The roots of Morocco’s Jewish communities date back to 587BCE, when Jewish refugees, fleeing the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and its Holy Temple, crossed over to North Africa and settled. There, they lived among the local Berber tribes, some of whom, it is believed, adopted Judaism and later fought against the Arab conquest.

Prior to World War II, the Jewish population of Morocco reached its height of approximately 265,000, and although Nazi deportations did not occur the Jewish community still suffered great humiliation. Following the war, the situation became even more perilous.In June 1948, bloody riots in Oujda and Djerada killed 44 Jews while wounding several more. That same year, an unofficial economic boycott was instigated against the Moroccan Jewish community. By 1959 Zionist activities were made illegal and in 1963, at least 100,000 Moroccan Jews were forced out from their homes. Nearly 150,000 Jews sought refuge in Israel, France and the Americas.

The Jewish people have been present in Algeria since the destruction of the First Temple nearly 2,600 years ago. The first major transition in the Algerian Jewish population resulted from Jewish refugees fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. This made for a considerable increase in the Jewish population in Algeria.

Prior to WWII in the late 1930’s, there were roughly 120,000 Jews living in Algeria. Provoked by events occurring in Nazi Germany, a group of Algerian Muslims rioted in 1934, killing 25 Jews and injuring many more. As a colony of France, the Jews of Algeria were subjected to the same Anti-Semitic Vichy policies as French Jews. During WWII, the French Vichy government cancelled the citizenship of Algerian Jews, forbade them from working in numerous professions, and confiscated Jewish property.

Although substantially diminished in size, the Jews in Algeria were again threatened in 1994 when the terrorist Armed Islamic Group stated its objective to eliminate the Jewish community from Algeria altogether. Even though no attacks were reported, the announcement caused many Jews to leave, abandoning the only remaining synagogue in the country. Today no Jews remain living in Algeria.

The first remnants of Jewish life in Tunisia date back to the 4th century. In the 400’s, Jews were increasing in size and prospering greatly to such a degree that the African Church Council enacted strict restrictions on the Jews in order to minimize their influence. In 534, the Jews were considered heathens and faced persecution. Throughout their history, Tunisian Jews encounter eras of good treatment interspersed with eras of anti-Semitism and discrimination.

Tunisia was the only Arab country to come under direct German occupation during World War II and, according to Robert Satloff, “From November 1942 to May 1943, the Germans ... implemented a forced-labor regime, confiscations of property, hostage-taking, mass extortion, deportations, and executions. They required thousands of Jews in the countryside to wear the Star of David.”

When Tunisia gained independence in 1956, the new government passed a series of discriminatory anti-Jewish decrees. The government also destroyed ancient synagogues, cemeteries, and even Tunis’ Jewish quarter for “urban renewal” projects.

During the Six-Day War, Jews were attacked by rioting Arab mobs, while businesses were burned and the Great Synagogue of Tunis was destroyed. The government actually denounced the violence and appealed to the Jewish population to stay, but did not bar them from leaving.

The history of the Jewish people in Libya dates back to the 3rd century BCE. In 1911 under Italian rule, Jews were treated relatively well. Approximately 21,000 Jews were living in Libya, with the majority residing in Tripoli. However, in the 1930’s the Fascist Italian regime initiated anti-Semitic laws which barred Jews from government jobs, government schools and required them to stamp “Jewish race” into their passports. However, this was not enough to deter Jews from Libya, as 25% of the population in Tripoli was Jewish with over 44 synagogues in existence.

In 1942, the Jewish Quarter of Benghazi was occupied by the Nazi’s and more than 2,000 Jews were deported and sent to Nazi labor camps. About one-fifth of those who were sent away had perished.

Even with the end of WWII, the situation for the Jews in Libya did not improve. In 1945, one savage pogrom occurred in Tripoli, more than 140 Jews were killed and even more injured. The rioters not only destroyed and looted the city’s synagogues, but they also ruined hundreds of homes and businesses as well. Again in 1948, coinciding with the declaration of the State of Israel, anti-Semitism escalated. As a result of the rampant anti-Semitism, 30,972 Jews immigrated to Israel.

The Jewish presence in Egypt extends back to biblical times. Egypt was a place of refuge and a safe haven from persecution for the Jewish people. During this time, Jewish communities developed Talmudic schools and prospered intellectually.

From 1805-1956 Jews played a dominant role in Egyptian society. Despite their contributions, Jews in Egypt, under the British rule, were denied citizenship.

