Morocco Hopes for Israeli Tourism Boost when Flights Resume Morocco hopes its improved ties with Israel and centuries-old Jewish history will help it offset some of the tourist trade it has lost to the global pandemic by bringing a surge of Israeli visitors once flights restart next month. The two countries agreed in December to resume diplomatic ties and relaunch direct flights - part of a deal brokered by the United States. Morocco was home to one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East for centuries until Israel's founding in 1948. As Jews fled or were expelled from many Arab countries, an estimated quarter of a million left Morocco for Israel from 1948-1964. Today only about 3,000 Jews remain in Morocco, while hundreds of thousands of Israelis claim some Moroccan ancestry. Though a small number of Israeli tourists have already come to Morocco, many have been put off by the lack of direct flights and diplomatic ties. The head of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, which reopened after the deal, said he expected flights to resume next month. Source: Reuters, ?Walla News ?? IF YOU LOVE ISRAEL - SHARE NEWSRAEL