North African Sephardim

North African Sephardimare a distinct sub-group ofSephardi Jews,who descend from exiled Iberian Jewish families of the late 15th century and North AfricanMaghrebi Jewishcommunities.

Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and theJewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries,most North African Sephardim have relocated to either Israel, France, the US and other countries.SeveralIberianJewish families also emigrated back to the Iberian Peninsula to form the core of theJewish community of Gilbraltar.

There are many Jewish communities in North of Africa, including the communities of theMaghreb,Egypt,and theHorn of Africa.However, it is generally agreed todaythat North African Sephardic communities include a fraction of those ofMorocco,Algeria,Tunisia,andLibyadue to their historical ties with Spain and the greater Iberian peninsula.

History of North African Jews

Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jew from Algeria, circa 1890.

By the end of theReconquistain 1492, 100,000 Jews converted and 175,000 left in exile, as they were forced to either leave or convert under the Spanish Inquisition.The expulsions from Spain and Portugal were echoed in Sicily and many Italian states during the sixteenth century. Sicily's Jews suffered expulsion in the summer and autumn of 1492. Naples, in turn, expelled its Jews in 1497.

Sephardi Jews faced great obstacles after their exile. France refused Jewish immigrants, and the nearest refuge in North Africa was barred to Jews, as the Spanish occupied the ports of Algeria and Tunisia, and the Portuguese occupied northern Morocco.Furthermore, the independent Sheikhs of the coastal regions refused to grant access to the interior.

When Sephardim finally reached North Africa, many encountered harsh living conditions. As Judah Hayyat, a refugee intellectual, recalled:

They smote me, they wounded me, they took away my veil from me and threw me into a deep pit with snakes and scorpions in it. They presently sentenced me to be stoned to death, but promised that if I changed religion they would make me captain over them...But the G-d in whom I trust frustrated their design....G-d stirred up the spirit of the Jews in Chechaouen, and they came thither to redeem me "

Maghrebi Jews

Apart from being Jewish and Arabic-speaking, Jews from the Maghreb have varying origins and came to North Africa at different times for different reasons. For more information on various groups please refer to the following links:

• Morocco:History of the Jews in Morocco
• Algeria:History of the Jews in Algeria
• Tunisia:History of the Jews in Tunisia
• Libya:History of the Jews in Libya

Relationship betweenSephardi JewsandMaghrebi Jews

When Sephardi Jews emigrated to the Maghreb following their expulsion from Spain in 1492, the Maghrebi Jews referred to Sephardi Jews asrumiyyin,Arabic for "European," ormegorashim,Hebrew for "expelled." Similarly, the Sephardi referred to the Maghrebi asforasteros,Spanish for "foreigners," ortoshavim,Hebrew for "local community."

A Sephardi Jews from Morocco, circa 1919.

Despite each group's initial recognition of one another as the outsiders, Maghrebi Jews aided Sephardim who came to Morocco. The Berber King of Fez, Mulai Muhammed esh-Sheikh, agreed to let Sephardi Jews settle outside the city walls, attracting 20,000 refugees alone. As Sephardi Jews arrived, local Maghrebi Jews welcomed them, paid their ransoms, and supplied them with food and clothing despite the cholera with which Sephardi Jews came.Additionally, Fez provided a place for New Christians, who were previously Sephardi Jews that were forced to convert to Christianity in Spain, to reconvert to Judaism.

Sephardi Jews also spread Sephardic culture and customs to the Maghreb. For example, Sephardim brought with them new methods of practicing theKetoubaand the ritual slaughtering of animals.Although Maghrebi Jews initially challenged Sephardi customs, with the struggle between the competing cultures lasting for over four centuries, the large influx of Sephardi Jews who settled in the Maghreb outnumbered the small number of Jews currently living in this area.Thus, according to Schroeter, many Maghrebi Jews ultimately assimilated into the Sephardi community, which accounts for the popularity of Sephardic customs in this area today.

