Moroccan Jews Research Articles

Specific mutations in the HEXA gene among Iraqi Jewish Tay-Sachs disease carriers: dating of founder ancestor.

The incidence of Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) carriers, as defined by enzyme assay, is 1:29 among Ashkenazi Jews and 1:110 among Moroccan Jews. An elevated carrier frequency of 1:140 was also observed in the Iraqi Jews (IJ), while in other Israeli populations the world's pan-ethnic frequency of approximately 1:280 has been found. Recently a novel mutation, G749T, has been reported in 38.7% of the IJ carriers (24/62). Here we report a second novel HEXA mutation specific to the IJ TDS carriers: a substitution of cytosine 1351 by guanosine (C1351G), resulting in the change of leucine to valine in position 451. This mutation was found in 33.9% (21/62) of the carriers and in none of 100 non-carrier IJ. In addition to the two specific mutations, 14.5% (9/62) of the IJ carriers bear a known "Jewish" mutation (Ashkenazi or Moroccan) and 11.3% (7/62) carry a known "non-Jewish" mutation. In 1 DNA sample no mutation has yet been detected. To investigate the genetic history of the IJ-specific mutations (C1351G and G749T), the allelic distribution of four polymorphic markers (D15S131, D15S1025, D15S981, D15S1050) was analyzed in IJ heterozygotes and ethnically matched controls. Based on linkage disequilibrium, recombination factor (theta) between the markers and mutated loci, and the population growth correction, we deduced that G749T occurred in a founder ancestor 44.8 +/- 14.2 generations (g) ago [95% confidence interval (CI) 17.0-72.6 g] and C1351G arose 80.4 +/- 35.9 g ago (95% CI 44.5-116.3 g). Thus, the estimated dates for introduction of mutations are: 626 +/- 426 A.D. (200-1052 A.D.) for G749T and 442 +/- 1077 B.C. (1519 B.C. to 635 A.D.) for C1351G.

The use of antisemitism in the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War saw an outburst of antisemitism in the Nationalist-controlled areas of the peninsula and in the Moroccan protectorate, an antisemitism influenced by the work of ultra-right-wing intellectuals associated with the Acción Española review. All the factions of the Nationalist camp interpreted the civil war as a crusade against the 'Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevist' conspiracy. In mainland Spain, where there were only a few Jewish families, antisemitism was largely confined to the written word. In this way, it was used mostly as a rhetorical tool to attack the Nationalists' real and imaginary enemies: the Republican forces, the French and the Soviets. Although there was no systemic persecution of the Jews, some aggressive acts took place in Seville and Barcelona. The situation of the larger Jewish community in Spanish Morocco was quite different. The Moroccan Jews were adversely affected by the Nationalists' efforts to enlist the support of the Muslim population against the Republicans and by the German presence in the protectorate. They were also victimized by the Falangists who confiscated their property and imposed heavy fines on them. The military authorities of Morocco tried to restrain these excesses as they realized that blatant antisemitism could hurt the rebels' image abroad. They also believed that Jewish wealth and connections could serve the Nationalist cause.

Eliezer Bashan, The Anglican Mission and Moroccan Jewry in the Nineteenth Century. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999. 204 pp. (Hebrew).

Eliezer Bashan, The Anglican Mission and Moroccan Jewry in the Nineteenth Century. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999. 204 pp. (Hebrew).

Center and Diaspora: Jews in late‐twentieth‐century Morocco

Contemporary Jews in Casablanca are facing a slow and constant process of diminution—a consequence of death and emigration (mostly to France). This process deeply influences the Jews' self‐perception of their very existence in Morocco in various aspects of life. Their small number, along with the diminw tion process underline their marginality to Morocco's life. Yet, emigration also colors in a new light their feeling as a diaspora, and contradicts the "solar system model" that assumes unidirectional symbolic relationships between a singular "homeland" with its "diasporic communities. Although Jews have seen the Land of Israel as the cradle of their history, they also conceive of Morocco as a symbolic center; a homeland for those who remained behind as well as for those who migrated. [Diasporas, homelands, immigration, Israel, Moroccan Jews]

Identification and Functional Analysis of Two Novel Mutations in the Multidrug Resistance Protein 2 Gene in Israeli Patients with Dubin-Johnson Syndrome

Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS) is an inherited disorder characterized by conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and is caused by a deficiency of the multidrug resistance protein 2 (MRP2) located in the apical membrane of hepatocytes. The aim of this study was to identify the mutations in two previously characterized clusters of patients with Dubin-Johnson syndrome among Iranian and Moroccan Jews and determine the consequence of the mutations on MRP2 expression and function by expression studies. All 32 exons and adjacent regions of the MRP2 gene were screened by polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. Two novel mutations were identified in exon 25. One mutation, 3517A-->T, predicting a I1173F substitution, was found in 22 homozygous Iranian Jewish DJS patients from 13 unrelated families and a second mutation, 3449G-->A, predicting a R1150H substitution, was found in 5 homozygous Moroccan Jewish DJS patients from 4 unrelated families. Use of four intragenic dimorphisms and haplotype analyses disclosed a specific founder effect for each mutation. The mutations were introduced into an MRP2 expression vector by site-directed mutagenesis, transfected into HEK-293 cells, and analyzed by a fluorescence transport assay, immunoblot, and immunocytochemistry. Continuous measurement of probenecid-sensitive carboxyfluorescein efflux revealed that both mutations impaired the transport activity of MRP2. Immunoblot analysis and immunocytochemistry showed that MRP2 (R1150H) matured properly and localized at the plasma membrane of transfected cells. In contrast, expression of MRP2 (I1173F) was low and mislocated to the endoplasmic reticulum of the transfected cells. These findings provide an explanation for the DJS phenotype in these two patient groups. Furthermore, the close localization of the two mutations identify this region of MRP2 as important for both activity and processing of the protein.

Familial Mediterranean fever: prevalence, penetrance and genetic drift.

FMF is widely distributed in populations inhabiting the Mediterranean basin. It is mainly attributed to five founder mutations (M680I, M694V, M694I, V726A, E148Q) in the MEFV gene. The frequencies and distribution of these mutations in 146 FMF patients, of Arab and Jewish descent, were compared to that observed in 1173 healthy individuals of pertinent ethnic groups. Five mutations accounted for 91% of FMF chromosomes in our patients. Mutation M694V, predominant in North African Jews, was observed in all patients other than Ashkenazi Jews; mutation V726A was prevalent among all patients other than North African Jews; mutations M694I and M680I were mainly confined to Arab patients. Overall carrier rates, for four mutations (M680I, M694V, V726A, E148Q), were extremely high in our healthy cohort composed of Ashkenazi (n=407); Moroccan (n=243); Iraqi Jews (n=205); and Muslim Arabs (n=318); calculated at 1 : 4.5; 1 : 4.7; 1 : 3.5 and 1 : 4.3 respectively. The V726A allele prevalent among Ashkenazi and Iraqi Jews and Muslim Arabs (carrier rates: 7.4, 12.8 and 7.3%, respectively) was not found among Moroccan Jews. The M694V allele detected among Moroccan and Iraqi Jews and Muslim Arabs (carrier rates 11.1, 2.9 and 0.6%, respectively) was not observed among Ashkenazim. The overall frequency of mutations V726A and E148Q in Ashkenazim, Iraqi Jews and Arabs indicates that the bulk of individuals that comply with the genetic definition of FMF remain asymptomatic.

The Differential Construction of Ethnicity: The Case of Egyptian and Moroccan Immigrants in Israel

There is a tendency in Israel to distinguish the different ethnic communities into two categories: ashkenazim (Occidental Jews) and sephardim (Oriental Jews). The Israeli census adds to this homogenization by classifying immigrants as either of Asian African origin or European American origin. These classifications largely overlook the distinct cultural differences among these groups. In effect, the census builds ethnicity in one way, while immigrant groups construct their own ethnicity in another manner. Egyptian and Moroccan Jews, although both classified as sephardim, construct a very different ethnicity. This is tied to their history, the size of their community, and their experience in Israel as well as their social class, cultural practices, and networks. The construction of immigrant ethnicity in this study is analyzed as well as each group's perceptions of its collective past in their country of origin, and the likelihood of the second generation to preserve Egyptian or Moroccan ethnicity in Israel.

