Spanish roots among Moroccan Jewry – a European passport for Jews of Moroccan origin
Not many of us in Israel know that Moroccan Jews incorporate descendants of exiles from Spain and Portugal. For hundreds of years, they preserved the Sephardic traditions that were customary in medieval Spain. This being the case, Moroccan Jewry is considered to be the largest Sephardi diaspora in the years before the establishment of the State of Israel. This article is designed to clarify the Sephardi roots among Moroccan Jewry.
Our law firm has offices specializing in emigration matters in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Our firm has already represented hundreds of applications by Jews of Moroccan origin. If you are of Moroccan ancestry, this means that you have a Spanish connection which probably makes you eligible to receive a Portuguese passport.
Sephardi roots among Moroccan Jewry – a European passport for Jews of Moroccan origin
For hundreds of years Moroccan Jewry maintained ancient religious traditions that originated in “Golden Age” Spain. These traditions were expressed until the present day in religious, cultural and historical aspects and even in blood ties.
Presently we know for a fact that Moroccans of Jewish origin are the descendants of the Sephardic community which disembarked at the shores of Morocco at the end of the 15th century.
This is also the reason why the vast majority of Jews of Moroccan origin are eligible to receive a Portuguese passport. The categories of eligiblity were determined partly by the Jewish community living in Portugal and which is in charge of issuing the letter of recommendation.
What is the letter of recommendation? This is a document which officially determines that the community recognizes you as a Sephardi Jew with an affinity to Spain. If you have received the letter you are going the right way about entering the waiting track and in the end you will receive the European passport you applied for.
The community recognizes the Jewish communities and knows how to classify which communities are clearly eligible and which are not. The community regards Jews of Moroccan origin as being a synonym for Jews from Spain.
The reason for the exclusive eligibility of Moroccan Jewry
So why are Jews of Moroccan origin considered to be patently Spanish? A little historical background – the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. About 150 thousand Jews were forced to leave Spain just because they were Jewish.
Around one third of the number of exiles decided to emigrate to Morocco, thanks to its geographical proximity to Spain. At that time there was a flourishing and splendid Jewish community in Morocco including a leading dynasty of rabbis from as far back as the 12th and 13th centuries.
However, despite the Moroccan community having an elevated and influential status in the Jewish world, it was not sufficiently unified with halacha, prayer and one common tradition. In fact, until the expulsion from Spain every community in Morocco acted separately from the other. This is the reason that when the Jews from Spain arrived in Morocco they succeeded in rapidly instilling the Spanish traditions. This was thanks to them being united as a Sephardic bloc with identical traditions.
But it so happened that in 1497, five years after the expulsion from Spain, there was another expulsion in Portugal, this time it was a wave of about 120 thousand Portuguese Jews who were compelled to leave the Catholic country. And again thousands of them emigrated directly to neighboring Morocco.
What cities did the Spanish exiles settle in?
The expelled communities generally preferred to settle in the coastal cities such as Tétouan, Tangier, Casablanca, Larache and others. In the coastal cities they could engage in trade with their neighboring countries of origin – Spain and Portugal; but also with other countries, in particular with the Ottoman Empire.
Together with their Spanish brothers who lived in countries such as Italy, Turkey, Egypt, India and even Venezuela, they launched a global network trading merchandise such as sugar, ironmongery, wine, cattle, paints and more.
Thanks to their knowledge, wealth and great intellectual strength, the exiles succeeded in totally instilling their traditions, family surnames and Spanish customs in Morocco. This is the reason why the Spanish community very quickly became dominant in Morocco.
Over the years the local (Musta’arabi) Moroccan community became assimilated into the Spanish one in every possible city where there were exiles and this may be seen according to the surnames which today appear to us to be of Moroccan origin, but in fact they come from Spain. We are referring to common surnames such as: Abuhav, Abuhazira, Bitton, Dahan, Malka, Assayag and Bardugo.
Want some more examples? Surnames such as Moyal, Illuz, Marziano, Ben Bassat, Ohana and Azulay are also names from Spain that bestow eligibility for a Portuguese passport, and hundreds more surnames of Spanish origin may be added to them.
If I am of Moroccan origin and I do not have a Spanish surname, is this still relevant?
Of course. Simply speaking, if you are Moroccan there is almost no chance that you are not of Spanish origin. Why? Throughout hundreds of years the Jewish communities (“the locals” and the Spanish and Portuguese) merged with each other. Presently we do not know of any Moroccan community that shares the ancient customs that were prevalent in Morocco prior to the arrival of the Jews from Spain. This being the case, there is almost no uncertainty where the Moroccan candidates are concerned.
Spanish customs which became assimilated among Moroccan Jewry
What is noticeable about Spanish culture among Moroccan Jews? One of the most outstanding examples is the “Exiles Regulations”. When the Jews who were expelled from Spain arrived in Morocco they instituted the Jewish halacha of the Castilian sages into the whole of Moroccan Jewry. The Regulations were written in Ladino and they accompanied local Jewry until the 20th century.
Another example of ingrained Spanish culture are the wedding gowns worn by the Moroccan women. Impressive dresses adorned with gold that originated in Spain of the Renaissance period, where curly gold decorations were interwoven throughout the dress which was elaborated with skilled and delicate interweaving.
Furthermore, there are cities where the Jews spoke a Spanish Castilian dialect until the 20th century, or if you will, broken Ladino. Ladino is the slightly distorted Jewish version of the word “Latin”. The language was called “Haketia”.
Haketia was composed mainly of Spanish, some local Arabic, Aramaic and a little Hebrew. Cities where the Jews spoke this dialect were generally northern cities such as Tétouan, Tangier, Ceuta, Melilla, Fez etc.
Contact us – European Passport for Israelis of Moroccan origin – Spanish roots among Jews of Moroccan origin
Our law office for a Portuguese passport in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem assists in acquiring out Portuguese citizenship for Jews of Moroccan origin. If after reading the article you are still not sure whether you are eligible, it is possible and even recommended to contact us:
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