,
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. 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. They are referred to as the
Megorashim, while the Jews already in Morocco are referred to as the
Toshavim. Many Sephardic Jews settled in
Fez and
Marrakesh. The
Alliance Israélite Universelle opened its first school in
Tetuan in 1862. , an old Jewish neighborhood, distinguish the homes from homes of Muslims at the time. 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 percent wished to return home to Morocco. Only 6 percent managed to do so, given such various bureaucratic obstacles as the Israelis’ confiscation of their passports. Moroccan Jews emigrated for a variety of reasons. Some have emigrated for religious reasons, some faced mistreatment, and others left for better economic prospects than they faced in
post-protectorate 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. As a protectorate of France (from 1912-1956), parts of Morocco were influenced by the French, while the same was true for northern Morocco while under Spain’s protectorate (also from 1912-1956). During the French and Spanish protectorates, Moroccan Jews and Moroccan Muslims were classified based upon which Moroccan regions they called home. Certain remnants of these classifications can be felt today. These differences are reflected in language, foods, last names and even liturgy. 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. During the late 1930s, many Jews in Morocco lived in desolate areas. This was in part due to increased taxation by French authorities. 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. 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. Today, a small Jewish community of 2,500 live in Morocco (most of whom in Casablanca). However, many young men emigrate to France and Israel. As of 2017, according to
The Economist, "No Arab country has gone to the lengths of Morocco to revive its Jewish heritage." The country has restored 110 synagogues and has the
Arab world's
only Jewish museum. More than 50,000 Moroccan Jews in Israel visit Morocco each year. ==Communities today==