The I1307KAPCPolymorphism: Prevalence in Non-Ashkenazi Jews and Evidence for a Founder Effect

A missense mutation within the APC gene, I1307K, was described in Ashkenazi individuals at risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) and in the general population. The anecdotal reporting of the occurrence of this mutation in some non-Ashkenazi individuals led us to hypothesize that within the Jewish people, the I1307K polymorphism may reflect a founder mutation, and that the mutation is not restricted to ethnic Ashkenazis. To test that notion, and to establish the occurrence rate of the I1307K polymorphism in non-Ashkenazi Jewish populations, we screened Iraqi and Moroccan Jews and consecutive Jewish CRC patients and performed haplotype analysis with APC-linked markers in two I1307K carrier families. We analyzed Jewish individuals: 210 Moroccans, 160 Iraqis, 148 Ashkenazi, and 349 CRC patients (227 Ashkenazi and 122 non-Ashkenazi). The mutation detection scheme included PCR followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) or modified restriction analysis (MRA). Haplotypes were assessed using three intragenic and three flanking markers. The I1307K polymorphism was detected in 29/227 Ashkenazi (12.8%), 2/122 (1.6%) non-Ashkenazi CRC patients, and in 2 individuals each (approximately 1%) within the Moroccan and Iraqi populations. Allelic pattern analysis in all our I1307K carriers, revealed a common haplotype for the three intragenic markers tested, in all mutation carriers, regardless of ethnic origin. The I1307K polymorphism, therefore, exists in all ethnic Jewish populations: Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi, with or without colon cancer. Jewish I1307K mutation carriers share a common allelic pattern with APC-linked markers. This strongly supports the notion of a founder mutation for I1307K.

High prevalence of complement C7 deficiency among healthy blood donors of Moroccan Jewish ancestry.

The incidence of the specific component deficiencies in various ethnic groups is not known, although there appears to be an ethnic predilection for C6 and C8alpha-gamma deficiencies in blacks, whereas C7 and C8beta deficiencies are predominantly noted in Caucasians. Infectious diseases, particularly recurrent meningococcal infections, are observed more commonly with late component deficiencies. In the current study, we have simplified the PCR technique by using site-directed mutagenesis and designer primers in a cohort of Israeli Moroccan Jewish blood donors to ascertain allele frequency in this ethnic group, which, based on earlier studies, was considered to be at risk for C7 deficiency. The total mutant allele frequency in this ethnic cohort was 1.1% of a total of 365 healthy Israeli Moroccan Jews, including one homozygote. The identification of mutant alleles was efficient and inexpensive, and hence a large cohort was studied. The finding of complement deficiency identifies individuals at risk for Neisserial infections, which are known to be potentially life-threatening. Conversely, when a patient of Moroccan ancestry is diagnosed with a Neisserial infection, it is important to determine the complement status.

Common MEFV mutations among Jewish ethnic groups in Israel: high frequency of carrier and phenotype III states and absence of a perceptible biological advantage for the carrier state.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease, characterized by recurrent attacks of fever and inflammation of serosal membranes and gradual development of nephropathic amyloidosis. The recent cloning of the FMF gene (MEFV) and identification of disease-associated mutations in most patients made the direct determination of FMF carrier frequency feasible. The aim of the present study was to investigate the carrier rate of the most common MEFV mutations among different Jewish ethnic groups in Israel. Further, an attempt was made to elucidate the possible biological advantage that the heterozygote state may confer. Three hundred Ashkenazi, 101 Iraqi, and 120 Moroccan Jews were screened for the E148Q, V726A, and M694V mutations (at least two most common mutations per group), with a resulting overall carrier frequency in the respective ethnic group of 14%, 29%, and 21%. No difference in morbidity between Ashkenazi carriers and non-carriers of MEFV mutations was discerned, although an excess of febrile episodes in carriers of the V726A and in carriers of either V726A or E148Q was evident (P < 0.02 and P < 0.05, respectively). The frequency of subjects with two MEFV mutations but not expressing FMF (phenotype III) was 1:300 in Ashkenazi Jews and 1:25 in Iraqi Jews, exceeding the reported rate of overt FMF in these ethnic groups by 40-240 fold. These results affirm the high carrier rate among the studied Jewish ethnic groups in Israel and suggest that most subjects with FMF mutations are unaffected.

