Museum of Moroccan Jewish Culture, Fes

King Mohammed VI launched the project in April 2019, during a visit to Fes, as part of the programme to rehabilitate the old medina; the same programme restored the Batha palace, now the Museum of Islamic Arts. The Jewish community of Fes donated the site. The medina rehabilitation agency, ADER-Fès, managed the works with the Fondation Nationale des Musées, and Serge Berdugo, president of the Foundation for Judeo-Moroccan Cultural Heritage, took part in shaping the project. Construction and fit-out were finished in March 2023; a 2023 report put the cost at about US$835,000.

The inauguration on 12 October 2026 was attended by Ahmed Toufiq, Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs, Serge Berdugo, Mehdi Qotbi, president of the Fondation Nationale des Musées, the wali of the Fès-Meknès region and a number of ambassadors. Hespress describes the public funding of a museum wholly devoted to Jewish culture as a historic first in an Arab-Muslim country.

The museum covers more than 1,700 square metres, about 1,200 of them galleries. Its entrance courtyard follows traditional Fassi design, with zellij tilework, carved plaster, painted wood and a marble fountain.

Reports differ on the building’s origins. In 2023, i24NEWS described a former dispensary and kindergarten of the mellah, with balconies over the street, adapted for the museum; 2026 reports speak of construction and fit-out on the donated site without mentioning an earlier building.

According to the opening reports, the collections bring together ritual and everyday objects; archaeological, ethnographic and artistic pieces; and archives, books and rare manuscripts. Named highlights include Torah scrolls, ketubbot (marriage contracts), festive clothing, musical instruments and the work of Jewish goldsmiths, a craft for which the Fes mellah was known.

The visit follows Jewish life in Morocco through its traditions, religious practice, trades and relations with the rest of Moroccan society, and its languages, with a chronological timeline of the major periods. The museum presents more than 2,500 years of Jewish presence in Morocco; that framing is the museum’s own. In 2023 it was reported that objects gathered over the years by the former caretaker of the Fes Jewish cemetery, along with items given by Fassi Jews in Morocco and abroad, would be displayed.

The curators named are Zhor Rehihil and Abdelaziz El Idrissi, with scenography by Isabelle Timsit.

As of 17 October 2026, no opening hours, ticket prices or official street address had been published. Reports place the museum in the heart of the mellah, but two of them also say it is about 100 metres from the Batha palace, which is in a different part of Fes, so we will confirm the exact location before sending travellers. We are adding it to our Fes itineraries as soon as visiting arrangements are public, and will check them for your dates when we plan your trip.

Morocco has another Jewish museum, the Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca, which is a separate institution.

The museum gives context to what you see on a walk through the Fes mellah: the restored Ibn Danan and al-Fassiyin synagogues, the balconied houses of Rue des Mérinides and the Jewish cemetery. Our Fes Jewish heritage guide sets out a full day.