Shaar Raphael Synagogue, Tangier

The villa was completed in 1919 for a Jewish family, during a period when Tangier’s Jewish population was growing. One Moroccan newspaper puts it at about 15,000 in the 1920s, after the city became an international zone in 1923, and about 17,000 in 1955.

After the death of the owner, Raphaël Bendrihem (Archnet spells the name Bendriahm), the house was given for use as a synagogue. Sources disagree on the year: Le Journal de Tanger gives 1951, while Archnet’s main text and later travel reports give 1954. The address is usually given as 27 Boulevard Pasteur, though Archnet also lists number 26.

As the medina synagogues closed one after another, Shaar Raphael became the centre of worship for the remaining community. A Moroccan newspaper describes the building as architecturally distinctive and renovated. We have not found a reliable published description of the interior.

Tangier’s Jewish community is small and elderly. Recent estimates range from about 60 to about 75 people, and one Moroccan newspaper puts their average age at 80 to 85.

Reports from 2019 to 2023 put Shabbat attendance at around 10 to 20 people, led by Rabbi Jacob Tordjman, a lawyer who speaks French, Arabic and Spanish. Members help fund the building through community real-estate holdings. Attendance rises over the High Holidays, when Tangier families now living abroad come back to pray here.

Shaar Raphael is an active place of worship with security, so visits and attendance should be arranged in advance through the Tangier Jewish community. If you would like to attend a Shabbat service, tell us when you book: we ask the community on your behalf and choose a hotel within walking distance so you need not drive.

Kosher options in Tangier are limited. We organise kosher meals through certified caterers; our kosher travel guide explains how this works across Morocco.

Dress modestly; men should cover their heads, and women attending services may prefer to cover their shoulders and knees. Keep phones silent and do not take photographs during services or on Shabbat. Expect a security check at the door.

Tangier’s older Jewish sites are in the medina: the Moshe Nahon Synagogue and the Rabbi Akiba synagogue, both now museums, the Beit Yehuda museum near the Petit Socco, and the old Jewish cemetery below the American Legation. The Tangier and Tetouan guide brings them together.