The Phylogeography of Brazilian Y-Chromosome Lineages

We examined DNA polymorphisms in the nonrecombining portion of the Y-chromosome to investigate the contribution of distinct patrilineages to the present-day white Brazilian population. Twelve unique-event polymorphisms were typed in 200 unrelated males from four geographical regions of Brazil and in 93 Portuguese males. In our Brazilian sample, the vast majority of Y-chromosomes proved to be of European origin. Indeed, there were no significant differences when the haplogroup frequencies in Brazil and Portugal were compared by means of an exact test of population differentiation. Y-chromosome typing was quite sensitive in the detection of regional immigration events. Distinct footprints of Italian immigration to southern Brazil, migration of Moroccan Jews to the Amazon region, and possible relics of the 17th-century Dutch invasion of northeast Brazil could be seen in the data. In sharp contrast with our mtDNA data in white Brazilians, which showed that > or =60% of the matrilineages were Amerindian or African, only 2.5% of the Y-chromosome lineages were from sub-Saharan Africa, and none were Amerindian. Together, these results configure a picture of strong directional mating between European males and Amerindian and African females, which agrees with the known history of the peopling of Brazil since 1500.

Still More Lexical Items and Folk Beliefs Referring to the Co-Occurrence of Rain and Sunshine

Two of the author's earlier articles brought together lexical items in several languages which either designate the co-occurrence of rain and sunshine or express folk beliefs about the import of that infrequent meteorological phenomenon. The present article builds on those two by adding material in more languages and material in languages previously mentioned (Basque, English, Frisian, Italian, Japanese, Jewish Moroccan Arabic, Judezmo, Plattdeutsch, Polish, Portuguese, Quechua, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Yiddish).

The Founder Mutations in theBRCA1,BRCA2, andATMGenes in Moroccan Jewish Women with Breast Cancer

To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the inherited predisposition to breast cancer in non-Ashkenazi Jews, we genotyped 54 Jewish Moroccan women with breast cancer, unselected for family history of cancer, for the predominant Jewish mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, and ATM. One patient (2%) was found to have the 185de1AG BRCA1 mutation, none was a carrier of the 6174delT BRCA2 mutation, and 2/54 (4%) were heterozygous for the ATM mutation. These rates were not significantly different from the rates in the general non-Ashkenazi population. These preliminary data may indicate that the predominant Jewish mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, and ATM genes contribute little, if any, to breast cancer predisposition and risk among Moroccan Jews.

Fanconi anaemia group A (FANCA) mutations in Israeli non‐Ashkenazi Jewish patients

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous disease with at least eight complementation groups (A–H). In the present study, we investigated the molecular basis of the disease in 13 unrelated Israeli Jewish (non‐Ashkenazi) patients with FA. All 43 exons of the Fanconi anaemia A (FANCA) gene were amplified from genomic DNA and screened for mutations by single‐strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing. We identified four ethnic‐specific mutations: (1) 2172–2173insG (exon 24), the first ‘Moroccan mutation’; (2) 4275delT (exon 43), the second ‘Moroccan mutation’; (3) 890–893del (exon 10), the ‘Tunisian mutation’; and (4) 2574C &gt; G (S858R), the ‘Indian mutation’. The tetranucleotide CCTG motif, previously identified as a mutation hotspot in FANCA and other human genes, was found in the vicinity of 2172–2173insG and 890–893del. According to our study, the four mutations account for the majority (88%) of the FANCA alleles in the Israeli Jewish (non‐Ashkenazi) FA population. A screening of 300 Moroccan Jews identified three carriers of the first ‘Moroccan mutation’, but we did not find any carrier of the second ‘Moroccan mutation’ among 140 Moroccan Jews, nor any carrier of the ‘Tunisian mutation’ among 50 Tunisian Jews. Two ‘Indian mutation’ carriers were identified among 53 Indian Jews. All carriers within each ethnic group had the same haplotype, suggesting a common founder for each mutation.

Fanconi anaemia group A (FANCA) mutations in Israeli non-Ashkenazi Jewish patients.

