Making Aliyah From Morocco

Making aliyah from the US can be hard enough but spare a thought for a quarter of million Jews who emigrated from Morocco. We examine their aliya and the challenges they had when making aliyah to Israel.

The State of Israel currently has a Jewish population of around 7 million which is made up of about 1 million Jews of Moroccan descent. These include second and third generation Moroccans.

Life in Morocco before making aliyah to Israel

Morocco loyal to its Jews during the holocaust.

In 1941 King Mohammed V told the Nazi rulers that there were no Jews nor Muslims in Morocco just "Moroccans." This certainly saved the Jewish population. However there was a quick deterioration in attitude towards the Jews post second world war.

What kicked off the aliyah to Israel?

The 1948 riots was the beginning of the end for Moroccan Jewry

44 Jews were killed in riots and many more injured. There was large unrest and an unofficial economic boycott of Jews ensued. It should be noted that in 1948, before the majority began moving to Israel, the Jewish community in Morocco was around 265,000 making it the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world. By the end of 1948 the aliyah to Israel started initially a trickle leading to thousands of Moroccan Jews making aliyah to Israel every year until 1956. There are many stories of how they travelled over land in North Africa through the desert by vehicle.

In 1956 Moroccan became independent.

This was also the year of the Suez crisis and the war that started between Israel and Egypt. As soon as Morocco became independent from France they suspended aliyah to Israel until 1961 which was to be the start of a mass exodus of Jews from Morocco. In 1961, Israel launched Operation Yachin, By 1964, more than 97,000 Jews had left Morocco, mainly to Israel.

Morocco today after the mass aliyah to Israel

Today there are about 2,300 Jews living in Morocco, mainly in Casablanca. The Jewish community has good relations with the King, Mohamed VI He is fairly pluralistic in his outlook. Morocco is worth a trip and has dozens of beautifully maintained and some active synagogues.

Morocco-Israel relations today

It could be said that Morocco is Israel's best friend in the Arabic speaking world. This is due to the support the state has given to Jewish sites and the ability of the local Jewish population to conduct a Jewish life with little interference, Besides some of the Gulf states the only Arabic speaking country where such freedoms are allowed. In late 2020 Morocco and Israel also established diplomatic relations after decades of informal relations.

So as you can see, it has not been an easy ride for Moroccan Jewry in recent times!