Morocco opens first publicly funded museum dedicated to Jewish culture in Arab Muslim country

The 1,700-square-meter (18,300 square-foot) site, donated by the local Jewish community, covers 2,500 years of Moroccan Jewish history.

By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS

The Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture opened earlier this month in the North African country, marking the first time an Arab Muslim country has allocated public funds to establish a museum dedicated to Jewish culture.

The move comes amid growing ties between the two nations and a recent agreement to upgrade diplomatic relations, including opening embassies and appointing ‌ambassadors.

The museum in the northeastern Moroccan city of Fez, which opened its doors on Oct. 12, is located in the ancient Jewish quarter or Mellah, 100 meters from the Museum of Islamic Arts, in a move meant to highlight the country’s history of coexistence between Jews and Muslims.

The 1,700-square-meter (18,300 square-foot) site, donated by the local Jewish community, covers 2,500 years of Moroccan Jewish history.

The new Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture in Fez pairs with the historic Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca to offer a fuller picture of the country’s Jewish history.

“The museum highlights the deep historical connections between Morocco’s Jewish and Muslim communities,” Serge Berdugo, president of the council of Moroccan Jewish Communities, told JNS on Thursday.

“It represents an important step in preserving and transmitting Moroccan Jewish heritage to future generations.”

The museum’s facade has a brass inscription in four languages: Arabic, Amazigh, Hebrew, and French; its exhibits showcase religious artifacts, rare manuscripts, historical archives, and digital installations on synagogues, Hebrew schools, and rabbinical courts.

Around 250,000 Jews lived in Morocco in 1948, which was once home to the largest Jewish community in North Africa, before waves of emigration to Israel, France, and Canada.

About 2,000 Jews live in Morocco today, making it the largest Jewish community in the Arab world.

King Mohammed VI launched the museum project in 2019 to help revitalize the old medina, the historic walled city center, and preserve Morocco’s diverse national identity.

Israel and Morocco, which for decades maintained covert cooperation in the defense and intelligence sphere, formalized relations as part of the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords that saw Arab countries make peace with Israel under the first Trump administration.