History of the Jewish People in Morocco

The Jews in Morocco constitute an ancient society and have built up an interesting belief of customs and pilgrimages to the mausoleums of blessed sages. Presently, there are 13 such popular places centuries old, well-preserved by Muslims, and a large number of Jews visit these vaults every year on special occasions.      

Legends bring Jews in Morocco more than 2 thousand years ago, traveling with Phoenician merchants. As early as Roman Empire, Moroccan Jews had started traveling inland with Berbers who were actually wanderers and lived in distant places of Atlas Mountains. The Jews resided with Berbers, copying both cultural and economic associations; some Berbers even started practicing Judaism. In return, Berbers religiously transformed Jewish rituals, painting them with faith in the powers of saints and demons.  The Jews in Morocco experienced a populace explosion in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as the Spanish Jews were deported from Portugal and Spain. The Spanish Jewish community was a bit different from Moroccan Jews, but they put up with each other and shared both meager resources and customs.     

When Morocco got independence in 1956, the Jews had established several communities in the country. Many Jews moved to the west along Mediterranean coastline from the large Jewish centre in Carthage and some of them settled down in Volubilis which is a large excavated city near Meknes. Some Jews also moved to the foothills of mountains and deserts of Algeria and Morocco. 

Today, most of the Jews in Morocco have left the country. A few of them have settled in Israel and constitute the working class while the elite and middle class Jews have emigrated to Canada and France. Until the twentieth century, there were hundreds of thousands of Jews in Morocco which have now been left to 7,000 only. The majority of Moroccan Jews are living in Casablanca and Rabat. 

If you want to explore more about the history of the Jews in Morocco, do not hesitate to visit our website.