Does Israel have a little-known ally within the supposedly ‘Arab’ world? Due to opposing currents regarding the role of pan-Arabism in pro-Palestinian activism, one population in the MENA region stands out on politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The Amazigh people (plural Imazighen) are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa, a region they know as Tamazgha. This region spans from Morocco to Egypt and from the Mediterranean coast to the southern edges of the Sahara, covering nearly the entirety of North Africa. Commonly known as Berbers–a derogatory term with connotation of ‘barbarianism’–the Imazighen are a non-Arab people with their own distinct language, culture and, often, political views. Imazighen have long struggled against the Arab-Islamic domination of North Africa, which has historically oppressed Imazighen by enforcing Arabic language education and preventing Imazighen from practicing their culture.
Amazigh activists from North Africa are an unusual group in the MENA region as they often put forth a starkly different position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in comparison to the overwhelmingly pro-Palestine sentiment common in the region. For Imazighen, this manifests as either an avoidance of participating in pro-Palestine activist efforts, such as rallies, or even as outspoken support for the state of Israel. Amazigh positions on the conflict reflect the larger political situation of Arabization in North Africa, and are essential to understand when considering regional diplomacy regarding Israel-Palestine.
Amazigh activism centers around a rejection of the normatively Arab political atmosphere in North African countries, which has historically produced Arab nationalist ideologies that consequently assert Arabic as the only official language of the state, with the sole exception of Morocco. While Amazigh activist organizations have a wide variety of goals, they are united in fighting for linguistic, cultural, and human rights across North Africa, such as the right to Amazigh language education or official state recognition of Amazigh culture. The Amazigh struggle against the spread of pan-Arabist ideologies in North Africa implies a resistance to the common pro-Palestine views in what is widely–and in the view of Imazighen, wrongly–called the ‘Arab world.’
When Israel’s 2008-2009 operations in Gaza ignited strong pro-Palestinian support in the dominant Moroccan political atmosphere, many Amazigh activists remained silent on the issue, which implicitly acted as a form of dissent. Islamist media accused Imazighen of being traitors to the Arab world for this silence, asserting that they have a responsibility to Palestine due to a supposedly shared Arab ethnicity and Muslim religion, as was the case with Moroccans. For example, Al-Tajdid, which is the newspaper of Morocco’s ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), called for Amazigh activists to denounce the “Zionist aggression against Gaza.” The prominent Amazigh activist Ahmed Assid responded to this condemnation by writing that there is no room for Imazighen in a Moroccan public sphere dominated by pan-Arabists and Islamists who push support for Palestine as a duty of pan-Arabists due to the need for Arab solidarity. Such individuals are only concerned with human rights, Assid asserted, “when it is Arabs who are wronged.”
Other prominent Amazigh activists cite the anti-Semitism that is prevalent among Moroccan Arab pro-Palestine activists, and ask why these pan-Arabists care only for their own people. To Imazighen this ‘selective humanism,’ in which Arabs are so deeply concerned about Palestine while participating in the brutal repression of Amazigh rights, delegitimizes their appeals to support Palestinian autonomy. Condemning Palestinian terrorism and fundamentalism, Amazigh journalist Moha Moukhlis, wrote, “The ‘Arab street’ is jubilant when an indoctrinated Palestinian child blows himself up in Tel Aviv,” yet these same Islamists refuse to speak out against human rights abuses against non-Arabs in Kurdistan, Darfur, or Algeria.
Some Amazigh political activists see a commonality with Jewish Israelis in that both groups challenge a normatively Arab and Islamic world view and oppose common enemies: Arab nationalism and Islamist fundamentalism. As Israeli scholar Bruce Maddy-Weitzman has pointed out, “[That the Imazighen] challenge the strident anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic views expressed in other Moroccan circles is a unique phenomenon in the MENA region,” contributing to a more pluralistic political atmosphere in regards to Israel. This insight is further supported by the creation of Amazigh-Jewish friendship associations in parts of Morocco, which support dialogue and cultural exchange with Amazigh Jews–most of whom have now migrated to Israel.
Amazigh political activists are not a pro-Israel monolith: there is a wide range of Amazigh perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What is distinct about Imazighen is their break from the assumption that they must support Palestine, thus opening up a space to challenge prevailing MENA sentiment on the issue. By asserting their indigenous Amazigh culture and language, which serves as an affront to Arab nationalism in the region, Imazighen contest the pan-Arab sentiment promoted in much Palestinian activism.
While Israel has not given support to Amazigh associations, an article in Haaretz by Anna Mahjar-Barducci called on Israel to support the newly-independent state of Azawad in North Africa. This state self-declared independence in April 2012, breaking off from Mali, but without outside support was quickly overcome by Islamist militant groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. The Azawadien struggle was initiated by the Amazigh-led National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a secular group also fighting against the Islamist takeover of Northern Mali. This challenge to an “Arab Maghreb” is a goal which Israel might find strategically relevant in locating regional allies. Most importantly, the ethnic and religious pluralism advancing by Amazigh political activism opens up space for substantive and critical discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an otherwise hegemonic atmosphere.
Eden Almasude is a medical student at the University of Minnesota and an editor of the Bokamoso Leadership Forum blog. She has an M.A. in African Studies and researches Amazigh issues and North African politics.
Photo: Frank M. Rafik (cc).
