On this day: Morocco declares independence - The Jewish Chronicle

The first of France’s Maghrebi protectorates to throw of its colonial master, Morocco did not share the radical upheaval or violence of neighbouring Algeria in its struggle for independence.

After years of negotiations, the French agreed to abolish the protectorate on March 2, and the Spanish accepted a deal by April. It was the culmination of years of struggle for freedom, but, as across the Arab world, the departure of the European rulers made life difficult for the Jewish inhabitants, who had lived there for 2,000 years. During the Holocaust, under the rule of Mohammad V, Jews were not deported from Morocco

In 1948 the Jewish population was estimated at 265,000. But when Israel became a state, and as the fight for independence divided the populations further, conditions for Jews began declining. In June 1948 violence broke out in the cities of Oujda and Djerada and more than 40 Jews were killed. By 1956 some 25,000 Moroccan Jews had moved to Israel.

On independence, the new Moroccan rulers extended civil rights to Jews and some even attained political roles. But they also suspended immigration to Israel and began clamping down on Jewish political activity, putting Jews who wanted to leave for Israel in detention camps. Even buying Israeli stamps was banned.