Moroccan Jews

{{Main|History of the Jews in Morocco}}

File:A Jewish house in Mogador by Darondeau 1807 1841.jpg, Darondeau (1807–1841)]]

Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community with possible origins dating back to before 70 CE. Concrete evidence of Jewish presence in Morocco becomes apparent in late antiquity, with Hebrew epitaphs and menorah-decorated lamps discovered in the Roman city of Volubilis, and the remains of a synagogue dating to the third century CE.{{Cite book |last=Gottreich |first=Emily |url=http://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/jewish-morocco-a-history-from-pre-islamic-to-postcolonial-times |title=Jewish Morocco: A History from Pre-Islamic to Postcolonial Times |date=2020 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-78076-849-6 |pages=22–23 |doi=10.5040/9781838603601.ch-001 |s2cid=241423198}}{{cite news|author1-last=Andreeva|author1-first=Sofia|author2-last=Fedorchuk|author2-first=Artem|author3-last=Nosonovsky|author3-first=Michael|title=Revisiting Epigraphic Evidence of the Oldest Synagogue in Morocco in Volubilis |journal=Arts|year=2019 |volume=8 |number=4 |page=127 |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/8/4/127/htm}} In accordance with the norms of the Islamic legal system, Moroccan Jews had separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities (Muslim sharia, Christian Canon law and Jewish halakha law-abiding) were allowed to rule themselves under their own system.

During the Late Middle Ages, and particularly after the expulsion of Jews mandated by the Alhambra Decree, many Sephardi Jews migrated from al-Andalus to the Maghreb as refugees fleeing the inquisition in Spain and Portugal.{{Cite book|last=Taieb-Carlen|first=Sarah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9txi3xuuENcC&q=alhambra+decree+morocco&pg=PA56|title=The Jews of North Africa: From Dido to De Gaulle|date=2010-02-23|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-7618-5044-1|language=en}} They are referred to as the Megorashim,{{Cite book|last=Gerber|first=Jane S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgS1qqkVL0kC&q=megorashim&pg=PA46|title=Jewish Society in Fez 1450-1700: Studies in Communal and Economic Life|date=1980|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-05820-0|language=en}} while the Jews already in Morocco are referred to as the Toshavim.{{Cite book|last=Gerber|first=Jane S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgS1qqkVL0kC&q=toshavim&pg=PA43|title=Jewish Society in Fez 1450-1700: Studies in Communal and Economic Life|date=1980|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-05820-0|language=en}} Many Sephardic Jews settled in Fez and Marrakesh. In the following centuries, Conversos who had been banished to Iberian colonial possessions in the Americas and the Atlantic reclaimed their Judaism and also resettled in Morocco.

In the mid 19th century, Moroccan Jews started migrating from the interior of the country to coastal cities such as Essaouira, Mazagan, Asfi, and later Casablanca for economic opportunity, participating in trade with Europeans and the development of those cities.{{Cite book|last=Gottreich, Emily R.|title=Jewish space in the Morroccan city : a history of the mellah of Marrakech, 1550-1930|pages=54|oclc=77066581}} The Alliance Israélite Universelle opened its first school in Tetuan in 1862.{{Cite book|last=Rodrigue|first=Aron|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NatkG7sGCkC&q=1862&pg=PA125|title=Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times|date=2003|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98314-1|language=en}}

File:Bab_mellah.jpg, an old Jewish neighborhood, distinguish the homes from homes of Muslims at the time.{{Cite journal |last1=Bressolette |first1=Henri |last2=Delaroziere |first2=Jean |date=1983 |title=Fès-Jdid de sa fondation en 1276 au milieu du XXe siècle |journal=Hespéris-Tamuda |pages=245–318}}]]

After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and due to domestic strife in the 1950s, the next several decades saw waves of Jewish emigration to Israel, France and Canada. Shay Hazkani found that of the 20,000 who performed aliyah in 1948-1949, 1,000 served in the IDF, of which 70% wished to return home. Only 6% managed to do so, given various bureaucratic obstacles like the Israeli confiscation of their passports and Moroccan resistance to their repatriation.Shay Hazkani,[https://books.google.com/books?id=sAMcEAAAQBAJ&dq=Hazkani%2BDear+Palestine%2BAbdullah+Dawud&pg=PT11 Dear Palestine:A Social History of the 1948,] Stanford University Press 2021 {{isbn|978-1-503-61465-9}}.Josh Ruebner, [https://mondoweiss.net/2021/06/unsettling-1948-a-review-of-shay-hazkanis-dear-palestine/ 'Unsettling 1948: A Review of Shay Hazkani’s ‘Dear Palestine’,'] Mondoweiss 24 June 2021 Moroccan Jews emigrated for a variety of reasons. Some have emigrated for religious reasons, some faced persecution, and others left for better economic prospects than they faced in post-colonial Morocco. With every Arab-Israeli war, tensions between Arabs and Jews would rise, sparking more Jewish emigration. By the time of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the majority of Morocco's Jewish population had emigrated.{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4350488,00.html|title=Morocco film searches out Jews who left|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=3 March 2013|access-date=22 August 2017}}