Meaning of Sephardim

The term Sephardi means "Spanish" or "Hispanic" and is derived fromSepharad,a Biblical location most commonly identified withHispania,that is, theIberian Peninsula.However, the Sephardi label has been described as misleading by Christopher L. Campbell et al., who argue that although the expulsion from Spain and Portugal led to the conglomeration of Jewish groups, many Jewish communities were formed before Jews reached the Iberian Peninsula.Furthermore,Sepharadstill refers to "Spain" inmodern Hebrew,but, today, the notion of a Sephardic Jew has expanded, as theSephardi Jewsexpelled from Spain in 1492 mixed with theMaghrebi Jewsof North Africa.

Language

Sephardi Jews who first settled in North Africa spokeHaketia,aRomance languagealso called "Ladino Occidental" (Western Ladino). Haketia is aJudaeo-Spanishvariety derived fromOld Spanish,plusHebrewandAramaic.The language was taken to North Africa in the 15th century where it was heavily influenced byMaghrebi Arabic.Maghrebi Jews, on the other hand, spokeMaghrebi ArabicandJudeo-Arabic languages.

Today, few people speak these languages, as the use for them is rapidly declining. However, they are still spoken among the more elderly members of the community, and some Sephardi Jews in Morocco recently have made efforts to preserve Haketia and its cultural influence.

Surnames

North African Sephardim have a blend of surnames that vary in origin.

The first layer corresponds to Sephardim who after the Jewishmassacre of 1391came from northern Spain to the territory of modern Algeria. Among these families were those bearing such surnames as Astruc, Barsessat, Cohen Solal, Duran, Efrati, Gabbay, and S(a)tora. The second layer of original Sephardim came from Spain at the end of the 15th century. These migrants also carry surnames based either on various Iberian idioms, Arabic or Hebrew languages (such as Abensur,Abravanel,Abulafia,Albaranes, Almosnino, Amigo, Bensussan,Biton,Corcos, Gabbay, Nahon, andSerfaty). These names have since disappeared from the Iberian Peninsula when those that stayed behind asconversosreceived at the moment of their conversion surnames used by Spanish or Portuguese Christians.

Among surnames used by local Jews that were formed in North Africa are such names based on male given names as Benhamou and Benishu, those derived from local place names as Dray, Gamrasni or Messalati. A few surnames in Algeria are based on local Berber idioms: Amrai, Attelan, Zemmour. Several dozens of surnames of Jewish surnames from Morocco are drawn or at least have prefixes taken from Berber dialects of that country: Aferiat, Assulin, Azencot, Azulay, Buganim, Timsit, Ohana, Ohayon, Ouaknin, Wizman.

Relation to other Sephardic communities

The relationship between Sephardi-descended communities is illustrated in the followingdiagram:

SpanishAlhambra Decreeof 1492, Portuguese Decree of 1496

Iberian Exile in the late 15th century

Conversion to Catholicism up to the late 15th century

North African Sephardim

Eastern Sephardim

Sephardic Anusim

Those Jews fleeing from Iberia as Jews in the late 15th century at the issuance of Spain and Portugal's decrees of expulsion. Settled inNorth Africa,they influenced the customs of local Maghrebi Jewish communities and today represent the majority of modern Sephardi Jews across the globe.

Those Jews fleeing from Iberia as Jews in the late 15th century at the issuance of Spain and Portugal's decrees of expulsion. Initially settled in theEastern Mediterraneanand beyond.

Those Jews in Spain and Portugal who, in an effort to delay or avoid their expulsion (and in most cases in Portugal, in an effort byManuel I of Portugalto prevent the Jews from choosing the option of exile), are forced or coerced to convert to Catholicism up until the late 15th century, at the expiration of the deadline for their expulsion, conversion, or execution as set out in the decrees. Becameconversos/New Christiansin Iberia. As Christians, were under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church and subject to theInquisition.

See also

• Eastern Sephardim
• Mizrahi Jews
• Mashriqi Jews
• Berber Jews
• Sephardic Anusim
• Western Sephardim
• Sephardic Bnei Anusim
• Neo-Western Sephardim
• Lançados