History of the Jews in Algeria

Jews and Judaism have a rather long history in Algeria . However, following the brutal conflict of the 1990s there – in particular, the rebel Armed Islamic Group 's 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country – most of the thousand-odd Jews previously there, living mainly in Algiers and to a lesser extent Blida , Constantine , and Oran , emigrated. The Algiers synagogue was abandoned after 1994. These Jews themselves represented the remainder of only about 10,000 who had chosen to stay there in 1962 ; most of Algeria's 140,000 Jews, having been granted French citizenship in 1870 , left the country for France when it attained independence, together with the pied-noirs .

The History of the Jews in Algeria refers to the history of the Jewish community of Algeria , which dates to the 1st century CE. In the 14th century, many Spanish Jews emigrated to Algeria following expulsion from Spain and Portugal; among them were respected Jewish scholars, including Isaac ben Sheshet (Ribash) and Simeon ben Zemah Duran (Rashbatz). Following Algerian independence in 1962, almost all of Algeria's Jews, having been granted French citizenship in 1870, left with the pied-noirs . The vast majority moved to France , and the rest moved to Israel . Those who remained resided mostly in Algiers , while some settled in Blida , Constantine , and Oran . In the 1990s, the trials of Algerian Civil War led to the emigration of most of the remaining Jews. A decisive event was the rebel Armed Islamic Group 's 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country. That year Jews abandoned the Algiers synagogue .

The History of the Jews in Algeria refers to the history of the Jewish community of Algeria , which dates to the 1st century CE. In the 15th century, many Spanish Jews emigrated to Algeria following expulsion from Spain and Portugal; among them were respected Jewish scholars, including Isaac ben Sheshet (Ribash) and Simeon ben Zemah Duran (Rashbatz). Algeria won its independence in 1962, and by the Nationality Code of 1963 denied citizenship to all non-Muslims. Algeria's Jews, most of whom had been entitled to French citizenship since 1870, left with the pied-noirs . The vast majority moved to France , and the rest moved to Israel . Those who remained resided mostly in Algiers , while some settled in Blida , Constantine , and Oran . In the 1990s, the trials of the Algerian Civil War led most of the remaining Jews to emigrate. In 1994, the rebel Armed Islamic Group 's 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country was a decisive event for Jews remaining in Algeria. That year, Algerian Jews abandoned their last synagogue, the Great Synagogue of Algiers . Today, most Jews in France are of Maghrebi origin , and consequently, most of the recent immigration from France to Israel are Jews of North African origin .

The History of the Jews in Algeria refers to the history of the Jewish community of Algeria , which dates to the 1st century CE . In the 15th century, many Spanish and Portuguese Jews fled to the Maghreb , including today's Algeria, following the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal ; among them were respected Jewish scholars, including Isaac ben Sheshet and Simeon ben Zemah Duran . Algeria won its independence in 1962, and by the Nationality Code of 1963 denied citizenship to all non-Muslims. Algeria's Jews, most of whom had held French citizenship since 1870, left with the pieds-noirs . The vast majority moved to France , and the rest moved to Israel . Those who remained resided mostly in Algiers , while some settled in Blida , Constantine , and Oran . In the 1990s, the trials of the Algerian Civil War led most of the few remaining Jews to emigrate. In 1994, the rebel Armed Islamic Group of Algeria 's 1994 declaration of war on all non-Muslims in the country was a decisive event for Jews remaining in Algeria. That year, Algerian Jews abandoned their last synagogue, Djamâa Lihoud (now the Ben Farès Mosque ). Today, most Jews in France are Maghrebi Jews , and consequently, most of the recent immigration from France to Israel consists of Jews of North African origin. "Immigration francophone en Israel, chiffres alya" (in French).

In any case, several waves of immigration helped to increase the population. There may have been Jews in Carthage and present-day Algeria before the Roman conquest, but the development of Jewish communities is linked to the Roman presence . Jewish revolts in Israel and Cyrenaica in the 1st and 2nd centuries certainly led to the arrival of Jewish immigrants from these regions. The vast majority of scholarly sources reject the notion that there were any large-scale conversions of Berbers to Judaism. The Muslim conquest of North Africa , which was completed in Algeria in the 8th century, brought North Africa into the realm of Islamic civilization and had a lasting impact on the identity of local Jewish communities, whose status was henceforth governed by the dhimma . New immigrants later strengthened the Algerian Jewish community: Jews fled Spain during the Visigothic persecutions of the 5th and 6th centuries, and again during the persecutions linked to the Spanish Reconquista of the 14th and 16th centuries. Many Jews from the Iberian Peninsula settled in Algeria, mixing with the local Jewish population and influencing its traditions. In the 18th century, other Jews, the Granas of Livorno , were few in number, but played a role as commercial intermediaries between Europe and the Ottoman Empire . Later in the 19th century, many Jews from Tetouan arrived in Algeria, strengthening the ranks of the community. After the French colonization of Algeria in 1830, Algerian Jews, like other Algerians, faced discrimination by the colonial state. Like Muslims, they were given the status of "indigéne" ( indigenous ) and were barred from gaining French citizenship unless highly specific conditions were met. However, the dhimma was abolished, and Jews became equal to Muslims under French law. Indeed, the Muslim law that governed the country put the former at a distinct disadvantage to the latter, especially in the legal sphere and their treatment as inhabitants of the country. This changed in 1870, with the Crémieux Decree granting Algerian Jews French citizenship (except for Mozabite Jews), while Muslims remained under the second-class indigenous status. Algerian Jews increasingly identified with metropolitan France , and despite a period of forced return to second-class indigenous status during World War II , they opted en masse to be repatriated to France on the eve of Algerian Independence —when even the formerly excluded Mozabite Jews were granted French citizenship—with a minority choosing Israel . This exile virtually put an end to more than 2,000 years of presence on Algerian soil. A few dozen very discreet Jews still live in Algeria. Le processus d'acculturation des Juifs d'Algérie (in French). There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).