Megorashim

Megorashim (מגורשים "expelled") is a term used to refer to Jews from the Iberian Peninsula who arrived in North Africa as a result of the anti-Jewish persecutions of 1391 and the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. These migrants were distinct from pre-existing North African Jews called Toshavim. The Toshavim had been present in North Africa since ancient times, spoke the local languages (Arabic or Berber), and had traditions that were influenced by Maghrebi Islam. The Megorashim influenced North African Judaism, incorporating traditions from Spain. They eventually merged with the Toshavim, so that it is now difficult to distinguish between the two groups. The Jews of North Africa are often referred to as Sephardi, a term that emphasizes their Iberian traditions. The first migration took place following the persecutions of 1391 in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Many Megorashim took refuge along the North African coast, especially in Algeria. Among them were prestigious rabbis like Isaac ben Sheshet and Simeon ben Zemah Duran. Of the 40,000 to 70,000 Jews who left Spain in 1492 following the Alhambra decree, the Jewish Encyclopedia estimates that 32,000 reached the coast of North Africa; (20,000 in Morocco, 10,000 in Algeria). Others say, however, that it is impossible to really estimate how many Iberian Jews found refuge in Morocco and the Maghreb. These Jews had their own leaders, rabbis and spiritual leaders as well as their own minhag. They spoke the different languages of the Iberian Peninsula from which they originated (Castilian, Aragonese, Catalan, Galician, etc.) and a standardized Judeo-Spanish form, called Judezmo, has long been used by the diaspora. After 1391, the Megorashim had settled mainly in Algeria (Algiers and its adjacent cities, Tlemcen, Oran, Ténès, Béjaïa, Constantine), Tunisia (Tunis), and Morocco (Meknes, Fez, and Debdou, with the capture of Seville). Following the expulsion edict of 1492, new waves of Megorashim came to North Africa, specifically Tetouan, Fez, Meknes, Rabat, Salé, and Marrakesh.