Morocco Opens First Museum Dedicated to Jewish Culture in an Arab Muslim Country

The Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture opened earlier this month, marking the first time an Arab Muslim country has allocated public funds to establish a museum dedicated to Jewish culture.

The museum in the northeastern Moroccan city of Fez, which opened its doors on Oct. 12, is located in the ancient Jewish quarter or Mellah, 100 meters from the Museum of Islamic Arts, in a move meant to highlight the country’s history of coexistence between Jews and Muslims.

The 1,700-square-meter (18,300 square-foot) site, donated by the local Jewish community, covers 2,500 years of Moroccan Jewish history.