As a protectorate of France, parts of Morocco were heavily influenced by French culture, while the same is true of the portions of the country that belonged to Spain. Traditionally, the Jews were classified as being French-Moroccan or Spanish-Moroccan depending on where in Morocco they lived, and remnants of these classifications can be felt today. These differences are reflected in language, foods, last names and even liturgy.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Early photographs of Moroccan Jewish families, taken in the early 20th century by German explorer and photographer Hermann Burchardt, are now held at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.[http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625690&bt=europeanaapi Jewish couple in Morocco on the roof of their house]; [http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625691&bt=europeanaapi Jewish family during the Feast of Tabernacles on the roof of their house]; [http://www.moroccan-judaism.org/fiche?id=22014&bt=europeanaapi Moroccan Jews in 1905], by Hermann Burchardt; [http://www.moroccan-judaism.org/fiche?id=28768&bt=europeanaapi Jewish family, 1905]; [http://www.moroccan-judaism.org/fiche?id=22012&bt=europeanaapi The Saba Synagogue, 1905]; [http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625430&bt=europeanaapi Jewish family in their home]; [http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625431&bt=europeanaapi The Ibn (Aben) Danan Synagogue], in the Mellah of Fès (click to enlarge); [http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625432&bt=europeanaapi Jewish family in Morocco], early 20th century (click on photo to enlarge); [http://www.moroccan-judaism.org/fiche?id=22187&bt=europeanaapi Family portrait], Morocco.

Most Jews in Morocco lived in desolate areas during the late 1930s. This was in part due to increased taxation by the French protectorate. In 1936, Léon Blum, a Jewish man, was appointed as prime minister of France. This gave some Moroccan Jews hope that they may be able to become French citizens at some point, as Algerian Jews gained French citizenship with the Crémieux Decree. Algerian Jews were granted right of passage to France, and this only furthered the desire of Moroccan Jews to embrace French culture to the extent of the Algerian Jews.{{Cite journal|last=Kenbib|first=Mohammed|date=2014-08-08|title=Moroccan Jews and the Vichy regime, 1940–42|journal=The Journal of North African Studies|language=en|volume=19|issue=4|pages=540–553|doi=10.1080/13629387.2014.950523|s2cid=144757688|issn=1362-9387}}

During the Moroccan struggle for independence in the 1950s, several promises were made to ensure equal rights to the Jewish community in a future independent Morocco, in part due to lobbying efforts of Moroccan nationalists in the United States.{{Cite book |last=Stenner |first=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1082294927 |title=Globalizing Morocco : transnational activism and the post-colonial state |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-5036-0900-6 |location=Stanford, California |pages=146 |oclc=1082294927}}

A small community of around 2,000–2,500 Jews live in Morocco today. However, in a rapidly increasing trend, young men from the community are emigrating to Israel and France.{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4354823,00.html|title=Moroccan Jews study high-tech in Israel|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=17 March 2013|access-date=22 August 2017|last1=Abebe |first1=Danny Adeno }} As of 2017, according to The Economist, "No Arab country has gone to the lengths of Morocco to revive its Jewish heritage."{{cite news|title=Morocco's little idyll of Jewish-Muslim coexistence|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21730897-essaouira-sets-example-rest-middle-east-moroccos-little-idyll|newspaper=The Economist|date=2 November 2017}} The country has restored 110 synagogues and has the Arab world’s only Jewish museum. More than 50,000 Israelis visit Morocco annually.

File:معبد بيت إيل.jpg in Casablanca in 2017]]

File:Netivot Israel Congregation, Moroccan synagogue in Brooklyn.jpg.]]

