A large influx of Moroccan Jews arrived in Israel during the years 1954-1955. This wave of immigration, part of the legal immigration of Jews from Morocco which began in 1948 with the establishment of the State, ended with declaration of Moroccan independence in 1956.

Primary Motivations

With the establishment of the State of Israel the Jews of Morocco began to fear violence at the hands of the local population, which was shocked at the Jewish victory. These fears intensified during 1954-1955 as Moroccan independence from France seemed to be drawing nearer. The situation of the Jews in Morocco deteriorated as violence and terror became more frequent.

The Immigrants and their Journey

Immediately following the establishment of the State, Jews began making aliyah from Morocco via transit camps set up in Casablanca. The most massive influx of Moroccan Jews took place during 1954-1955 as their situation deteriorated with the approach of Moroccan independence.  The Jewish Agency was responsible for bringing Moroccan Jews to Israel during those years, and the total number of immigrants approached 35,000.  Immigration was also spurred by the lifting of criteria determined by the Israeli establishment for new immigrants which favored young, healthy persons, and persons with families.

The aliyah of Moroccan Jewry did not end in 1956, but continued clandestinely following Moroccan independence.  Between 1956-1961 some 30,000 Jews secretly made their way to Israel. The story of the “Egoz,” a ship smuggling 43 Jews from Morocco, as well as an Israeli representative by the name of Chaim Tzarfati, which sank during the night of January 10-11, was the most tragic incident in the history of Moroccan aliyah.  The disaster at sea brought the plight of Moroccan Jewry to the world’s headlines, and following international pressure Moroccan King Hassan II turned a blind eye to immigration by the Jews. During 1961-1964,  80,000 Moroccan Jews made aliyah, bringing the number of Moroccan immigrants throughout the years to more than a quarter of a million.  They are the largest group of immigrants from an Arab country.