North African Sephardim

North African Sephardim are a distinct sub-group of Sephardi Jews, who descend from exiled Iberic Jewish families of the late 15th century and North African Maghrebi Jewish communities that had settled mostly in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Several Iberic jewish families also emigrated back to the Iberian Peninsula to form the core of the jewish community of Gilbraltar.

Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries, most North African Sephardim have since relocated to either France or Israel.

History of North African Jews

There are many Jewish communities in the North of Africa including the communities of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Horn of Africa. However, it is generally agreed today that North African Sephardic communities include those of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya due to their historical ties with Spain and the greater Iberic peninsula.

Sephardi Jews

By the end of the Reconquista in 1492, 100,000 jews converted and 175,000 left in exile as they were forced to either leave or convert under the Spanish inquisition.[1] 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 her Jews in 1497.[2] Sephardi Jews faced great obstacles as France refused Jewish immigrants and the nearest refuge in North Africa was barred to Jews: the Spanish occupied the ports of Algeria and Tunisia, the Portuguese occupied northern Morocco. Furthermore, the independent Sheikhs of the coastal regions refused to grant access to the interior. The Sephardim who reached Morocco were the most fortunate of the exiles to North Africa. The King of Fez, Mulai Muhammed esh-Sheikh, had agreed to let them settle outside the city walls attracting 20,000 refugees alone.[3] As they arrived local Maghrebi Jews welcomed them, paid their ransoms and supplied them with food and clothing despite the cholera Sephardi Jews came with. Even so life was harsh for Sephardi Jews in North Africa. 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" [4][5]

Maghrebi Jews

Apart from all 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 them each please refer to the following links:

Language

The term Sephardi means "Spanish" or "Hispanic", and is derived from Sepharad, a Biblical location most commonly identified with Hispania, that is, the Iberian Peninsula. Sepharad still means "Spain" in modern Hebrew but today the notion of a Sephardic jew has expanded as the Sephardi Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 mixed with the Maghrebi Jews of North Africa.

The original Sephardi Jews spoke Haketia, a Romance language also called "Ladino Occidental" (Western Ladino). It is a Judaeo-Spanish variety derived from Old Spanish, plus Hebrew and Aramaic. The language was taken to North Africa in the 15th century where it was heavily influenced by Maghrebi Arabic. Maghrebi Jews, on the other hand, not only spoke Maghrebi Arabic but also Aramaic and a blend of Hebrew and Arabic called Judaeo-arabic.

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.

Surnames

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

The original Sephardim that came from 15th century Spain still carry common Spanish surnames, as well as other specifically Sephardic surnames from 15th century Spain with Arabic or Hebrew language origins (such as Azoulay, Abulafia, Abravanel). These names have since disappeared from Spain when those that stayed behind as conversos adopted surnames that were solely Spanish in origin. Other North African Sephardim have since also translated their Hispanic surnames into local languages or have modified them to sound local.

Those Sephardim that were originally from North Africa have arabic sounding names such as Benabou (after the name of a berber tribe in Morocco), Gamrasni (meaning generous in tunisian berber) or Ziri (after the name of a berber chief in 10th century Algeria).[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Relation to other Sephardic communities

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

 
 
 
 
 
 
Spanish Alhambra Decree of 1492, Portuguese Decree of 1497
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 in North 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 the Eastern Mediterranean and 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 by Manuel I of Portugal to 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. Became conversos/New Christians in Iberia. As Christians, were under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church and subject to the Inquisition.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jane S. Gerber, The Jews of Spain, 1992, p.140
  2. ↑ Jane S. Gerber, The Jews of Spain, 1992, p.146
  3. ↑ Jane S. Gerber, The Jews of Spain, 1992, p.149
  4. ↑ Judah ibn Hayyat, Minhat Yehuda, quoted by Raphael, Chronicles, p.114.
  5. ↑ Jane S. Gerber, Jewish Society in Fez 1450-1700, 1980, Leiden
  6. ↑ BEAUSSIER M. : Dictionnaire pratique arabe-français, Alger, La Maison des Livres, 1958 (1887)
  7. ↑ CHOURAQUI A. : L’univers de la bible, Edition Lidis, Paris, 1982
  8. ↑ DALLET J.M. : Dictionnaire kabyle-français, Larousse, Paris, 1991
  9. ↑ EISENBETH M. : Les juifs d’Afrique du Nord. Démographie et onomastique, Alger, 1936
  10. ↑ LAREDO A. : Les noms des Juifs du Maroc. Essai d’onomastique judéo-marocaine. Madrid, 1978
  11. ↑ SEBAG P. : Les noms des juifs de Tunisie. Origine et significations ; L’Harmattan, 2002
  12. ↑ SANDER M.N.P. et TRENEL M.I. : Dictionnaire hébreu-français, Paris, 1859, reed. Slatkine, 1982
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