File:Jewish cemetery in Essaouira.jpg]]

• Morocco: In 2012 it was estimated that 2,000–2,500 Jews still lived in Morocco, mainly in Casablanca. Other towns are said to have smaller, aging populations.In 2025 the Jewish Population in Morocco numbered 1,000[https://www.jewishrefugees.org.uk/2025/02/why-do-thousands-of-jews-still-stay-in-iran.html/comment-page-1?unapproved=15620&moderation-hash=7f9cf6564dcf965914f661a7bcf227cf#comment-15620 Jewish Refugee.org February 22,2025]
• Israel: The 1950s and 1960s saw large waves of Jewish emigration from Morocco to Israel. Many Moroccan Jews were transferred to peripheral development towns while others settled in larger, established cities. Today, Jews of Moroccan descent can be found all across Israel.
• France: Large communities in France include Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Lyon and Nice.
• Argentina: Mainly in Buenos Aires and Rosario.
• Brazil: Amazonian Jews mainly in Belém (about 450 families), Manaus (about 250 families) and Rio de Janeiro (about 100 families),{{cite web|url=http://aj200.blogspot.com.br/2010/02/linha-do-tempo-da-presenca-judaica-na.html|title=Blog do Amazônia Judaica: Linha do Tempo da Presença Judaica na Amazônia|first=Amazonia|last=Judaica|website=aj200.Blogspot.com.br|access-date=22 August 2017}} with small communities scattered throughout the Amazon region. 2009 marked 200 years of the first wave of immigration to the Amazon region.{{cite web|url=http://www.amazoniajudaica.org/167563/Quem-somos|title=Portal Amazonia Judaica - Quem Somos|website=www.AmazoniaJudaica.org|access-date=22 August 2017}} One distinguished descendant of Moroccan Jews in Brazil is Brazilian Senator for the Amazonian province of Amapá, Davi Alcolumbre, who became President of the Senate in 2019. Also the local businessmen Isaac Benayon Sabba and Samuel Benchimol.
• Canada: In the 1950s Canada began extending visas to Jews from Morocco. Large communities developed in Montreal and Toronto. Moroccans were attracted to Canada because of its high quality of life and to Montreal in particular because of the French language. Toronto is known for its significant Moroccan population originating from cities such as Tangiers and Tetouan. In the recent past, however, an emergence of French-Moroccan musical liturgy and customs has been noticed even in this dominant Moroccan city. For example, the traditional Moroccan Bakashot, classical music sung by Sephardic Jews in the winter months across countries in the Middle East on Friday night, has come to life in recent productions by Magen David Congregation and Abir Ya'akob Congregation. {{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}
• Venezuela: Concentrated mainly in Caracas.
• Gibraltar: The Jewish community in Gibraltar originates from Tangiers and Tetouan.
• United States: In 1972 the Moroccan Jewish Organization (MJO)Moroccan Jewish Organization (MJO) {{cite web|url=http://mjony.org/id1.html|title=The History of the MJO|access-date=13 Sep 2017}} was founded. Founding Members created Moroccan Services & a Synagogue in Forest Hills, NY named Shaar Hashamayim Sephardic Synagogue. Members and Participants of MJO went on to create other Moroccan Synagogues and Batei Midrashot / Houses of [Torah] Study in Manhattan (Manhattan Sephardic Cong.), Brooklyn (Netivot Yisrael), Fort Lee, NJ, Cedarhurst (HaChaim veHaShalom) and Philadelphia, PA.

The Jewish quarters in Morocco were called mellahs. Jews in Morocco were considered dhimmis under Muslim law, meaning that they were a protected religious minority distinct from the Muslim majority, and were prevented from participating in certain activities.Deshen, Shlomo. "Urban Jews in Sherifian Morocco." Middle Eastern Studies 20, no. 4 (1984): 212-23. doi:10.1080/00263208408700607 However, dhimmis such as Jews were tolerated, following the Pact of Umar in the 7th century, unlike the policy of intolerance that Christians practiced toward Jews in the Europe of that time. The sultans restricted Jews to the mellahs, in what most see as an attempt to ostracize them and keep them from being exposed to insurgents;Deshen, Shlomo. "Urban Jews in Sherifian Morocco." Middle Eastern Studies20, no. 4 (1984): 214 . doi:10.1080/00263208408700607. The sultans also, however, wanted Jews to be protected for political reasons, as an attack on minorities was seen as an attack on the Sultan's power. The Sultans thus restricted Jews to the mellahs for their safety, as well as to protect the Sultans' rulings from being tested by insurgents. The word mellah is similar to the Hebrew word for salt, {{lang|he-Latn|melach}} (מלח); it refers to the salty, marshy area to which the Jews of Northern Morocco were originally transferred and where they gathered.Lapidus, Ira M. "Emily Gottreich. The Mellah of Marrakesh: Jewish and Muslim Space in Morocco's Red City.(Indiana Series in Middle East Studies.)." The American Historical Review113, no. 3 (2008): 946-47. doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.946. The mellah was not a ghetto and was not structured in a way similar to Jewish quarters in Europe. By the 1900s, most Moroccan cities had a mellah.

Moroccan Jewry has developed as a hybrid of the many cultures that have shaped Morocco itself, namely Jewish, Arab, Amazigh, French and Spanish.

