Jews - Return to Morocco

Jews - Return to Morocco

Jews first began to settle in Morocco over 2,000 years ago and for centuries they and Muslims have happily co-existed there. Morocco was once home to the largest Jewish community in the Arab world and at its peak had a quarter of a million Jews. But after Israel was founded in 1948, things changed. Fear that Morocco's eventual independence from France would lead to the persecution of the country's Jews, plus a desire to bolster Israel's population, led to a large-scale emigration movement.

"I helped carry luggage, when the Jews boarded the buses. When they left, their amazing Jewish food went with them. We no longer danced traditional ahwach. We didn’t want them to leave."

A man from the village of Agouim