The town of Larache (Ar. al-ʿArāʾish) is located on the Atlantic coast of Morocco at the mouth of the river Loukkos (Oued Loukkos), near the ancient town of Lixus, where legend places the Garden of the Hesperides. The first mention of Jews in Larache dates back to 1492. A Basque pirate, Juan López de Marondon (or Narondo), robbed Jewish exiles from Spain on their way to Larache. Throughout the sixteenth century, Larache saw the arrival of crypto-Jews from Portugal who wished to revert to Judaism. In 1542, when Portugal expelled the Jews of Arzila (Ar. Aṣīla), some of them sought a refug…