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Petition Submitted to Moroccan Parliament for Citizenship Rights to Descendants of Jews
A petition submitted to Morocco's House of Representatives seeks to grant citizenship to all children and grandchildren of Moroccan Jews who renounced it. The proposal, resubmitted after a 2024 failure, calls for dual citizenship options and protections for Jewish communities. It has drawn mixed reactions, with some community leaders stating existing processes suffice.
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A legislative petition calling for Moroccan citizenship to be granted to all children and grandchildren of Moroccan Jews was submitted to Morocco's House of Representatives on April 30, 2026. Petition 321183 was submitted by Moroccan citizen El Houssain Benmessaoud to Rachid Talbi Alami, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Nadia Bouaida, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
This marks the second submission of the petition, following a 2024 attempt that failed to gather the required signatures.
The National Gateway for Citizen Participation has now begun receiving signatures for this latest iteration, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. At its core, the petition requests that Moroccan nationality be granted to all Moroccan Jews who previously renounced it, along with their children and grandchildren.
It highlights how descendants of Moroccan Jews abroad lost Moroccan nationality by descent over generations, often due to emigration for economic, religious, and other reasons.
The petition states that Moroccan Jews have been an integral component of the nation, historically united under the monarchy, and that Moroccan identity persists in the lives of Moroccan Jews abroad. The petition also asks that applicants retaining other nationalities be allowed dual citizenship if the legislation is enacted.
It calls for the creation of an independent national body for Jewish religious affairs and for the protection of Moroccan Jewish communities from discrimination or attacks inside and outside Morocco.
