Jews of Algeria
Jews from the Iberian peninsula settled in what is now Algeria in the 14th Century, fleeing persecution. These included rabbis such as Yitzchak ben Sheshet Perfet (the Ribash) and Shimon ben Zemah Duran (the Rashbatz). There were already communities of indigenous Jews in the territory.
The French occupation of Algeria in 1830 improved the situation of the Jewish minority. In time, the community adopted French language, culture and citizenship.
Between July 1940 and November 1942, Algeria was under French collaborationist (Vichy) and Nazi rule. Victims of the Shoah are listed on the Yad Vashem website. Algerian Jews only received compensation in 2018.
Virtually all of Algeria’s 140,000 Jews felt compelled to leave after independence from France in 1962. Most went to France, with a significant minority going to Israel.
Major Jewish communities in Algeria included:
- Algiers
- Oran
- Constantine
- Batna
- Biskra
- Annaba
- Blida
- Béjaïa
- Mostaganem
- Tlemcen
Jewish genealogy in Algeria
A specialist Moroccan-Algerian Jewish genealogical society is currently being formed in France. Resources for Algeria are scattered across numerous archives and libraries, and are weak before the French occupation.
Sources for Jewish genealogy in Algeria include:
- The Archives nationales d’outre-mer – belonging to the French government -have digitised microfiches of Algerian vital records from around 1832 at the earliest.
- Archives from Jewish communities in Algeria are reported to be in Les Archives du Consistoire Central de Paris.
- The Cercle de Généalogie Juive – a French Jewish genealogy association – have published two books:
- Les inscriptions tumulaires des cimetières israélites d’Alger by Isaac Bloch
- Le livre d’or des israélites algériens : principaux négociants juifs d’Alger pendant la période turque by M J M Haddey
- The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem have an Algerian collection.
- The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) collection is probably worth consulting. They managed Jewish schools in the French Empire. Their online archive is searchable.
- Morial is an association of Jews from Algeria. Zlabia is a website for Algerian Jews.
- The JudaicAlgeria site has information on Jewish communities of different cities, synagogues and cemeteries.
- Website on the Saint Eugène Jewish cemetery in Algiers. The Friends of the cemetery also have a website.
- Jeff Malka’s excellent SephardicGen site has databases on Algeria relying on research by the late Mathilde A. Tagger. Her book, written with Yitzchak Kerem has a section on Algeria: Guidebook for Sephardic and Oriental Genealogical Sources in Israel.
- International Jewish Cemetery Project page for Algeria.
- Index of Voter Lists in Constantine (Algeria) and its District in 1880 on the Sephardic Studies website.
- The JPress website includes two Jewish newspapers from Algeria, Bulletin de la Société de Conférences juives d’Alger (1924-1930) and Maguid Micharim (1895-1896) which was written in Judeo-Arabic.
Other resources on the Jews of Algeria:
- Bibliothèque nationale d’Algérie
- GAMT is a site for French people with ancestry in formet French colonies in North Africa.
- GenAmi is a French-Jewish genealogy group.
- Blood and Frogs page on Algeria.
- Association des Israelites d’Oranie en France
- Les Juifs de Constantine
- FamilySearch page on Algeria.
- Juifs d’Algérie, naturalisation et émancipation video.
- Juifs d’Algerie 1830-1907 : inventaire des archives consistoriales et bibliographie, by Richard Ayoun
I am looking for details of pre-1962 trade directories or post-office address books or telephone directories that may list Jews of Algeria. If you know of any, please send me an email.
Many Jews from Morocco migrated to Algeria, settling in Mascara, Oran and Sidi bel Abbès.
If you have found this page on the Jews of Algeria useful, please consider making a small donation to support this site and my work. I am a professional Sephardic genealogist. If you need professional help with your family tree, including for a Portuguese nationality application, you are welcome to get in touch.