In 1937, the Jewish population was 63,500 but by 1945, with the rise of Egyptian nationalism and the cultivation of anti-Jewish sentiment, violence erupted against the peaceful Jewish community. In 1947, an amendment to Egyptian law stipulated that companies must employ a minimum of 90% Egyptian nationals. This decree resulted in the loss of livelihood for many Jews.

Israel’s establishment led to further anti-Jewish sentiments. Between June and November 1948, bombs set off in the Jewish Quarter of Cairo killed more than 70 Jews and wounded nearly 200, while another 2,000 Jews were arrested and had their property confiscated. Rioting over the following months resulted in more Jewish deaths.

In 1956, the Egyptian government used the Sinai Campaign as a pretext for expelling almost 25,000 Jews and confiscating their property while approximately 1,000 more Jews were sent to prisons and detention camps. In November 1956, a government proclamation declared that “all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state,” and promised that they would be soon expelled. Thousands of Jews were ordered to leave the country, allowed to take only one suitcase, a small sum of cash, and forced to sign declarations “donating” their property to the Egyptian government.

The Jewish presence in Turkey has existed since biblical times.Following the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, the Sultan Bayezid II invited Jews from Spain and Portugal to resettle in the Ottoman Empire which perpetuated a mass immigration to the region.

Unlike Jews in other areas of Europe and the Middle East, the Jews in Turkey enjoyed a good amount of religious tolerance and prosperity. Although they were still required to pay special taxes and abide by restrictions dictating where to live and work, Jews had a significant amount of autonomy, engaged in business enterprises of their choice, and some reached high positions in the Ottoman court. Jews is the Ottoman Empire were respected, influential members of society who contributed to diplomacy, commerce and trade.

Turkey established its independence in 1923, and as a result, the treatment of the Jews changed as well. In 1934, a planned deportation of Jews from East Thrace and an anti-Jewish pogrom caused feelings of insecurity among the Turkish Jews. 30,000 Jews decided to emigrate from Turkey.

Throughout WWII, Turkey remained relatively neutral, but several Turkish diplomats were key in saving thousands of Jews from France and Eastern Europe. A riot in Istanbul in 1955 destroyed 4,000 businesses and 1,000 homes and convinced 10,000 Jews to leave Turkey.

Today there is still a strong community of Jews remaining in Turkey, despite occasional anti-Semitic sentiment. In 2003, the Bet Israel Synagogue in Istanbul was bombed, killing 20 and injuring over 300.

Jews had lived in Syria since biblical times and the Jewish population increased significantly after the Spanish expulsion in 1492. Throughout the generations, the main Jewish communities were to be found in Damascus and Aleppo.By 1943, the Jewish community of Syria had approximately 30,000 members.

In 1944, after Syria gained independence from France, the new Arab government prohibited Jewish immigration to Palestine, severely restricted the teaching of Hebrew in Jewish schools, called boycotts against Jewish businesses, and sat idle as attacks against Jews escalated. In 1945, in an attempt to thwart international efforts to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine, the Syrian government fully restricted Jewish emigration, burned, looted and confiscated Jewish property, and froze Jewish bank accounts.

When partition was declared in 1947, Arab mobs in Aleppo devastated the 2,500-year-old Jewish community and left it in ruins. Scores of Jews were killed and more than 200 homes, shops and synagogues were destroyed. Thousands of Jews illegally fled as refugees, 10,000 going to the United States and 5,000 to Israel. All of their property were taken over by the local Muslims. Over the next few decades, those Syrian Jews that remained were in effect hostages of a hostile regime as the government intensified its persecution of the Jewish population.

According to the Lebanese Jewish Community Council a historian has traced Jewish settlement in Baalbeck back to 922 AD, Tyr to 1170 and Saida to 1522.

By 1911, the Jewish community had expanded and exerted a significant amount of influence in Lebanon and later played an instrumental role in the successful movement for Lebanese Independence. Lebanon gained independence from France on November 22, 1943. The Lebanese Jews who participated in the struggle for independence strongly identified with their Lebanese identity.

After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the population of the Lebanese Jewish Community increased due to the immigration of Iraqi and Syrian Jews to Lebanon. By 1958 the community that was 5,000 strong in 1948 had increased to 6,000. However that same year, Lebanon’s first civil war broke out beginning the first exodus of Jews from the country.

The community endured until 1975 when conditions in Lebanon significantly deteriorated with the outbreak of the Muslim-Christian Civil War which would last 15 years. Jewish infrastructure in Beirut was destroyed and Syria’s growing presence and influence in the country, compelled most of Lebanon’s remaining 1,800 Jews to flee.

