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Moroccan Jews in the United States – Visiting Jewish Morocco

Captured 2025-11-23

134

Archived Document

Moroccan Jews in the United States – Visiting Jewish Morocco

Description

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This webpage provides a comprehensive examination of Moroccan Jewish immigration and settlement patterns in the United States, serving as part of a larger resource dedicated to documenting the Moroccan Jewish diaspora. The page's primary focus is to trace the historical timeline, geographic distribution, and cultural integration challenges faced by Moroccan Jews who made America their home, from early 19th-century pioneers to modern immigrant communities concentrated in major metropolitan areas. The content reveals that most of the estimated 25,000 Moroccan Jews in the United States arrived after 1973, with the majority settling in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Notably, few immigrated directly from Morocco due to restrictive U.S. immigration laws and language barriers. Instead, most followed indirect migration paths—first moving to France, Canada, Israel, or Latin America before eventually relocating to the United States. The page highlights fascinating early immigrants like Moses Elias Levy from Mogador (Essaouira), who established the Pilgrimage Plantation in Florida as an agricultural refuge for persecuted European Jews in 1821, and his son David Levy Yulee, who became Florida's first Jewish U.S. Senator. The multilingual nature of this community is emphasized, with many immigrants being francophone due to their education in Alliance Israélite Universelle schools, while others spoke Spanish, Portuguese, or English depending on their intermediate destinations. The webpage addresses significant cultural and social integration challenges within the broader American Jewish community. It documents how Moroccan Jews initially faced resistance from established Sephardic communities due to differences in language, prayer traditions, and cultural practices, while also experiencing discrimination from Ashkenazi Jews who dominate American Jewish institutions. Over time, Moroccan Jews responded by establishing their own religious and cultural infrastructure, including synagogues like the Em Habanim Congregation in Los Angeles, along with specialized groceries, butchers, and bakers to maintain their distinct traditions. The page serves as both a historical archive and cultural documentation, featuring rare photographs including images of Moses Elias Levy and David Levy Yulee, as well as contemporary photos of community leaders. It appears designed for researchers, genealogists, and community members interested in Moroccan Jewish history, providing specific details about settlement patterns, integration challenges, and the preservation of cultural identity within the American Jewish mosaic. The content demonstrates scholarly rigor while remaining accessible to general readers interested in immigration history and Jewish diaspora studies.

Citation (APA Style)

Moroccan Jews in the United States – Visiting Jewish Morocco. (2025, 11 23). moroccanjews.org. https://moroccanjews.org/home/moroccan-jewish-diaspora/moroccan-jews-in-the-united-states/

Technical Metadata

Domain moroccanjews.org
File Size 714 KB
Archived 2025-11-23T00:51:56.717218
Document ID #134
Languages 5 available