growing outrage over the inability to 
 
RABAT 00001204  002 OF 003 
 
 
deliver humanitarian aid to victims due to the Israeli 
blockade.  Independent Arabic daily "Al Jarida al Oula" 
stated that, "It would be better for King Abdullah of Jordan 
to save his blood donation, for it will not reach the 
besieged Gaza; and (he should) just decide to expel the 
Zionist Ambassador from Amman."  Tajdid also, for the first 
time, mentioned HAMAS rockets, but cast them as homemade 
tools of a scrappy and outgunned resistance.  The paper also 
prominently featured letters from readers encouraging 
citizens to collect and send aid to the territory. 
 
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U.S. Attracts Barbs 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Independent Arabic-language daily "Al Massae" 
continued its criticism of the U.S. in today's editorial, 
extending its criticism to First Lady Laura Bush for calling 
the recent shoe-throwing incident in Iraq an act of 
aggression, but for not speaking out against Israeli strikes. 
 Several moderate dailies also blamed the passivity of fellow 
Arab leaders.  Al Massae opined, "All Israel's victories were 
achieved because of Arab regimes."  Pro-palace 
French-language daily "Le Matin" wrote that the U.S. is 
responsible for "the hurricane of state violence."  Al Massae 
also reported that students targeted McDonalds during 
protests in Casablanca.  Semi-private television 2M aired 
coverage of the protests as well, but declared that the 
official position of the U.S. is unlikely to change.  The 
U.S. was criticized again today by Istiqlal (nationalist) 
Arabic-language daily "Al Alam" for "backing the new 
holocaust." 
 
-------------------- 
Mission Observations 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Consulate Casablanca reported that on the night of 
December 30, at some point after evening prayers, a number of 
students attempted to protest the Israeli actions in Gaza in 
front of the McDonalds in the Maarif neighborhood.  The 
gathering was quickly broken up by the Moroccan authorities. 
Moreover, on the same night in the Place Des Nations Unies 
neighborhood, students painted over the "Place Des Nations 
Unies" plaque to read "Place De Gaza".  Casablanca ConOff 
heard that in Tangier, the police presence has been robust in 
order to quell student protests.  Consular contacts have 
speculated that the protests have not been more widespread to 
date because many students are on holiday.  Rabat PolOff 
observed increased and visible police presence on the 
approaches to Embassy Rabat and in the area around Parliament 
on December 31. 
 
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Mythology is the Enemy of Humanity 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C/NF) Raffi Erwihan, the secular, westernized, Deputy 
Director of the Ministry of Justice Judicial Training 
Institute and a high ranking judge told PolOff that 
hardliners on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides of the 
conflict were "clinging to their mythologies of the past" and 
were "enemies of humanity" who were leading their people to 
death.  He said that Moroccans were angry about the perceived 
disproportionality of the Israeli response to Hamas rockets. 
In the December 30 conversation, Erwihan added that there was 
a perception during the Lebanon conflict that there was at 
least an Arab resistance able to stand up for itself.  "Now, 
it's just endless images of children dying," he said.  "I am 
not radical, religious or political," he said, "but the 
pictures are difficult for me to see."  He said that the 
current gallows joke circulating "in the street" has a Gaza 
resident lifting his head groggily from the rubble saying, "I 
knew someone would have to pay for those (expletive) shoes 
(in Baghdad)." 
 
¶9.  (C/NF) Prominent human rights lawyer Abdelaziz Nouyadi 
also told PolOff on December 31 that Moroccans were more 
upset than he had seen them in a long time.  "There is a 
perception that this reaction is designed to strangle the 
people of Gaza, not achieve a military goal," he explained. 
He commented that many Moroccans also believe the Government 
of Israel (GOI) is attempting to present President-elect 
Obama with a "fait accompli" and force him into a policy 
corner before he even takes office.  Nouyadi said that almost 
200 attorneys from the Rabat Bar Association participated in 
 
RABAT 00001204  003 OF 003 
 
 
a sit-in on December 31 at the Appeals Court. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Additional Arab League Points Delivered 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (C/NF) On December 31, PolOff delivered talking points 
conveyed in Acting A/S Feltman's December 30 e-mail to 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Director of Humanitarian 
and Social Affairs Abdelmounaim El Farouq on December 31.  He 
promised to personally and immediately deliver the message to 
MFA Chief of Staff Nasser Bourita, who was in a day-long 
meeting, for onward transmission to Minister of Foreign 
Affairs Fassi Fihri at the Arab League meeting in Cairo.  El 
Farouq said that the Government of Morocco would be providing 
some type of humanitarian assistance to Gaza but did not know 
in what amount or form. 
 
---------------------- 
Berbers Also Speak Out 
---------------------- 
 
¶11.  (C/NF) In an unusual move, the Berber Association for 
Human Rights, which has made no secret of its affinity for 
Israel and normally refrains from commenting on 
Israeli/Palestinian issues, issued a signed statement 
condemning the Israeli action as disproportionate.  However, 
the Association was the only one to equally criticize HAMAS 
for breaking the truce and launching rocket attacks into 
Israel. 
 
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Comment 
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¶12.  (C/NF) The level of rhetoric surrounding the Gaza 
attacks is in keeping with precedent but seems to have a 
sharper edge.  The almost absolute lack of any mention of 
HAMAS's rocket attacks or breaking the cease-fire, coupled 
with horrific images of the aftermath of Israeli strikes, has 
created an almost monolithic wave of public revulsion and 
anger.  The numbers of people participating in protests is 
hard to quantify, but the size and breadth of the events have 
increased with each day.  The school closing is an unusual 
act and illustrates the depth to which the images have hit 
home.  It is reasonable to expect more and larger actions on 
January 1 and in the new year if the situation continues in 
Gaza.  End Comment. 
 
 
***************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
***************************************** 
 
Riley