Casablanca, Morocco
Casablanca, located near the capital city of Rabat, is the
main Atlantic seaport in Morocco. Its man-made harbor has a 3,180 meter-long
jetty with fishing and canning as the primary industries. With a population of
approximately 3,000,000 people, Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco. Not
surprisingly, it has the largest Jewish community in the country, numbering
about 5,000.
The city's origins are closely connected to the medieval town of Anfa, which
is now a suburb of the modern metropolis. The Berbers, who made Anfa their
capital in the 7th century, quickly embraced Islam, but held fast to certain
heretical doctrines. For example, they embraced their own prophet and
developed a Quran in the Berber language. With the invasion of the Almoravides
in the 11th century, the Berbers in Anfa were targeted. It was until the
Almohades in the 12th century that the Anfa sect was finally defeated.
The Merinid Dynasty of the 13th century also controlled the city, but as their
power waned, Anfa became independent. The Portuguese destroyed it in 1468 as a
reprisal for the piracy that plagued their trade, and then were forced to use
force again in 1515. The Portuguese rebuilt the city in 1575 and renamed it
Casa Branca, but they came under constant attack by Muslim tribes. A terrible
earthquake in 1755 finally forced the Portuguese to abandon the city. The
Arabs rebuilt the site and added a mosque. They called it Dar Al Beida (The
White House), which the Spanish eventually translated to Casablanca after
extensive trade relations were developed. It wasn't until the mid 19th century
that that Casablanca began to grow as a result of regular sea traffic between
Europe and Morocco.
When the Portuguese destroyed Anfa in 1468, the Jewish
community was dispersed. A Jewish presence never really developed (despite the
completion of the Rabbi Elijah Synagogue in 1750) until 1830 with the arrival
of Jewish merchants from Rabat and Tetulan. At the beginning of the 20th
century, there were 20,000 inhabitants of Casablanca, with about 6,000 Jews,
two synagogues, eight talmud torah schools, and four private schools. As late
as 1907, turmoil in the city resulted in large numbers of citizens being
massacred, including 30 Jews. As Casablanca began to grow economically so did
the Jewish community. The wealthy merchants of the city founded many
philanthropic organizations to care for the needs of the poorer Jews who began
to flock to the city. From 1948 to 1968, huge numbers of Jews streamed into
Casablanca, either to capitalize on the economic prosperity, or to prepare to
emigrate. The community has declined from a peak of 70,000 members in 1948 to
roughly 5,000 today.
Sources: This material was originally published in Sparks!
- an e-zine for Jewish families |