File:Fête juive à Tétouan, Alfred Dehodencq, 1865.jpg, 1865, Paris Museum of Jewish Art and History]]

Even before the arrival of Sephardi Jews to Morocco, Moroccan Jews performed and developed the traditions of the Andalusian classical music and introduced it into their Liturgical music. In his book "Jews of Andalusia and the Maghreb" on the musical traditions in Jewish societies of North Africa, Haim Zafrani writes: "In Spain and Morocco, Jews were ardent maintainers of Andalusian music and the zealous guardians of its old traditions ...."{{cite book|title=Juifs d'Andalousie et du Maghreb|series=Références Maisonneuve et Larose|author=Haïm Zafrani |publisher=Maisonneuve & Larose|year=2002|page=228|isbn=978-2-7068-1629-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cdsEySgTqxAC&pg=PA228}}

{{Main article|Moroccan Jewish cuisine}}

Moroccan Jewish cuisine blends local Moroccan flavors, culinary traditions from Jewish migrants, and kosher dietary laws. The cuisine is closely tied to social and religious events, particularly Shabbat and holiday meals, and includes dishes such as couscous and tagine.{{Cite book |title=מרוקו |publisher=Ben Zvi Institute for the Research of the Jewish Communities in the Middle East; Minister of Education: Division for Social and Youth Education |year=2003 |editor-last=Saadoun |editor-first=Haim |pages=103–106 |trans-title=Morocco |issn=1565-0774}} The cuisine reflects influences from Arab, Berber, French and Spanish traditions, with an emphasis on spices, herbs, and vegetables.

One of the most famous dishes of Moroccan Jewish cuisine is the traditional sabbath meal: skhina ({{Lang|ary|سخينة}}, a literal translation of {{Langx|he|חמין}} "hot"), also called dfina ({{Lang|ary|دفينة}} "buried").{{Cite web |date=2017-10-18 |title=حكاية طبق {{!}} الدفينة - المغرب {{!}} الجزيرة الوثائقية |url=http://doc.aljazeera.net/video/%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B7%D8%A8%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018093954/http://doc.aljazeera.net/video/%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B7%D8%A8%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8 |archive-date=2017-10-18 |access-date=2020-04-22 |language=ar}} There's also a kosher version of pastilla.{{cite book |last1=Solomonov |first1=Michael |title=Zahav: A World of Israeli Cuisine |date=2016 |publisher=HMH}} Special foods are prepared for holidays, like the post-Passover Mimouna celebration, which features sweet delicacies and symbolic treats such as the mofletta, a sweet pancake served with butter and honey.Morocco / editor - Haim Saadon. Jerusalem: Ministry of Education - Society and Youth Administration. 2003. Pages 301-306 Mahia, an aperitivo distilled from dates or figs, is traditionally associated with Morocco's Jewish community.{{Cite web|url=https://www.international.ucla.edu/cnes/event/13273|title=Mahia on the Market: On the History of a Moroccan Jewish Commodity|website=www.international.ucla.edu|language=en|access-date=2019-10-29}}

File:Moroccan_Sweets.png

Traditional Henna parties usually take place within the week before a special occasion, such as a wedding, Bnei Mitzvah, or baby showers. During pre-wedding Henna parties, the Matriarch of the family (often the grandmother) smudges henna in the palm of the bride and groom to symbolically bestow the new couple with good health, fertility, wisdom, and security. The henna is believed in Moroccan tradition to protect the couple from demons. The grandmother covers the henna, a dough-like paste produced by mixing crushed henna plant leaves with water, in order to lock in body heat and generate a richer color. Normally, the henna will dye skin orange for up to two weeks. In Moroccan folklore, the bride is exempt of her household duties until the henna completely fades. After the bride and groom are blessed with the henna, the guests also spread henna on their palms to bring good luck.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

File:Moroccan wedding dress, 19-20th century (3551817349).jpg (or keswa-el-kbria in Arabic) is a traditional dress for a Moroccan Jewish woman for her wedding]]

Although most Moroccan Jews tend to dress in styles of their adopted countries, traditional Moroccan clothing is sometimes worn during celebrations (Mimouna, weddings, Bar Mitzvas, etc.) or even during more intimate gatherings, such as Shabbat dinner. Men usually wear a white jellaba (jellabiya) cloak while women wear more ornate kaftans.

Mimouna is celebrated by many Moroccan Jews on the night following the last day of Passover. It has spread to be an almost national holiday in Israel where it is particularly prevalent in cities where there is a large concentration of Moroccan Jews like Ashdod, Ashkelon and Natanya.