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Israel, Palestine and…Tamazgha? Indigenous North Africans and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
August 20, 2013
Does Israel have a little-known ally within the supposedly ‘Arab’ world? Due to opposing currents regarding the role of pan-Arabism in pro-Palestinian activism, one population in the MENA region stands out on politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The Amazigh people (plural Imazighen) are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa, a region they know as Tamazgha. This region spans from Morocco to Egypt and from the Mediterranean coast to the southern edges of the Sahara, covering nearly the entirety of North Africa. Commonly known as Berbers–a derogatory term with connotation of ‘barbarianism’–the Imazighen are a non-Arab people with their own distinct language, culture and, often, political views. Imazighen have long struggled against the Arab-Islamic domination of North Africa, which has historically oppressed Imazighen by enforcing Arabic language education and preventing Imazighen from practicing their culture.
Amazigh activists from North Africa are an unusual group in the MENA region as they often put forth a starkly different position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in comparison to the overwhelmingly pro-Palestine sentiment common in the region. For Imazighen, this manifests as either an avoidance of participating in pro-Palestine activist efforts, such as rallies, or even as outspoken support for the state of Israel. Amazigh positions on the conflict reflect the larger political situation of Arabization in North Africa, and are essential to understand when considering regional diplomacy regarding Israel-Palestine.
Amazigh activism centers around a rejection of the normatively Arab political atmosphere in North African countries, which has historically produced Arab nationalist ideologies that consequently assert Arabic as the only official language of the state, with the sole exception of Morocco. While Amazigh activist organizations have a wide variety of goals, they are united in fighting for linguistic, cultural, and human rights across North Africa, such as the right to Amazigh language education or official state recognition of Amazigh culture. The Amazigh struggle against the spread of pan-Arabist ideologies in North Africa implies a resistance to the common pro-Palestine views in what is widely–and in the view of Imazighen, wrongly–called the ‘Arab world.’
When Israel’s 2008-2009 operations in Gaza ignited strong pro-Palestinian support in the dominant Moroccan political atmosphere, many Amazigh activists remained silent on the issue, which implicitly acted as a form of dissent. Islamist media accused Imazighen of being traitors to the Arab world for this silence, asserting that they have a responsibility to Palestine due to a supposedly shared Arab ethnicity and Muslim religion, as was the case with Moroccans. For example, Al-Tajdid, which is the newspaper of Morocco’s ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), called for Amazigh activists to denounce the “Zionist aggression against Gaza.” The prominent Amazigh activist Ahmed Assid responded to this condemnation by writing that there is no room for Imazighen in a Moroccan public sphere dominated by pan-Arabists and Islamists who push support for Palestine as a duty of pan-Arabists due to the need for Arab solidarity. Such individuals are only concerned with human rights, Assid asserted, “when it is Arabs who are wronged.”
Other prominent Amazigh activists cite the anti-Semitism that is prevalent among Moroccan Arab pro-Palestine activists, and ask why these pan-Arabists care only for their own people. To Imazighen this ‘selective humanism,’ in which Arabs are so deeply concerned about Palestine while participating in the brutal repression of Amazigh rights, delegitimizes their appeals to support Palestinian autonomy. Condemning Palestinian terrorism and fundamentalism, Amazigh journalist Moha Moukhlis, wrote, “The ‘Arab street’ is jubilant when an indoctrinated Palestinian child blows himself up in Tel Aviv,” yet these same Islamists refuse to speak out against human rights abuses against non-Arabs in Kurdistan, Darfur, or Algeria.
Some Amazigh political activists see a commonality with Jewish Israelis in that both groups challenge a normatively Arab and Islamic world view and oppose common enemies: Arab nationalism and Islamist fundamentalism. As Israeli scholar Bruce Maddy-Weitzman has pointed out, “[That the Imazighen] challenge the strident anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic views expressed in other Moroccan circles is a unique phenomenon in the MENA region,” contributing to a more pluralistic political atmosphere in regards to Israel. This insight is further supported by the creation of Amazigh-Jewish friendship associations in parts of Morocco, which support dialogue and cultural exchange with Amazigh Jews–most of whom have now migrated to Israel.
Amazigh political activists are not a pro-Israel monolith: there is a wide range of Amazigh perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What is distinct about Imazighen is their break from the assumption that they must support Palestine, thus opening up a space to challenge prevailing MENA sentiment on the issue. By asserting their indigenous Amazigh culture and language, which serves as an affront to Arab nationalism in the region, Imazighen contest the pan-Arab sentiment promoted in much Palestinian activism.
While Israel has not given support to Amazigh associations, an article in Haaretz by Anna Mahjar-Barducci called on Israel to support the newly-independent state of Azawad in North Africa. This state self-declared independence in April 2012, breaking off from Mali, but without outside support was quickly overcome by Islamist militant groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Dine. The Azawadien struggle was initiated by the Amazigh-led National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a secular group also fighting against the Islamist takeover of Northern Mali. This challenge to an “Arab Maghreb” is a goal which Israel might find strategically relevant in locating regional allies. Most importantly, the ethnic and religious pluralism advancing by Amazigh political activism opens up space for substantive and critical discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an otherwise hegemonic atmosphere.
Eden Almasude is a medical student at the University of Minnesota and an editor of the Bokamoso Leadership Forum blog. She has an M.A. in African Studies and researches Amazigh issues and North African politics.
Photo: Frank M. Rafik (cc).
