View of Ghardaia, Algeria, 1984

Ghardaia

In Arabic: غرداية‎

A town in the region of Mzab, central Algeria.

Ghardaia is situated south of the town Laghouat, in northern Sahara. The time when Jews first arrived in Sahara is a mystery. Possibly, some of them came from Cyrenaica in the 6th century B.E. the Roman emperor Traianus put down with cruelty a revolt of Jews in Cyrenaica in the year 115 and most of them fled and settled at Tamentit, in the western tip of north-west Sahara, where a rich and flourishing community developed. In 1447 the community was at the peak of its prosperity but in 1492 the Jews were subject to harassment by the Moslems. They fled and found refuge in the region of Mzab and so settled at Ghardaia. By invitation of the Berbers, the tribes of the region, 4 Jewish families of craftsmen from Djerba had already come to Ghardaia before the arrival of the refugees from Tamentit, and so the latter found at Ghardaia a comfortable haven. The Jews of Ghardaia built a melah at the north-eastern part of the town. They kept a secluded way of life, married only within the
community, and connections with the neighbors were limited to essential necessities alone. Jews from other communities were also regarded as outsiders and wayfarers.

Years of seclusion bred a different culture and even a different appearance and dress. Up to the French occupation the Jews had had to wear a black headgear and had been forbidden to ride an animal, but they were permitted to built one synagogue in the town. Only in 1872 was Lalush Ben Daud, a notable of the community, granted permission to build an additional synagogue.

The community of Ghardaia consisted of two rival political factions, called Sof in the language of the Berbers. One of the factions was headed by the family of Baluka, who were well-to-do. At the head of the other faction stood the family of Sulam. Friction between the two was a frequent occurrence. In October 1893, less than 11 years after the French occupation of Mzab, Baras Ben Itzhak Baluka approached the authorities for a permit to build a separate synagogue for his faction. He claimed that the synagogue was mismanaged, but it is likely that the real reason for his request was the fact that the Balukas were not favored by the rest of the community. After a struggle that lasted 3 years the Balukas built a separate synagogue. At the beginning of the 1920’s a dispute arose in the Baluka family group and Saban Baluka built yet a third synagogue. However, Saban Baluka lost all his property and the synagogue was closed down in the 1930’s and turned into a timber store.

In 1921 1,400 Jews lived at Ghardaia, in 1931 - 1,300, and in 1955 - 1,250. The central synagogue of the community stood at the end of a narrow stairs alley, which was reached through a covered street. The building had a dome supported on columns and was linked to the other buildings around it. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century following the destruction of the older building by fire. The old synagogue had been smaller, built of a mixture of pebbles and chalk stones.

There was at Ghardaia also a Talmud Torah for children, where Hebrew and Torah were taught.

The important families of the community at that time were Elbaz, Atiya, Partosh, Baluka and Sulam. In the 1950’s Abraham Elbaz was the community’s rabbi. Members of the poorer families worked as clerks for the Jewish rich merchants. The tax collectors of Ghardaia were all Jewish.

A certain tension that had always existed between the Jews and the Moslems and Berbers intensified toward the end of world war II. As a result the Jews began to leave the town and during the years 1943-1950 some 500-600 of them emigrated to Israel. Some went to France. In 1947 Jews of Ghardaia reached Eretz Israel in the ships “Jehuda Halevi” and “Shivat Zion”. A third ship which was to take more families failed to get near the port, and scores of families were left stranded on the shore. Eventually they succeeded in reaching Marseilles in France. Some settled down around Marseilles and others finally arrived in Israel. In the years 1950-1951 Algeria quieted down and there was no Jewish emigration out of the country. There were also some who were disappointed with life in Israel and returned to Mzab.

On 1st November 1954 Algeria’s war of independence broke out and the Jews began to have doubts as to their future in the country. Indeed, on Christmas Day 1959 a hand grenade was thrown in a place where Jews congregated. However, Jews were not as yet considering emigration. Only in the summer of 1961 did some of the richer Jewish families decide to leave because of the spreading violence. In June 1962 Makhluf Partosh left for France. Partosh was a central figure in the community and when he left the community began to crumble. Within a short time all the Jews of Ghardaia left the town and the community was liquidated.