Morocco

From JudaismWiki

MOROCCO. The Jewish community of Morocco dates back to the period before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. Under Roman rule, Jews suffered continual harassment. This torment ended temporarily with the fall of the Roman Empire, when the Vandal King Generich permitted Moroccan Jews equal citizenship. They engaged in navigation, maritime commerce, vinegrowing, and agriculture, and flourished for a time. But the era of prosperity soon ended. Under Arab rule during the 10th century, there was an upsurge of Jewish cultural and religious life. Such famous Talmudic scholars as Isaac Alfasi and Moses Maimonides lived in Morocco. The notorious mellahs, or ghettos, whose cramped and twisted streets came to symbolize Moroccan Jewish degradation to second-class citizenship, were originally instituted in the 13th century to protect Jews from Muslim mob attacks. These ghettos have continued into the 20th century.

Jews’ expulsion from Spain in 1492 brought a great influx of Jews to Morocco, where they introduced European traditions of art, culture, and commerce. The Jewish community witnessed another cultural resurgence in the 16th century, when Morocco became the home of many noted Jewish scholars. But Jews remained second-class citizens, always subject to Moslem violence. War with Franceand Spain in the 19th century further inflamed Moslem fanaticism, and the mellahs became the scene of brutal, unprovoked attacks. With French and Danish occupation of Morocco in 1912, conditions took a turn for the better. The worst abuses ended, corporal punishment was abolished, the observance of the Sabbath was recognized, and compulsory military service was ended.

General Arab antagonism to the State of Israel created a rising feeling of insecurity among Moroccan Jews. There was a large-scale shift of the Jewish population from villages and small towns to the larger cities which offered greater protection. In addition, since 1948, almost 300,000 Jews have emigrated to Israel.

In 1956, France and Spain relinquished their protectorate, and Morocco achieved its independence. In 2007, there were about 5,000 Jews in the country. Casablanca has the largest Jewish community of any Moslem city. Other important centers were Tangier, Meknes, Fez, and Tetuan. A number of welfare, religious, and educational institutions operate in Morocco, aided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

SYNAGOGUES

Agadir

Adadir Community Angle Avenue du Prince Moulay Abdallah Agadir Tel: 212-488-84-23--89

Casablanca

Beth El, the Main Synagogue of Casablanca Rue Verlet Hanus Orthodox

Casablanca Community 1, rue Abou Abdallah Al Mahassibi Casablanca Tel: 212-22-28-61

Centre Communautaire: 95 Bd. du 11 Janvier

Habad Lubavitch au Maroc 10 Rue Washington Casablanca Chabad Lubavitch http://www.chabad.org/centers/default.asp?aid=117865

Kollel Avrechim Lubavitch Neve Shalom 16 Rue Abderrahman Sehraoui Casablanca 01 Chabad Lubavitch http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/aid/117864/jewish/Kollel-Avrechim-Lubavitch-Neve-Shalom.htm

Synagogue Nehim Zemiroth 29, Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau Tel: 221-08

Essaouira

Essaouira Community 2 Rue Scala Essaouira

Fez

Fez Community 24, rue Zerktouni Fez Tel: 212-55 62-05-93

Kenitra

Kenitra Synagogue: rue Delyon. Community Centre: 13 rue Benani

Marrakech

Marrakech Community 142, Avenue Houmane El Fetouaki Arset El Maach - Medina Marrakech Orthodox Tel: + 212 24 44 87 54 Fax: + 212 24 43 17 93

Meknes

Meknes Community 15, rue du Ghana Meknes Tel: 212-55-52-17-35

Rabat

Rabat Community 9 rue Moulay Ismail Rabat Tel: 212-37-72-45-04

Safi

Safi Community Avenue Moulay Youssef Safi Tel: 212-44-46-44-54

Tangier

Tangier Community 1, rue de la Liberte Tangier Tel: 212-399-93-16-33

Yeshiva Etz Haim 43 Av. Sidi Amar Telephone: 396-36

Tetouan

Tetouan Community 16, avenue Moulay El Abbas Tetouan Tel: 212-399-96-55-54