{{Main|Minhag Morocco}}

Many Rabanim have passed through and sojourned in Morocco leaving behind great influence. In 2008, a project to preserve Moroccan Torah and the words of its Ḥakhamim was initiated. DarkeAbotenou.com was created by a few members of the Toronto Sephardic Community; devoting their time and effort to increasing global awareness of the customs and laws that Jews of Morocco live with every day. Daily emails are sent in both English and French containing the customs, laws, and traditional liturgy of both the French and Spanish parts of Morocco. This daily publication is currently broadcast in both English and French.[http://www.darkeabotenou.com/blog/about/ Darké Abotenou » About]. Darkeabotenou.com (2008-11-21). Retrieved on 4 July 2011.

The observer of a typical Moroccan Jewish prayer service will note the presence of Oriental motifs in the melodies. However, unlike the tunes of Eastern rites (Syrian, Iraqi, etc.), which were influenced by Middle Eastern sounds, Moroccan Jewish religious tunes have a uniquely Andalusian feel. Furthermore, just as Eastern liturgical melodies are organized into Maqams, Moroccan liturgy can be classified by Noubas. The Moroccan prayer rite itself is also unique among Sephardic customs. The Moroccan nusach has many unique components but has also incorporated numerous Ashkenazic customs due to the country's proximity and exposure to Europe. Some customs of the Moroccan nusach include:

• Two blessing for Hallel: One blessing (ligmor et ha'Hallel) is said when the full Hallel is recited, while the other blessing (likro et ha'Hallel) is said when the abridged Hallel is recited. Other Sephardim omit the latter.
• Yiru Enenu: The blessing commencing with the words Yiru Enenu (translation: Our eyes shall see) is recited after Hashkivenu in the Arvit service after the Sabbath. Many Ashkenazim say this passage on every weekday night after Hashkivenu. This custom is discussed in Tosafot of Tractate Berakhot 4a.
• Le'David: Before the Arvit service after the Sabbath, three psalms are recited in a unique tune said to be the same tune that King David's soldiers recited them in. The psalms are Chapters 144, 67 and 44 (in that order). Some congregations begin this service with Chapter 16 in a tune that leads up to the other three psalms.
• Pesukei Dezimra: The opening verse of Psalm 30 ("Mizmor Shir Ḥanukat Habayit LeDavid") is added to the remainder of the Psalm during Shaḥarit of Hanuka. Other Sepharadim begin with "Aromimkha" even on Ḥanuka.
• Shir HaShirim: This is usually read between Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat on the Sabbath eve. Other Sephardic groups tend to read it before Minḥa. Moroccan Jews chant Shir HaShirim with a unique cantillation. A common practice is for a different congregant to sing each chapter.
• Before the repetition of the Amidah in Shaḥarit and Musaf of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the hymn "Hashem sham'ati shim'akha yareti" (Translation: Hashem, I have heard your speech and was awed) is sung. The origin of this verse is Habakkuk 3:2.
• The Moroccan tune for Torah Reading is unique to the Moroccan tradition, unlike all other Sephardic Jews who merely utilize different variations of the Yerushalmi tune.
• Some of the Moroccan Piyutim / Jewish Prayer Melodies and Songs - are said to come from the songs of the Leviim / Levites - that were sung on the steps leading to the Beit HaMikdash / Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

• Psalm 29 and Lekha Dodi are recited sitting down in the Kabbalat Shabbat service.
• Packets of salt are distributed to congregants on the second night of Passover, marking the first counting of the 'Omer. The significance of salt includes the commemoration of the sacrifices in the Temple and other Kabbalistic reasons.[http://www.kehilacentre.com/uploads/store/salt_article.pdf "Salt of Omer" in the Kehila Centre Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704131203/http://www.kehilacentre.com/uploads/store/salt_article.pdf |date=2008-07-04 }}. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-07-04.
• Pirke Avot is read during the Musaf service of Shabbat between Passover and Shavuot. As well, the custom is for pre-Bar Miṣva boys to read each chapter, and this is usually performed with a special tune.
• After reciting the hamotzie blessing over bread, there is a custom to dip the bread into salt while reciting "{{lang|he-Latn|Adonai melekh, Adonai malakh, Adonai yimlokh le'olam va'ed}}" (Translation: God reigns; God has reigned; God will reign for ever and ever). This "verse" is actually a compilation of three verses taken from Psalms and Exodus. The validity of this custom has been disputed among Moroccan Poskim since it may constitute an interruption of a blessing.
• Before the Magid section of the Passover Seder, the Seder plate is raised and passed over the heads of those present while reciting "{{lang|he-Latn|Bibhilu yaṣanu mi–miṣrayim, halaḥma 'anya bené ḥorin}}" (Translation: In haste we went out of Egypt [with our] bread of affliction, [now we are] free people). It can be heard here.{{YouTube|DwjIcjE93ds|Pesah פסח – Bibhilou בבהילו – Jo 'Amar ג'ו עמר z"l}}. Retrieved on 4 July 2011.

