The city of Meknes (Ar. Miknās) is situated in north-central Morocco 145 kilometers (90 miles) east of Rabat. Lying on the caravan route that joined Algeria and lands farther east with the plains of northern Morocco, Meknes has at times been described as a border town between Arabs and Berbers. Archaeological evidence, including a Hebrew epitaph dating from the third century and the remains of a synagogue at nearby Volubilis, suggest that Jews have been present in the Meknes area since late Antiquity, while traditions situate their arrival in the years following …