JIMENA
Morocco
The roots of Morocco’s Jewish communities date back to 587BCE, when Jewish refugees, fleeing the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and its Holy Temple, crossed over to North Africa and settled in Morocco’s Anti-Atlas region. There, they lived among the local Berber tribes, some of whom, it is believed, adopted Judaism and later fought against the Arab conquest. During the Roman Empire, the Jewish Diaspora of Israel spread throughout North Africa’s Mediterranean coast. In 70 CE, following the Roman destruction of the of the Temple of Jerusalem, additional Jewish refugees settled in Morocco.
Photos
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Morocco Jews of Fez 1900
Culture
See AllMoroccan Jewish culture is diverse in language, history, and culture. Over a two thousand year period, Moroccan Jews created a unique and incredibly rich Jewish heritage which traces its roots to both Sephardic Spanish Jews, who fled the anti-Jewish persecution which culminated in the Inquisition, and to an indigenous Moroccan Jewish population known as “Toshavim”.