MOROCCO AND THE ISRAEL FAMILY
Our Israel family, being part of the historically elite, expect to be regularly able to cross international borders wherever their home may be situated, including when in Ceuta. Ceuta is only a small territory surrounded by large Morocco. The larger historic picture of Morocco as must now be evident is the more appropriate backdrop for the stories of the family. lives remembering that anyway that Morocco always has and continues to regard Ceuta as occupied territory. The land which is now Morocco became Muslim during the eighth century . After the Berber revolt in 740 AD its lands had separated from the Caliphate. 500 years later it becomes the country of Morocco with its rulers later conquering part of Iberia.
The country flourishes with an abundance of eminent and creative physicians, mathematicians, artists, musicians and much more whilst Europe languishes in the Dark Ages. Perhaps Morocco was THE place in which to live in those days – think of its world famous old cities of Casablanca, Tangiers, Rabat, Marrakech, Meknes and Fez which has the world’s oldest university. Sephardis have spoken of life under the rule of the Moors from 9th to 13th Centuries as a golden age for its Jewry with the massacres taking place in 1033 as a short term blot in an otherwise reasonably clean record. As I write this I shudder for Jewry that a statement like this can be made with reference to a massacre. There were some lesser blots In 1146 the ruler, Almohad, demanded Jews to convert or die and most Jews followed that edict, many continuing to practice Judaism in secret.
The next significant anti-Semitic event in Morocco involved a Fatwa being issued in 1465 which encouraged the murder of Jews in the name of Allah and resulted in one of the worst Pograms. The city of Fez was burnt and there was subsequently a great famine
Time has passed and this is just history to the new immigrants or so they hope. Our Israel family, like most Sephardi immigrants, in North Africa regard themselves as noble and superior to the local Berber Jews. The immigrants’ leaders in particular its Rabbis soon become the dominant authority permitted by the Moroccan rulers to govern the entire Jewish community as they in any event feel is their right.
The Berber Jews do not always accept without question their second class status. Sometimes they adopt new names to try and make it seem they are also descended from the more “noble” Spanish and Portuguese Jewish families. Descendents of Sephardi Jews who leave Spain at later times will not speak Hakitia but will take with them into exile the Castillian spoken at that time in the particular town in which they previously had lived.
CEUTA BECOMES SPANISH
Our Israel family continues to enjoy life in relative freedom in Ceuta throughout the 60 year temporary Union of Spain with Portugal. This happy state is unaffected by the end of the Union in 1640 when Ceuta becomes the only previously Portuguese colony to remain with Spain. We are with our family still living in Ceuta half a century later. We are one of a number of rich Jewish merchant families there because of the religious freedom we are enjoying. Secret Jews are still being tortured and burnt alive in Spain. We feel somewhat guilty that we can openly practice Judaism whilst others are dying for their much more limited observance of our faith.
We are in truth but pawns in a chess game being played by Monarchs. In the years since our family first arrived in North Africa the European powers have created Empires for themselves around the world. We observe Jewish refugees fleeing from despotic and anti-Semetic rulers dispersing to all its corners hoping, often vainly, to distance themselves from their persecutors. Admittedly some families in addition proactively place members in ports around the world to create a family network the un-persecuted can only dream of. In the end it is a bittersweet achievement.
Entrepreneurial settlers fleeing one country often have the red carpet laid down by those in power to welcome them as settlers in ports of the burgeoning empires all over the world. They are often given incentives including monopolies. The rulers want the Jewish immigrants who are seeking to make their fortunes from international trade which they can then tax for their benefit. Come here, become rich and fulfil your rulers ambitions for you and risk the general populace becoming jealous of you and angry – or do not come at all.
Ceuta in 1690 is what it is now because even In ancient times it had welcomed the settlement of Jews, because under Portuguese rule not only was the status quo not upset but Jews like our Israel family exiled from Iberia were encouraged to settle and because when the Spanish became the ruling power, they did not exercise any major control on movement of Jewish residents across borders or take any other actions against them that might hamper trade. May this last forever!
Nothing is forever. One day in 1694 our Israel family is to be found conductIng it’s business in Ceuta in the usual way. This is the day Sultan Moulay Ismael of Morocco chooses to give Ali ben Abdala the order to take Ceuta from the Spanish and the lives of its residents immediately change dramatically. The Sultan wants the city to be re-integrated into Morocco and has great confidence that this can be speedily achieved. After all, Morocco has recently proved itself capable of pushing strong European powers out of other towns they controlled in North Africa. Ceuta is merely the next target for him.
Ali stations troops along the entire border of Ceuta with Morocco. Moroccans soon start constructing buildings to encircle the town. Within this now besieged town we find ourselves with my sixth great grandfather Solomon Israel (Patriarch Solomon) born around 1680 being comforted by his parents.
You will not have failed to notice that at long last I am for certain mentioning the first name of a member of my Israel family line.
Life for our family is now fraught with danger. Who can tell what will happen during a siege? Will there be enough food for us to survive? Will supplies arrive from Spain or will the incoming merchant ships be attacked and sunk? If the Sultan wins, how will he treat the city residents who have until then resisted him? After all the Moroccan ruler is one of cruelest and most bloodthirsty of rulers in history, killing people for the least of offenses or merely on a whim and often personally. He is in the Guinness Book of records as the father of 888 children showing how self-centered he really was.
Our family learns to live with the ever more frequent bombardments. In July 1695 the Moroccans manage to break through the city walls and take possession of the central square. Is this the moment we have been dreading after which our greatest concerns would be proved justified? As it happens the occupation only lasts for a short time but the siege goes on and on.
Supplies of food and other provisions do come in from Spain via Gibraltar. With the borders closed almost all of trade to and from Morocco and SubSahara is lost to the merchants of Ceuta unless they are able to divert it to other ports in which their family is represented. The family in Morocco are expected to be loyal to their cruel Sultan and our family in Ceuta loyal to the Spanish Crown notwithstanding they are persecuting New Christians. Do you feel your overriding loyalty should be our family or to the rulers?
The siege is still continuing in November 1700. The Hapsburg King Charles ll of Spain dies and Britain, Holland, Portugal and Austria join together and propose that Archduke Charles becomes king of Spain in preference to Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV, the candidate France and Spain are championing.
A long drawn out war commences. The international trading network that was our family asset gives rise to multiple conflicts of interest. The businesses of our family and friends in the networks are to be found in many places in the empires of the countries now at war with each other. Goods being shipped risk being destroyed by enemy action or being seized by licensed privateers. Members of our family might be buyers, sellers, financiers or shippers of the same goods and chances were there were some living in countries on both sides of the conflict. Ships en route to Ceuta now risk enemy attack.
The siege goes on and on. By 1704 our family have been living 10 years like prisoners, locked down in Ceuta. In July 1704 a council of war is held by the supporters of the Archduke in the Bay of Tetouan in July 1704 to discuss next steps including in particular where they might be able to successfully attack on the Iberian mainland so as to gain a foothold in Spain. They had recently failed to take Barcelona and were now considering to try again to capture Cadiz with Gibraltar as a fallback target.
The Jewish community in Tetouan are well aware of the warships in the bay and the merchants amongst them including relatives of our Israel family based in Ceuta were no doubt involved in supplying some of their needs sourced from producers in Morocco, sub-Sahara and elsewhere. Are you recommending the Israel families spread through the globe have regard to each other’s interests notwithstanding they are living in countries in conflict? Which are the “good” countries and which are the “bad” countries?