JALAL MORCHIDI / AFPAndre Azoulay, senior adviser to the King of Morocco, recites a speech by the monarch during the 9th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum in Morocco’s northern city of Fes.
The Presidential Medal is awarded to those who have ‘made an extraordinary contribution to the State of Israel, the Jewish people and humanity’
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog on Sunday announced the recipients of this year’s Presidential Medal of Honor, including Andre Azoulay, a Moroccan Jewish senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
The 82-year-old statesman will be awarded in the category of individuals “who made a unique contribution to the Jewish people.” Azolay has been in office since the rule of King Hassan II.
He made “an extraordinary contribution to the Jewish world and Moroccan Jewry and the State of Israel in cultivating and preserving relations with Morocco over the years, preserving Jewish heritage in Morocco and providing support and advice to Israeli leaders in their quest for peace in the Middle East,” according to an official announcement.
Azoulay founded the organization “Identity and Dialogue” in order to restore the Jewish heritage in Morocco and promote cross-cultural communication between Jews and Palestinians. In 2020, in the presence of the Moroccan King, a center for Jewish culture that Azoulay founded “Beit Dakhira” was inaugurated in Asavira and “serves as a meeting place for Muslims and Jews and even hosts artists and creators from Israel.”
“His vision of establishing friendly and peaceful relations between Israel and Morocco was realized in the Abraham Accords and his influence is evident in every area of these relations,” the statement said.
The Presidential Medal is awarded to those who have “made an extraordinary contribution to the State of Israel, the Jewish people and humanity, through their talent, service or in some other way.”
This year, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel, it was decided to award 13 people aged from 35 to 102. Included were eight men, five women, two leaders from the Jewish diaspora and one organization. The award ceremony will be held at the President’s residence in Jerusalem, in September.
The Moroccan state news agency MAP confirmed the news late on Sunday in a press release that emphasised Azoulay’s commitment to the two-state solution since his early years of activism.
During his studies years in France, Azoulay established the “Identity and Dialogue” movement, the first organisation in the diaspora to be formed consisting of Jewish intellectuals calling for a Palestinian State living in peace side by side with Israel, according to MAP.
“Andre Azoulay and his friends were among the first to reach out to the PLO. In an unprecedented and courageous dynamic that was widely criticised in the Jewish world at the time,” stated MAP’s press release.
The Moroccan official is set to attend the award ceremony in September in Jerusalem along with twelve other recipients including Canada’s Former Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler.
Late in 2020, Rabat normalised ties with Tel Aviv under the US auspices. Amid rising opposition to the state’s decision, the palace released a communiqué last March stressing that “the foreign policy of the kingdom is a prerogative of His Majesty under the Constitution.”
Nevertheless, despite the normalisation, the North African Kingdom continues to regularly reaffirm its commitment to the Palestinian cause as “one of the priorities of its foreign policy.”
