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16 Moroccan Synagogues: Remnants of Jewish Life in the Imperial Cities and Great South   - Morocco Travel Blog

Captured 2025-11-22

109

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16 Moroccan Synagogues: Remnants of Jewish Life in the Imperial Cities and Great South   - Morocco Travel Blog

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This comprehensive travel blog post explores Morocco's rich Jewish heritage through an examination of 16 significant synagogues scattered across the country's imperial cities and southern regions. The primary focus is to educate travelers about the deep-rooted Jewish history in Morocco, which spans nearly 2,000 years, and to showcase the architectural and cultural remnants of what was once the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world. The page serves as both a historical primer and a practical guide for those interested in Jewish heritage tourism, highlighting how Morocco's Jewish legacy continues to be preserved and celebrated despite the community's dramatic demographic decline. The content provides substantial historical context, tracing Jewish presence in Morocco from 70 CE through multiple waves of immigration, including the significant influx of Sephardic refugees following Spain's 1492 Alhambra Decree. The author presents striking statistics, noting that at its peak in the 1940s, approximately 350,000 Jews lived in Morocco, but this number has dwindled to just 2,500 today, primarily due to emigration to Israel after 1948. Despite this dramatic population shift, the blog emphasizes Morocco's continued commitment to religious tolerance, citing King Mohammed VI's constitutional protection of Judaism and his ambitious restoration program launched in 2011, which has successfully restored over 167 cemeteries, 12,600 shrines, and dozens of synagogues under the supervision of Serge Berdugo, the king's Jewish community advisor. The page targets culturally curious travelers, particularly those with Jewish heritage or interest in interfaith history, by highlighting Morocco's unique position as a Muslim-majority country that actively preserves and promotes its Jewish past. Notable elements include specific details about new museum projects, including a state-run Jewish Museum in Fes set to complement the existing Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca (the only such institution in the Arab world since 1997), and the revival of local Jewish community representation after 50 years of inactivity. The blog also touches on contemporary Jewish-Moroccan connections, mentioning that nearly 1 million Israeli Jews have Moroccan roots and that approximately 50,000 Israelis visited Morocco in 2017, demonstrating the ongoing cultural bridges between the two peoples despite the lack of official diplomatic recognition between their governments.

Citation (APA Style)

16 Moroccan Synagogues: Remnants of Jewish Life in the Imperial Cities and Great South   - Morocco Travel Blog. (2025, 11 22). moroccotravelblog.com. https://moroccotravelblog.com/2020/01/03/16-moroccan-synagoguues-remnants-of-jewish-life-in-the-imperial-cities-and-great-south/

Technical Metadata

Domain moroccotravelblog.com
File Size 547 KB
Archived 2025-11-22T16:00:16.597718
Document ID #109
Languages 5 available