History of the Jews in Morocco
 |
| History of the Jews in Morocco |
History of the Jews in Morocco
Moroccan Jews are an ancient community. Before the establishment of Israel in 1948, there were approximately 250,000 to 350,000 Jews [1] in the country, who
history
It is possible that some Jews fled to North Africa after the destruction of the First Temple in the sixth century BC or the destruction of the Second Temple in the first century AD [4]. It is also possible that they arrived on Phoenician boats (1500 BC - 539 BC). [4] There is also a theory, supported by Ibn Khaldun, that the Jews of Morocco were native Yamazighan (Berbers) who converted, although the question of who fathered them remains, and this theory has been rejected by most scholars. [4] The Jewish community in Ifran, from the Tamazight word meaning cave, is supposed to be as early as 361 BC, and is considered the oldest Jewish community in Morocco today. [4]
under the Romans
A copper oil lamp from the Roman period in the shape of a menorah, found in the ruins of Volubilis
The first irrefutable evidence of Jews in Morocco today, in the form of Hebrew tombstone inscriptions in Volubilis and the ruins of a synagogue from the third century, dates to Late Antiquity. [4] Emily Gutreich claims that Jewish immigration to Morocco precedes the full formation of Judaism, since the Talmud "was written and edited between 200 and 500 AD" [5].
The Hebrew or Aramaic languages used by the Jews were closely related to the Punic language of the Carthaginians; Many Jews also settled among the Berbers and adopted their languages. [citation needed] Later, under the rule of the Romans and (after 429) the Vandals, the Jews of Ortania reportedly increased in number and prospered. [citation needed]
When Christianity was adopted by the Roman state, the church councils of Carthage adopted a policy that discriminated against the followers of Judaism. Justinian's edict of persecution to North Africa, issued after the Vandal rule was overthrown and Mauretania came under Byzantine control (534), was directed against the Jews as well as against the Arians, donors and other troublemakers [6]. ]
In the seventh century, the Jewish population in Mauretania received as an additional accession from the Iberian Peninsula those who wanted to escape Visigothic legislation. At the end of that century, at the time of the great Arab conquest in North West Africa, there were, according to the Arab historians, many Jews in Mauretania
Arab conquest and the Hydrisides (703–1146)
Since the city of Fez was founded in 808 AD, it attracted a diverse population from all over the region, among those new immigrants came the Jews who contributed their commercial abilities to the newly developed economy. They settled in the state of Fez, and created a stable community, which was an integral part of the city's life [7]. The golden age of the Jewish community in Fez lasted almost three centuries, from the 9th to the 11th centuries. Its yeshivas (religious schools) attracted scholars, poets and brilliant grammarians. This period was marred by a pogrom in 1033, described by the Jewish Virtual Library as an isolated event mainly due to a political conflict between the Magrava and Efranid tribes. [8]
under Almorbides
MOHAMED NAJIB SAAAD
A Moroccan blogger from the outskirts of Ouarzazate, a lover of photography and everything related to informatics...
