Meknes, the city of Moulay Ishmael, is one of the only cities in Morocco where the mellah does not adjoin the royal palace. It is also the only city where Jews decided to create a new mellah after the French Protectorate was installed. The European city houses several synagogues as well as a community center. The new mellah is still the home for some of Meknes’s 100 Jews, and one can visit a beautiful synagogue, the El Krief, nearby the new cemetery.
On the other side of the new mellah and adjoining the old mellah is the old Jewish cemetery. Several saints are found in the two cemeteries, including Haim Messas, David Boussidan, and Raphael Berdugo. In the Royal city of Meknes, the tomb of Moulay Ishmael memorializes the Alaouite Sultan who protected the Jews while securing control of the Moroccan empire.