{{See also|Tujjar as-Sultan}}

Moroccan Jews have held important positions in the Makhzen throughout their history. André Azoulay currently serves as an advisor to Muhammad VI of Morocco.

In the 20th century, there were a number of prominent Moroccan Jewish Communists including Léon Sultan, Elie Azagury, Abraham Serfaty, and Sion Assidon.{{Cite web|url=https://fr.le360.ma/politique/lutte-contre-la-corruption-sion-assidon-refuse-la-main-tendue-du-pjd-183018|title=Lutte contre la corruption: Sion Assidon refuse la main tendue du PJD|website=fr.le360.ma|date=27 January 2019|language=fr|access-date=2020-02-02}} In the words of Emily Gottreich, "although the [Moroccan Communist Party] welcomed everyone, it held special appeal for urban educated elite; almost all of Morocco’s prominent Jewish intellectuals joined the party at one time or another."{{Cite book|last=Gottreich|first=Emily|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781838603601|title=Jewish Morocco|date=2020|publisher=I.B. Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781838603601 |isbn=978-1-78076-849-6|s2cid=213996367 }}{{Cite journal |last=براص |first=محمد |date=2016 |title= |script-title=ar:الثابت والمتحول في علاقة الحزب الشيوعي باليهود المغاربة 1943–1948 |trans-title=The Communist Party and the Jews of Morocco: Constant and Variant between 1943 and 1948 |url=https://www.hesperis-tamuda.com/Downloads/2010-2019/2016/fascicule-3/2.pdf |journal=Hespéris-Tamuda |language=ar}}

In 1959, Moroccan Jews started a riot in Wadi Salib, a neighborhood in Haifa that was populated primarily by immigrants from Morocco, against the conditions Mizrahi Jews faced in Israel.{{Cite journal |last=Hazkani |first=Shay |date=2023 |title="Our Cruel Polish Brothers": Moroccan Jews between Casablanca and Wadi Salib, 1956–59 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/901512 |journal=Jewish Social Studies |language=en |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=41–74 |doi=10.2979/jewisocistud.28.2.02 |issn=1527-2028|url-access=subscription }} It led to the first of a series of violent demonstrations against the government, the Labor Party and the Histadrut around the country.{{Cite web |last=Segev |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Segev |date=9 July 2009 |title=The Makings of History So Much for the Melting Pot |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2009-07-09/ty-article/the-makings-of-history-so-much-for-the-melting-pot/0000017f-db6a-d856-a37f-ffeaf11b0000 |website=Haaretz}} Shay Hazkani sees the struggle of Moroccan Jews against Ashkenazi racism in Israel that led to the riots as an extension of their political radicalization in the anti-colonial struggle they had been engaged in against France in Morocco.

All ten of the founding members of the Israeli Black Panthers—a short-lived 1970-1971 protest movement that worked against "ethnic discrimination and the 'socioeconomic gap,'" a group inspired by anti-Zionist university students—were children of Moroccan immigrants.{{Citation |last=Lubin |first=Alex |title=Geographies of Liberation |date=2014-02-01 |pages=111–141 |chapter=The Black Panthers and the PLO |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |doi=10.5149/northcarolina/9781469612881.003.0005 |isbn=9781469612881}}Bernstein, Deborah (1984). Conflict and Protest in Israeli Society. Haifa University. pp. 133–137.

Mordechai Vanunu, a whistleblower who revealed information on Israel's nuclear weapons program and was later abducted by Mossad in Rome and incarcerated in Israel, was born in Marrakesh.{{Cite web |date=2016-05-12 |title=La folle histoire du lanceur d'alerte d'origine marocaine harcelé par Israël |url=https://mobile.ledesk.ma/2016/05/12/la-folle-histoire-du-lanceur-dalerte-dorigine-marocaine-harcele-par-israel/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Le Desk |language=fr-FR}}{{Cite news |last=Myre |first=Greg |date=2004-04-21 |title=Israeli Who Revealed Nuclear Secrets Is Freed |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/international/middleeast/israeli-who-revealed-nuclear-secrets-is-freed.html |access-date=2023-03-26 |issn=0362-4331}}

In Israel, many Moroccan Jews have risen to prominence in politics such as Amir Peretz, Orly Levy, Arye Deri, Miri Regev and Naama Lazimi.

