Israel and Morocco signed a 2022 trade deal targeting $500 million a year. See Israel-Morocco business ties in trade, travel and defense, with sourced figures.
Israel and Morocco signed a trade and investment cooperation agreement on February 21, 2022, and Israel's economy minister set a goal of raising annual trade from $131 million to $500 million within five years, according to Reuters and the Times of Israel. No source reviewed documents a wave of Jewish business families relocating to Morocco. The ties run through trade cooperation, heritage travel and a defense trade that Calcalist estimates at over $2 billion since 2020.
What agreement governs Israel-Morocco business?
A trade and investment cooperation agreement signed in Rabat on February 21, 2022 governs Israel-Morocco business, and it is not a free trade agreement. Israeli Economy Minister Orna Barbivai and Moroccan Trade Minister Ryad Mezzour signed it, and Reuters described it as a trade and economic cooperation agreement meant to facilitate investment.
Morocco World News reported that the agreement provides for "qualified industrial zones" in Morocco, intended to give goods made there direct access to US markets under a three-way arrangement with Israel and the United States. Atalayar's report on the Abraham Accords Peace Institute's annual review says the institute recommended pursuing a free trade agreement with Morocco, as the UAE concluded in May 2022. Olam's explainer on the Israel-UAE CEPA covers that comparison.
How large is Israel-Morocco civilian trade?
The Abraham Accords Peace Institute reported that bilateral trade doubled in 2023 to $116.7 million from $56.2 million in 2022, and that the figure excludes cyber, software and defense deals. Israel's economy ministry put 2021 trade at $131 million. The two figures come from different sources and counting methods, so treat the trend with caution.
How have flights and tourism changed since 2021?
Direct flights between Israel and Morocco began in July 2021, stopped in October 2023, and resumed on August 19, 2026, when Arkia flew Tel Aviv to Marrakech, according to Morocco World News. Arkia had launched a Tel Aviv-Essaouira route in September 2023. Hespress reports that El Al has not announced a return, and Arkia says Israeli passport holders need a Moroccan visa before travel.
Estimates of Israeli visitor numbers differ. The law firm Gide estimated nearly 200,000 Israeli tourists and business travelers in 2022, while the Jerusalem Post reports about 100,000 Israelis visiting each year before the war. A Moroccan-Israeli tour guide told Israel's N12 that he expects about 20,000 Israeli visitors by the end of 2026.
Are Jewish business families relocating to Morocco?
No source reviewed documents a relocation of Jewish business families or family offices to Morocco. The sources instead describe diaspora travel: Morocco World News reports that Israelis, especially those of Moroccan Jewish descent, visit ancestral mellahs, pray at the tombs of Jewish saints and trace family roots.
TPS, a Jerusalem-based news agency, estimates that about one million Israelis are from Morocco or of Moroccan descent. Morocco's own Jewish community is small, with fewer than 3,000 members according to Olam's profile of Morocco's Jewish community.
How does defense trade compare with civilian trade?
Defense trade is far larger than reported civilian trade, though the sources cover different periods. Calcalist cites estimates that Israeli defense exports to Morocco have passed $2 billion since 2020, and SIPRI data ranks Israel second among Morocco's arms suppliers at 24% of imports for 2021 to 2025. The civilian figure above is $116.7 million for 2023 alone and excludes defense.
Olam's Israel-Morocco defense corridor, IAI in Morocco and Benslimane plant pages cover the systems, and IAI's reported LORA talks are the newest development. Abraham Accords trade corridors compares Morocco with the other Accords economies.
What should readers watch next?
Three developments would show whether civilian ties catch up with defense ties: any free trade agreement of the kind the Abraham Accords Peace Institute recommended, a return of El Al or other carriers to Morocco beyond Arkia, and the first qualified industrial zones that Israel and Morocco name. Until then, the documented Israel-Morocco business relationship is trade cooperation, heritage travel and defense, not a relocation of Jewish business families.
How we report: Olam stories draw on public filings, company disclosures and named sources, checked by our editors. Read our methodology · Corrections
