MENA COMMUNITY CHRONICLE

The Jews of Oran

Spanish-speaking Jews on the Algeria coast — Oran's merchants and synagogues.

I. Mediterranean Gateway

Oran reflected Spanish, Ottoman, and French waves. Spanish-speaking Megorashim and Musta'ribi Jews shared the same Masoretic Torah standards.

II. Commerce, Community, and Scripture

Alliance institutions taught biblical literacy; rabbis cited the Talmud and Hebrew Bible in responsa.

III. Exodus to France and Israel

Like the rest of Algerian Jewry, Oran's Jews departed en masse after 1962 — overwhelmingly for France.

Related Notes on This Site

Further Reading