Les Juifs de Debdou

Debdou, in the eastern Moroccan Oriental region, sheltered a singular Jewish community, largely founded by families of Iberian origin who settled there following the persecutions of the late Middle Ages. Relatively isolated, it long preserved Sephardic traditions and a pronounced family cohesion, its members being craftsmen and merchants. Organized around its synagogues and scholars, it maintained its own religious life. During the twentieth century, the community dispersed to the major Moroccan cities and to Israel.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World — Brill
• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan