Moroccan Jewish History

Although we were aware that there was Jewish history in Morocco (not least because Shana's cousin is married to a Moroccan Jew), we were surprised and impressed both by how extensive the history is, and how well maintained Jewish sites are, especially considering that today the Jewish population is estimated at only 1,000 (at its peak, the Jewish population of Morocco was over 300,000). Every tour we took mentioned Jewish history at least in passing.

Our first introduction to Moroccan Jewish history was at the Jewish Museum in Marrakech, which is in the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter of the city. There we saw both the Slat Al Azama Synagogue (opened in 1492) along with a number of exhibits around the site's lovely garden.

From the amazing photos of the exhibits, we learned that Jews originally arrived in Morocco after the destruction of the First Temple in 587 B.C.E. The Jews who arrived then lived among the native Imazighen peoples who sometimes themselves converted to Judaism. More Jews arrived with the expansion of the Roman Empire to what is now Morocco with gravestones containing Hebrew found at Volubilis.

After the Islamic takeover of Morocco, the status of Jews varied depending on the ideas of the ruling dynasty. Nonetheless, Jews continued to live throughout the country, and after the expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Penninsula in 1492, the Jewish population of Morocco swelled.

The Jewish cemetary in Marrakech is very large and very different than what we think of as a Jewish cemetary with elevated, stone grave markers.

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We were somewhat surprised to see that there had even been a synagogue in the tiny village of Ait Ben Hadou.

In Essaouira, which had a large Jewish population, we saw two of the three synagogues in the city. In the Haim Pinto Synagogue (left photo below), the old woman who is the caretaker indicated to us that she was connected to the history of the synagogue, perhaps the daughter of its last rabbi (she did not speak English and our French is not good enough for us to have gotten details). 

We also visited the Bayt Dakira Synagogue (right photo below) along with a school whose caretaker showed us a list of Jewish students from the 1960-61 school year. Later in the 1960's, many of Morocco's Jews moved to Israel, and the school closed. Today, the Moroccan Jewish community in Israel numbers between 500,000 (2019 census) and 1,000,000 (estimate of the World Federation of Moroccan Jews). 

Bayt Dakira also houses a modern Jewish Museum with fantastic photos and artifacts from the history of Moroccan Jewery. A small library contains many books about Judaism, some of which we recognized from Shana's father's vast collection.

Although most cities contained Jewish sites, including large cemetaries, the only other synagogue we visited was the Aben Danan Synagogue in Fes, which we visited with our guide. He explained that during the Islamic period, the Jewish quarter (mellah) was often near the Palace as the Jewish population sought the protection of the reigning monarch.

As we were in Morocco during Passover, various sites were closed. We very much enjoyed learning about the extensive Jewish history of this majority-Muslim nation, especially as it relates to the history of the Jews of the Iberian Penninsula. 

Our final Morocco post coming soon.

Jeff and Shana