It’s a rare moment in the Middle East when the public’s voice roars louder than those of the governments. But Morocco’s surprise string of wins at the World Cup in Qatar have stirred a joy and pride among Arab fans that have, at least for a moment, eclipsed the region’s many political divisions.
Perhaps most striking is the love fest
between Palestinians and the Moroccan team, despite the Moroccan government’s
normalization of ties with Israel as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords.
The Moroccan team waved a Palestinian flag
after its victory over Spain last week, thrilling Palestinians. Throughout the
tournament, the Palestinian flag has been unfurled all over, carried by Arab
fans and some non-Arabs — so much so that the running joke is that Palestine is
the 33rd team at the World Cup.
Palestinians see it as a sign Arab public
support still runs strong for their cause even as they feel Arab governments
have abandoned them, with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan also
normalizing ties with Israel.
“I didn’t expect this. It’s spreading the
word and showing that Palestine is not just a political issue, it’s a human
issue,” said Ahmed Sabri, a young Palestinian in Doha after watching Morocco’s
win over Portugal on Saturday. He had the Palestinian flag draped over his
back.
His Egyptian friend, Yasmeen Hossam,
wrapped in a Moroccan flag, said, “This is the first World Cup in the Middle
East and the first one FOR the Middle East.”
Morocco is the first Arab and African team
to make it this far in a World Cup, playing a semifinal Wednesday against France.
Part of the Arab embrace of the team has come simply from having something to
celebrate in a region where many countries are mired in economic crises, armed
conflicts and political repression.
For some, it’s gratifying to see their
culture displayed in a positive way on a massive international stage — whether
it’s the Moroccan team doing a quick Muslim prayer during huddles or Morocco
winger Soufiane Boufal dancing with his veiled mother on the pitch after the
quarterfinal victory over Portugal.
“We are all clinging to this Moroccan team
as some sort of source of hope and happiness in a time where I think we all
could really use some good news,” said Danny Hajjar, a Lebanese-American music
writer.
The excitement with each victory has
crossed boundaries and political divisions.
Algerians joined in, even though their
government cut ties with Morocco last year. The two countries have a
long-running conflict over Western Sahara, which Morocco annexed in 1975 and
where Algeria long supported Sahrawis in the Polisario Front seeking
independence. Algeria was angered by the U.S. recognition of Moroccan
sovereignty in the territory in exchange for normalization with Israel.
At Morocco and Algeria’s often tense
border, fans lined up on both sides and cheered to each other across no-man’s
land, videos on social media showed. In the French city of Nice, diaspora
Algerians and Tunisians joined Moroccans in cafes and in each others’ homes for
the matches, setting off fireworks in celebration on the famed Mediterranean
boardwalk Promenade des Anglais
In contrast, Algerian state TV has not even
reported on Morocco’s wins, leaving them out of daily World Cup reports.
For Palestinians, the games have been a
breath of fresh air. The peace process with Israel has long mouldered in a jar
on the shelf; a far-right government in Israel is poised to take office;
tensions have risen in recent months with several deadly Palestinian attacks in
Israel, near daily Israeli raids in the West Bank and increasing harassment by
Jewish settlers.
At the same time, many Palestinians feel
they have been forgotten by Arab governments; besides the Abraham Accords,
countries like Egypt and Jordan have largely gone silent on the Palestinians’
future while increasing cooperation with Israel.
World Cup host Qatar has been a vocal
supporter of Palestinians and a major economic lifeline for the Gaza Strip,
governed by the Hamas militant group and under Egyptian and Israeli closure for
years.
Ahmed Abu Suleiman, a soccer coach from the
Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, said he feels proud seeing the Palestinian
flag so much among fans in Doha.
“Regimes change, but the people remain
unchanged. They are thinking about the Palestinian issue, about the Palestinian
wound,” he said.
Thousands of people packed a Gaza City
sporting hall with a large screen donated by Qatar to watch the
Morocco-Portugal match. Many held posters showing the Palestinian and Morocco
flags and the slogan, “One People, One Country.”
“It’s an indescribable feeling. I swear
it’s as if it’s Palestinians that were playing,” said one fan, Ibrahim
al-Lilli. “All of us are Morocco.”
Scenes of jubilation also took place across
the West Bank after the win. In east Jerusalem, two men stood atop the Old
City’s Damascus gate holding a red Moroccan flag while hundreds below cheered
and chanted, “God, Morocco, Jerusalem is Arab.”
The Moroccan victory also reverberated in
Israel, home to hundreds of thousands of Jews of Moroccan descent. Many
Israelis, including ones attending in Doha, were rooting for the team.
Avi Nachmani, a spokesman for the
Israel-based World Federation of Moroccan Jewry, said many Israelis of Moroccan
origin maintain a strong connection to their roots. “This flourishing of the
team really adds to the affinity,” he said.
He said scenes of players celebrating with
their mothers reminded him of the way Moroccan Jews honor their parents. “They
don’t forget where they came from,” he said.
But some were dismayed by shows of the
Palestinian flag. In Israel and east Jerusalem, police move quickly to tear
down any display of the flag, though it is not specifically banned.
Rudy Rochman, an Israeli of Moroccan
descent, said he felt a connection to the Moroccan team. But he called the
unfurling of the Palestinian flag “intentionally offensive to Israel.”
On social media, some said Arab enthusiasm
for Morocco erases the large ethnic Berber population that is equally if not
more a part of the country’s identity. Other voices said Morocco’s hold on
Western Sahara and discrimination felt by many Sahrawis were lost in the
cheers.
Lebanon may be the most complicated, as
sectarian divisions seep into soccer loyalties. While Lebanese are
overwhelmingly Brazil or Germany fans, many have adopted Morocco and rejoiced
in the streets after the win over Portugal.
The semifinal with France is more divisive.
Much of the Arab world sees a chance for a former colony to give its one-time
colonizer its comeuppance. But some in Lebanon feel cultural affinity with
France, particularly Christians.
After the Portugal game, scuffles broke out
in Beirut after a group of Morocco fans from a Muslim-majority neighborhood
rode through a Christian area on motorcycles, some hoisting Palestinian flags
and chanting “God is the greatest.” They were accosted by a group of men from
the area who saw the convoy as a sectarian provocation.
Given the history of divisions and the
15-year civil war, the music writer Hajjar said he wouldn’t be surprised if
there was more street friction around the semifinal. But, he said, he was
“hoping that we can all just enjoy the match for what it will be.” -AP