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous disease with at least eight complementation groups (A-H). In the present study, we investigated the molecular basis of the disease in 13 unrelated Israeli Jewish (non-Ashkenazi) patients with FA. All 43 exons of the Fanconi anaemia A (FANCA) gene were amplified from genomic DNA and screened for mutations by single-strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing. We identified four ethnic-specific mutations: (1) 2172-2173insG (exon 24), the first 'Moroccan mutation': (2) 4275delT (exon 43), the second 'Moroccan mutation'; (3) 890-893del (exon 10), the 'Tunisian mutation'; and (4) 2574C > G (S858R), the 'Indian mutation'. The tetranucleotide CCTG motif, previously identified as a mutation hotspot in FANCA and other human genes, was found in the vicinity of 2172-2173insG and 890-893del. According to our study, the four mutations account for the majority (88%) of the FANCA alleles in the Israeli Jewish (non-Ashkenazi) FA population. A screening of 300 Moroccan Jews identified three carriers of the first 'Moroccan mutation', but we did not find any carrier of the second 'Moroccan mutation' among 140 Moroccan Jews, nor any carrier of the 'Tunisian mutation' among 50 Tunisian Jews. Two 'Indian mutation' carriers were identified among 53 Indian Jews. All carriers within each ethnic group had the same haplotype, suggesting a common founder for each mutation.

Three novel mutations and twelve polymorphisms identified in the USH2A gene in Israeli USH2 families

The Usher syndromes are autosomal recessive hereditary disorders characterized by hearing impairment and progressive visual loss due to Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss and progressive RP characterizes Usher syndrome type IIa (USH2A), which maps to the long arm of chromosome 1q41. Recently, three deletions carried by USH2 patients, which were found in a novel gene isolated from the critical 1q41 region, defined this gene as responsible for USH2A. The USH2A gene is predicted to encode a 1546 amino acid protein which possesses domains that are observed in basal lamina and extracellular matrix proteins and in cell adhesion molecules. Affected individuals and additional members from eleven USH2 Israeli families of diverse ethnic origin were screened for the presence of changes in all 20 coding exons of the USH2A gene. Three novel mutations (239-242insCGTA, R334W, T1515M) were identified in three families of Jewish Moroccan and Jewish Iranian origins. Twelve polymorphisms were found in the families, four of which are novel. None of the known USH2 mutations were identified in the families studied in this work. Hum Mutat 15:388, 2000.

Genesis dreams: Using a private, psychological event as a cultural, political declaration.

The article examines the role of the 13 dreams in the book of Genesis. The dreams are first shortly described (following Gnuse, 1984, and Oppenheim, 1956) in their historical context: the Near-East of over 3000 years ago. The structure of some of the dreams is then discussed and compared to dreams from another historical period, that of modern Jewish Moroccan pilgrims (Bilu & Abramovitch, 1985), whose faith is based largely on the Bible. Following this discussion of the structure, the message of the dreams, regarding both the near future, and the remote, national future, is described. The article discusses the argument that all these dreams serve the purpose of establishing a common national identity, which has been historically the basis of Jewish faith. Possible reasons for using dreams in conveying the message are then discussed. The article ends with a discussion on the declining importance of the dream in the post-Genesis Bible.

Playing for Control of Distance: Card Games between Jews And Muslims on a Casablancan Beach

As part of their effort to cope with their future dissolution as a diasporic community (due to a constant demographic decrease), members of the diminished Jewish minority in Morocco try to contain their relations with Muslims within well‐defined and controllable sociocultural enclaves. In this article, I examine one such enclave— a private beach named "Tahiti"—where Jews and Muslims engage through card games. I argue that as non‐serious and rigidly patterned behavior, card games offer a protective social frame, allowing Jews and Muslims to interact freely. Moreover the games provide lews a legitimate opportunity to convey critical messages and to maintain an open dialogue with Muslims without feeling exposed to danger. These very constrained and controlled enclaves, however, also provide Jews with an opportunity to construct and underline strangeness in a society that has hosted them for two millennia. This strangeness in turn, fortifies the enclave's boundaries, [enclave culture, diaspora, religious minority group, demographic decrease, Moroccan Jews, Jewish‐Muslim relations, card games]