{{Main|Genetic studies on Jews}}

Over the years, the Moroccan Jews' DNA was examined and studied by numerous studies, the general image of it showed that in terms of Y-DNA it was mainly from the same Levantine source as the vast majority of the world's Jewry, meaning that they too are descendants of the Ancient Israelites from the Biblical times. In the case of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews (in particular Moroccan Jews), who are apparently closely related, the minority non-Levantine component of their DNA is southern European.{{cite journal|journal=Biol Direct |year=2010 |volume=5 |issue=57 |doi=10.1186/1745-6150-5-57 |title=The Origin of Eastern European Jews Revealed by Autosomal, Sex Chromosomal and mtDNA Polymorphisms |first=Avshalom |last=Zoossmann-Diskin |pmc=2964539 |pmid=20925954 |page=57 |doi-access=free }}

Genetic research shows that about 27% of Moroccan Jews descend from one female ancestor.{{Cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Features/Genetics-and-the-Jewish-identity|title=Genetics and the Jewish identity|work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|access-date=2017-05-28}} Analysis of mitochondrial DNA of the Jewish populations of North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Libya) was the subject of further detailed study in 2008 by Doron Behar et al. The analysis concludes that Jews from this region do not share the haplogroups of the mitochondrial DNA haplogroups (M1 and U6) that are typical of the North African Berber and Arab populations.{{Cite journal|last1=Behar|first1=Doran M.|last2=Metspalu|first2=Ene|last3=Kivisild|first3=Toomas|last4=Rosset|first4=Saharon|last5=Tzur|first5=Shay|last6=Hadid|first6=Yarin|last7=Yudkovsky|first7=Guennady|last8=Rosengarten|first8=Dror|last9=Pereira|first9=Luisa|year=2008|title=Counting the founders: the matrilineal genetic ancestry of the Jewish Diaspora|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=3|issue=4|pages=e2062|bibcode=2008PLoSO...3.2062B|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0002062|issn=1932-6203|pmc=2323359|pmid=18446216|editor1-last=MacAulay|editor1-first=Vincent|doi-access=free}}

Behar et al. conclude that it is unlikely that North African Jews have significant Arab, or Berber admixture, "consistent with social restrictions imposed by religious restrictions," or endogamy. This study also found genetic similarities between the Ashkenazi and North African Jews of European mitochondrial DNA pools, but differences between both of these of the diaspora and Jews from the Middle East.

In a 2012 study by Campbell et al., however, the Moroccan/Algerian, Djerban/Tunisian and Libyan subgroups of North African Jewry were found to demonstrate varying levels of Middle Eastern (40-42%), European (37-39%) and North African ancestry (20-21%),{{cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.1204840109 |pmid=22869716 |pmc=3427049 |title=North African Jewish and non-Jewish populations form distinctive, orthogonal clusters |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=109 |issue=34 |pages=13865–70 |year=2012 |last1=Campbell |first1=Christopher L. |last2=Palamara |first2=Pier F. |last3=Dubrovsky |first3=Maya |last4=Botigue |first4=Laura R. |last5=Fellous |first5=Marc |last6=Atzmon |first6=Gil |last7=Oddoux |first7=Carole |last8=Pearlman |first8=Alexander |last9=Hao |first9=Li |last10=Henn |first10=Brenna M. |last11=Burns |first11=Edward |last12=Bustamante |first12=Carlos D. |last13=Comas |first13=David |last14=Friedman |first14=Eitan |last15=Pe'er |first15=Itsik |last16=Ostrer |first16=Harry |bibcode=2012PNAS..10913865C |url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/115310/4/north_african_jewish_Campbell.pdf |doi-access=free }} with Moroccan and Algerian Jews tending to be genetically closer to each other than to Djerban Jews and Libyan Jews.{{Cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Health-and-Science/Study-completes-genetic-map-of-N-African-Jews|title=Study completes genetic map of N. African Jews|work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|access-date=2017-05-28}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.albanytribune.com/11122013-new-genetic-map-jewish-diasporas-oped/|title=A New Genetic Map Of Jewish Diasporas - OpEd|date=December 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212215327/http://www.albanytribune.com/11122013-new-genetic-map-jewish-diasporas-oped/ |archive-date=2013-12-12 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/international-genetic-study-traces-jewish-roots-to-ancient-middle-east-1.456676|title=International genetic study traces Jewish roots to ancient Middle East|work=Haaretz|first=Dan|last=Even|date=8 August 2012|access-date=2 December 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-african-jews-genes-20120807,0,4318520.story?track=rss |title=Genetics study of North African Jews tells migratory tale - Los Angeles Times |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2008-04-13 |access-date=2013-04-12|first= Eryn |last=Brown}} According to the study:

