A Forgotten Tragedy: The Moroccan Jewish Massacre of 1790

Throughout our long exile, countless sufferings and calamities have befallen our people. Pogroms and riots have been levied upon us by evil oppressors, from ancient times to the most recent Simchat Torah. Some events are well-remembered due to detailed accounts, while others have faded from memory. The 1648-49 Khmelnytsky massacres have become a historical reference, yet there were equally severe events that are lesser-known.

One of these tragic and sorrowful events was the riots of 1790 (known as "Tekun Riots"), which took place in Morocco. In that year, Moulay Yazid, a member of the Alaouite dynasty (the same lineage as Assad, the President of Syria, known for his brutal rule), ascended to power. Moulay had sought to gain the throne for many years, but his father, the Sultan, aware of his character, prevented it at all costs. Moulay requested loans from affluent Jews to fight his father, and they understandably refused, realizing how insane it is for Jews in exile to conspire against the ruling regime. In response, once Moulay seized power, he initiated a campaign against the Jews amidst a broader conflict against his two brothers, who also vied for the throne.

Initially, he targeted the wealthy Jews of Tetouan for refusing to join his plot. Their legs were tied to horses, and they were dragged through the city streets until they perished in agony. Their families and possessions were left unprotected. The Jewish Mellah was destroyed. He then set his sights on other cities with Jewish communities: Meknes, Rabat, Tangier, and more. In the city of Oufrane, he imprisoned fifty Jews, demanding they convert to Islam, but the holy souls chose instead to leap into the flames!

Rabbi David ben Hassin writes in his commentary on Lamentations: "Crying bitterly at night, we were in the courts of the looters, and we fled from them. When anyone was heard grieving over his property and naked children, they would dismiss him, saying he cries and pleads for God to avenge him."

Rabbi Shlomo Abutbul describes Jews standing up to the Arab attackers, noting, "I rejoiced as though it was great wealth upon hearing the good news that in our time there is a redeemer and savior in Israel, boldly standing against our enemies without fear, like our holy ancestors. I marveled at their merit for such honor, standing in these times against our foes, fighting them with sword and spear." Rabbi Raphael Berdugo detailed the pogroms as he experienced them.

Rabbi David Hassin even composed a lamentation, with the first stanza stating:

In the yearThousandSevenHundredNinety
A city of beauty was shattered
God raised a foeto her peace, breaching her walls
Stealthilyentered the city

To wayfarers I callwho has heard, who has seen
This calamity that has comesuch destruction never occurred

How the city of beautyin the month of splendor, its radiance ceased
On the fourth day, it was Shabbatits soul was smitten.

Moulay's downfall came swiftly. Two years after ascending to power, his brother Suleiman overcame him, executed him, and brought light and joy back to the Jewish community.