Since the 7th century Moroccan Jews have lived within a Muslim nation. Living as a protected minority under the Islamic Principle of Tolerance Jews flourished, co-operating with their Muslim neighbors. In the 1940â??s, there were 300,000 Jews in Morocco, it was the largest Jewish population in the Muslim World; today 3,500 remain. When Zionists were populating Israel, they recruited Moroccan Jews for their ability to co-exist with Arabs. In the wake of massive fear after World War II, and with promises of economic prosperity, an exodus of Moroccan Jewry began. The remaining population are aging and the youth seek education and employment abroad. Eventually the synagogues will all lay empty and the last Jews of Morocco will die. This work is an examination of the ancient history that is nearing its end.
1. A vandalized image on a gravestone in the Jewish Cemetery of Fez.
2. A guard dog in the 400 year old Jewish Cemetery of Essaouira, home to the tomb of the Jewish Saint Rabbi Chaim Pinto.
3. Sefrou was once referred to as "Little Jerusalem" because of its high population of Jews and well-developed religious life.
4. A small library at the Em-Habanim orphanage slowly decays in Sefrou, Morocco.
5. In the small southern Moroccan village of Arazan, Harim Hamad watches over the Synagogue that he has been the guardian of since 1962. Hamad was entrusted with the key by the last Jews to leave the village during the Jewish migration to Israel.
