Constantine - Street in the Jewish Quarter

Constantine. Street in the Jewish Quarter. Neurdein Frères.

Following its destruction in the twelfth century on the behest of the fundamentalist Almohad dynasty, the regeneration of the Jewish community in Constantine (located in Algeria, 70 km inland from the Mediterranean and 160 km west of the Tunisian border) was hastened by the influx of Iberian Jewish refugees fleeing the forced conversion campaign of 1391. When the French gained control of the city in 1837, the Jewish community stood at roughly 3,500. Modernizing efforts met with more resistance here than in most other Jewish communities. In August 1934, the Jewish population, roughly 12,000 strong at the time, was viciously attacked by a violent mob comprising mainly Muslims but also a small number of well organized and well trained antisemitic activists of European descent who escalated the violence to the best of their ability. No fewer than 25 Jews were murdered, and scores were injured. At the end of the War of Independence, somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 Jews still lived in Constantine, but few if any remain.