How were Jews treated in Arab regions outside of Moorish Spain?
• In Libya, then known as Tripolitania, Jews were considered as property of their Arab masters, who would bequeath the Jews to their heirs upon death. Writing in 19th century Syria, one Jew lamented, “When a Jew walked among them [the Muslims] in the market, one would throw a stone at him in order to kill him, another would pull his beard, yet another spit on his face He became the symbol of abuse.” In the 12th century, Egyptian Jews were the object of anti-dhimmi riots so successful that one observer noted the Jewish population had “greatly declined” in their wake. In 1884, the Sultan of Morocco said Jews had to work on Shabbat, could only “clean foul places and latrines,” had to part with merchandise at half-price and accept counterfeit coinage, to name a few of the provisions.