Baba Salis park: ett minne av Marocko i Israels landskap

Addressing problems of Jewish identity in Israel, how memory of the past is constructed and how it is modified over time, this article focuses on a building and a park on the outskirts of the small Israeli town of Netivot, the Baba Sali’s Park. Rabbi Israel Avichatzerah, the Baba Sali, a member of Moroccan Jewry’s leading religious dynasty, immigrated to Israel in 1964. His ability to heal and cure became famous as well as his reputation as a saintly man. After his death in 1984, at the age of 94, his grave and the adjacent park has become a holy shrine and national pilgrimage. The study of Baba Sali’s park as a historically, geographically and socially specific demonstrates the dynamic character of collective memory and its continuous dialogue with history. It reveals how collective memory can turn into a contested arena that highlights social and political divisions. With the ingathering of the exiles into the new State of Israel, cultural differences and ethnic cleavages were suppressed in the interest of building the nation. Under Ashkenazi direction, control and patronage, there was little occasion for ideological debate. At a certain point, however, the business of nation-building comes to an end. It gives way to other priorities. Like older nations, Israel is discovering that its citizens feel the need for sources of identity narrower than the national one.

Moroccan Hassidism: The Chavrei Habakuk Community and Its Veneration of Saints

This article investigates an ethnically mixed, nonterritorial community centered around a rabbi of Moroccan origin. Through exploring the unusual stages of this rabbi's sanctification and of the establishment of the community itself, the idiosyncratic combination of traditional North African Jewish elements and Ashkenazi Hassidic elements creates a syncretism that is prominent for the veneration of saints, which serves the rabbi as an instrument for legitimizing his own status and as a way of consolidating his congregation. The source of the community's attraction, as well as its rabbi's charisma, lies in its liminal, socially ambiguous status and location, and transcendence of ethnic and cultural boundaries.(1) (Moroccan veneration of saints, Hassidism, liminality, ethnic boundaries, Moroccan Hassidism) On a torrid Sabbath in June 1992, while driving in the Galilee, I chanced upon a row of cars on the narrow road leading to the tomb of the prophet Habakuk. Thus began a year's study of Chavrei Habakuk (the Habakuk Congregation). This accidental entrance into the field began most inauspiciously: at the height of the Sabbath, I intruded by car on a congregation of Orthodox Jews, and compounded the sacrilege by entering the sacred precinct around the grave bareheaded and dressed disrespectfully in short sleeves, short pants, and sandals. About twenty men immediately surrounded me, demanding vociferously that I leave the site. Some suspected me of being a journalist assigned to spy on them and on a government minister spending the Sabbath with them; others came to my defense and tried to calm tempers. Before I could turn back, the rabbi heading the congregation approached. A handsome and courtly man, gentle and well spoken, he rescued me from the pressing crowd. Grasping that my arrival had been quite innocent and without sinister intentions, he invited me to join him in entering a large tent erected near the tomb. Within, at long, set tables, sat a group of people whose heterogeneity was evident at first glance: most were dressed in elegant suits and black hats, but some were in jeans, T-shirts, and yarmulkes. Others wore traditional Moroccan garb, and among them sat wearing long silk coats (kapotot) and fur shtreimels (hats worn by Hassidim on the Sabbath and holidays). The rabbi announced that I had clearly been sent and my arrival was no accident; instantly, people who moments earlier had been trying to evict me smiled, made room, and apologized for their behavior. The hilluloth (memorial feasts; sing, hillulah) and pilgrimages to saints' graves are the key to understanding the community itself and its leader. The rabbi is of Moroccan origin and is perceived by his adherents as a saint. The community's initial members were Moroccan Jews (today, more than half the members are Moroccan Jews and the vast majority are of North African and Arab origin). Therefore, the hilluloth and pilgrimages, and the rabbi himself, should be examined within the framework of the veneration of Moroccan Jewish saints in Israel. In some of Chavrei Habakuk's hilluloth and pilgrimages to saints' graves there are divergences or innovations relative to the patterns of saint veneration customary among North African Jews living in Israel. The rabbi himself embodies simultaneously images of Moroccan saints and Ashkenazi Hassidic rabbis. He created the Chavrei Habakuk community, and thereby a new phenomenon in Israel: Moroccan Hassidism. PILGRIMAGES IN JUDAISM Pilgrimage is a paradigmatic and paradoxical human quest, both outward and inward, a movement toward ideals known but not achieved at home. As such, pilgrimage is an image for the search for fulfillment of all people inhabiting an imperfect world (Morinis 1992a:ix-x). In Judaism, the concept of pilgrimage dates from the First Temple, when Israelites traveled to the Temple thrice yearly to celebrate Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. …