"distinctive North African Jewish population clusters with proximity to other Jewish populations and variable degrees of Middle Eastern, European, and North African admixture. Two major subgroups were identified by principal component, neighbor joining tree, and identity-by-descent analysis—Moroccan/Algerian and Djerban/Libyan—that varied in their degree of European admixture. These populations showed a high degree of endogamy and were part of a larger Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish group. By principal component analysis, these North African groups were orthogonal to contemporary populations from North and South Morocco, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. Thus, this study is compatible with the history of North African Jews—founding during Classical Antiquity with proselytism of local populations, followed by genetic isolation with the rise of Christianity and then Islam, and admixture following the emigration of Sephardic Jews during the Inquisition."

Jewish life in Morocco in the mid-20th century and the emigration of a rural Jewish village were depicted in the documentary Edge of The West{{Cite web |last=Zafrir |first=Arnan |date=1961 |title=The Spielberg Jewish Film Archive - Edge of The West |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtBMKGxNlNg&ab_channel=HebrewUniversityofJerusalem |website=YouTube}} by Arnan Zafrir.{{Cite journal |last=الناسك |first=الحاج محمد |date=2014 |title=الدعاية الصهيونية في المغرب خلال الحماية وبُعيد الاستقلال السينما –أنموذجًا- |url=https://tabayyun.dohainstitute.org/ar/issue009/Pages/art05.aspx |journal=تبين |language=ar |volume=3 |issue=9 |pages=85–98 |doi=10.31430/pljp6312 |issn=2305-2465|url-access=subscription }}

• History of the Jews in Africa
• History of the Jews in Morocco
• History of the Jews under Muslim rule
• Migration of Moroccan Jews to Israel
• Moroccan Jews in Israel
• Operation Yachin
• The Jewish Community of Fez
• Amazonian Jews
• Moroccans

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

;Histories

• {{Cite book |last=Zafrani |first=Haïm |author-link=Haim Zafrani |title=Two thousand years of Jewish life in Morocco |date=2005 |publisher=Sephardic House |isbn=978-0-88125-748-9 |location=New York}}
• {{Cite book |last=Gottreich |first=Emily |url=https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b-9781838603601 |title=Jewish Morocco: A History from Pre-Islamic to Postcolonial Times |date=2020 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-78076-849-6 |doi=10.5040/9781838603601}}

;Folktale collections and studies:

• {{cite book |last=Larrea Palacín |first=Arcadio de |author-link=:ca:Arcadio de Larrea Palacín |title=Cuentos populares de los judíos del norte de Marruecos |location=Tetuán |publisher=Instituto General Franco de Estudios e Investigación Hispano-Árabe - Editora Marroquí |date=1952 |lang=ES}}
• {{cite book |title=Diaspora en terre d'Islam: L'Esprit populaire dans les juiveries du Sud-Marocain |first=Pierre |last=Flamand |location=Casablanca |publisher=Editions presses des imprimeries réunies |date=1960 |lang=FR}}
• {{cite book |title=Jewish Folktales from Morocco: Narrated and Collected in Israel |editor-first=Dov |editor-last=Noy |editor-link=Dov Noy |publisher=Jewish Agency for Israel |date=1965}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Zafrani |first=Haïm |author-link=Haim Zafrani |title=Etudes et recherches sur la littérature écrite et orale des juifs du Maroc des quatre derniers siècles |journal=Revue de l'Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée |volume=18 |date=1974 |pages=159-167 |lang=FR |doi=10.3406/remmm.1974.1291 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/remmm_0035-1474_1974_num_18_1_1291}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Klein-Zolty |first1=Muriel |last2=Raphaël |first2=Freddy |title=Contes et mémoire collective chez les Juifs maghrébins en Alsace |journal=Revue des sciences sociales de la France de l'Est |volume=10 |date=1981 |pages=65-83 |doi=10.3406/revss.1981.3293 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/revss_0336-1578_1981_num_10_1_3293 |lang=FR}}
• {{cite book |title=Jewish Moroccan Folk Narratives from Israel

|series=Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology Series |editor=Aliza Shenhar-Alroy |publisher=Wayne State University Press |date=1993 |isbn=9780814324431}}

• Jewish Folktales from Morocco: Tales of Seha the Sage and Seha the Clown. By Marc Eliany. Introduction by Annette B. Fromm. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2021.

{{refend}}

{{Moroccan diaspora}}

{{Ethnic groups in Morocco}}

{{Sephardi Jews topics}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Jews and Judaism in Morocco

Category:Ethnic groups in Morocco

Category:Jewish ethnic groups

Category:Sephardi Jews topics