Israel Mimran, El Jadida, Morocco, 2018

MIMRAN

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name derives from Jewish communal functionaries or titles.

Mimran is derived from Maimaran. Maimaran is an old Jewish title of Aramaic origin. It is composed of Maran and Maya. The title Aramaic Maran means "master" and referred to a distinguished rabbi, usually the head of a Sephardi Yeshiva. The word Maya means "water". Thus the name Maimaran is an allegoric surname meaning water from the master, referring to the rabbi's great wisdom. According to another interpretation, Maimaran is derived from the Arabic Mamiran, which is the name of a medicinal plant. Originally the name was probably an occupational or personal nickname. Other related family names include Maimrane, Maimran, Memran. Maimaran is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 15th century in Castille, Spain, with Rabbi Maimaran from the Villa De Maquda, Castille.

El Jadida

الجديدة

Formerly known as Mazagan, Mazighan

A port city in the province of El Jadida in the region of Casablanca-Settat, Morocco.

In 1514 Mazagan was occupied by the Portuguese who maintained their rule over the city until 1769. During the first half of the 16th century a handful of Jews, from among those expelled from Spain, settled in Mazagan and practiced Judaism openly at a time when Jews were persecuted in mainland Portugal. Abraham Ben Zamirro from Safi was an official interpreter, Jacob Daroque rented the customhouse, and Jacob Abide, also a renter of the customhouse, later became chief rabbi of the Jewish community in nearby Azemmour. In 1556 Jews living in Portuguese controlled territories in Morocco, including Mazagan, were expelled by the decree of João III The Pious, King of Portugal. However, by a decision taken towards the end of the 16th century, Jewish merchants were allowed to enter and reside in the Portuguese controlled cities for the time needed to conduct their business. Throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, Jewish traders used Mazagan as a port of exit for their journeys to western Europe. Some crypto-Jews from Portugal settled in Mazagan and apparently maintained secret contacts with the Jewish community of Azemmour.

Known as El Jadida, after the city returned to the rule of the sultans of Morocco, it attracted Jewish settlers from other regions of the country.  

The growth of the local Jewish community was very fast. Between early 1830s to late 1860s the Jewish population increased from about 300 to over 1,000 people. The demographic growth accelerated during the first half of the 20th century with many Jews from nearby Azemmour moving to El Jadida. In 1945 there were 3,591 Jews living in El Jadida and in 1954 their number stood at 3,328.

Unlike other places in Morocco, in El Jadida the Jews could live in all city’s neighborhoods and were not constrained to gather in a mellah. The neighborhood within the walls of the old Portuguese fortress occasionally was called the mellah, but in fact it was inhabited equally by Jews, Muslims and Europeans. Until the late 1910s, the fortress was the only secure place for living in El Jadida.

Jews began emigrating from El Jadida already in the second half of the 19th century. A few went to the Land of Israel and others to countries in South America, particularly during the first decades of the 20th century. During WW II, like in other places under the French Protectorate in Morocco, the Jews of El Jadida were affected by the anti-Semitic legislation of the French collaborationist regime of Vichy. The landing of US troops in Morocco in November 1942 ended the anti-Jewish persecutions.

After WW II, the Jews of El Jadida started emigrating to other countries. Already during the late 1940s some of them immigrated to the Land of Israel, while others moved to France, United States, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Following an agreement between the French authorities and the Jewish Agency, a transit camp known as “Mazagan camp” was established not far from El Jadida by the Zionist organization Kadima. This camp served as a port of departure for Jewish immigrants to Israel; they first travelled to Marseille in southern France, and from there continued to Israel. After Morocco obtained independence in 1956, the camp was closed by the new authorities. However, the Jewish emigration continued, having being added by Misgueret, an underground Zionist organization. The worsening of the economic situation in Morocco during the 1960s, the Moroccan decision to severe the postal ties between Morocco and Israel that affected tens of thousands of Jewish families split between Israel and Morocco, the will to reunite with the family already living in Israel, and the impact of the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War of 1967 on the Muslims’ attitude towards the Jews, brought about an acceleration of the Jewish emigration. By early 1970s the vast majority of the Jews of El Jadida left Morocco.

During the 2010s, with the assistance of Organization of the Jewish Communities of Morocco (Le Conseil des communautés israélites du Maroc - CCIM), the Bensimon synagogue, also known as Shaar Hashamayim, was renovated as well as the Jewish cemetery of El Jadida. The renovation works included the repair of some tombs, the reinforcing and the painting of the surrounding walls, the replacement of the gate, and the building of a ceremony hall with a capacity of 250 people and of additional facilities.