In 1982, following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, eleven Jewish leaders were captured and killed by Islamist radicals. In the 1990’s the political climate changed making it more difficult for Jews to practice their religion freely many Lebanese Jews hid their identity of left the country. Despite this, a few Lebanese Jews remain in the country today and as of late 2010 a construction project to restore Beirut’s Maghen Avraham Synagoge is nearing completion.

The Jewish community of Persia, modern-day Iran, is one of the oldest in the Diaspora, and its historical roots reach back to the 6th century B.C.E., the time of the First Temple.

In 642 AD, after the Battle of Nehavend, Arab Muslims established Islamic rule over Persian land and its people. Jews, along with all other non-Muslims, found themselves reduced to second-class citizens. Jews also had to wear a gold patch at all times, signifying their religion and distinguishing them from all other citizens.

During the rule of the Safavid Dynasty in the 17th century, Jews were forced by the government to proclaim themselves “New Muslims.” However, they were left with no choice but to practice Judaism in secret under the threat of persecution if they were discovered.

Jewish life improved under the reign of Reza Shah in the Pahlavi dynasty of the 20th century. Hebrew was taught in Jewish schools and Jewish newspapers were established. However, Reza Shah’s pro-Nazi sympathies and the rise of Hitler brought persecution to the Jews of Iran once again. Jewish schools were closed, and anti-Semitic propaganda became widespread throughout Iran.

Since the foundation of Israel in 1948, over 80% of the Jews in Iran have emigrated to Israel and other parts of the world. In the last 20 years, the Jewish population has dropped from 80,000 to what had been believed to be 25,000.

Jews have lived in modern-day Iraq since before the common era and prospered in what was then called Babylonia until the Muslim conquest in 634 AD. Under Muslim rule, the situation of the Jewish community fluctuated yet at the same time, Jews were subjected to special taxes and restrictions on their professional activity. Under British rule, which began in 1917, Jews fared well economically, but this changed when Iraq gained independence.

In June 1941, the Mufti-inspired, pro-Nazi coup of Rashid Ali sparked rioting and a pogrom in Baghdad. Armed mobs, with the complicity of the police and the army, murdered 180 Jews and wounded almost 1,000. Although emigration was prohibited, many Jews made their way to Mandate Palestine with the aid of an underground movement.

Additional outbreaks of anti-Jewish rioting occurred between 1946 and 1949, and following the establishment of Israel in 1948, Zionism was made a capital crime. In 1950, the Iraqi parliament legalized emigration to Israel, provided that Iraqi Jews forfeited their citizenship before leaving. Between May 1950 and August 1951, the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government succeeded in airlifting approximately 110,000 Jews to Israel in Operation Ezra & Nehemiah. At the same time, 20,000 Jews were smuggled out of Iraq through Iran.

Emigration was banned in 1952 with 6,000 Jews remaining in Iraq. Jews continued to experience severe persecution, arbitrary arrests, and economic isolation. In 1969, 9 Jewish men were publicly hanged in Baghdad and Basra after the government discovered an alleged “spy ring.” Following these events, Jews no longer felt safe in Iraq and in the 1970’s Jews were allowed to quietly leave the country.Today less than 10 Jews remain in Iraq.

There are many legends detailing the story of how the Jews came to settle in Yemen. The first historical record of Jews in Yemen is from the third century CE.

By the 900’s, Islam rose to power and allowed Jews freedom of religion in exchange for a poll tax. Jews were treated like second-class citizens and viewed as pariahs. In 1679 a large portion of the Jewish community was expelled from the region, only to be asked to return a year later when the economy in Yemen was suffering and the Jews had craftsmen and artisan skills which were needed. By 1700 there was resurgence in Jewish life in Yemen.

In 1922, the government of Yemen reintroduced an ancient Islamic law decreeing that Jewish orphans under age 12 were to be converted to Islam. In 1947, after the partition vote on Palestine, the police forces joined Muslim rioters in a bloody pogrom in Aden, killing 82 Jews and destroying hundreds of Jewish homes. The pogrom left Aden’s Jewish community economically paralyzed, as most of the stores and businesses were destroyed.

Early in 1948, looting occurred after six Jews were falsely accused of murdering two Arab girls and the government began to forcefully evict the Jews. Between June 1949 and September 1950, Israel ran Operation “Magic Carpet” and brought virtually the entire Yemenite Jewish community - almost 50,000 people - to Israel as refugees.