Tetouan's jewish community, originating from the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, was for many centuries the intellectual and religious center of the North of Morocco. Over half of the more than 500 Jews (7500 in 1950) live in a well kept mellah built in the traditional Andalusian style in 1808. The Tetouan Mellah enjoys the distinction of being the only one, apart from the new Mellah of Meknes built more than a century later, that still houses a majority of the resident community, who faithfully maintain their Judeo-Spanish language, traditions and customs. The city's large and excellently preserved cemetery comprises another historical landmark of great interest, most particularly the Castilian section, the burial ground for the earliest settlers from Spain, whose unusual anthropomorphically shaped and inscriptionless tombstones have furnished material for a number of scholarly articles. In the Mellah are three active Synagogues, all of tourist interest. Among these, the Synagogue Rabbi Isaac Ben Gualid, on the ground floor of the Rabbi's home, is the most historic, and its interior the most picturesque, and many legends surround this building.
A Jewish social club is used by the 150 Jews still living in Tetouan as well as by Muslims. Tetouan is the site of the first Alliance Israelite Universelle school, established in 1862 after Morocco regained control of the city from the Spanish. The cemetery, located on Monte Dersa, is vast. The major saint is Isaac Benoualide. Near-by Tetouan is Ceuta (Sebta), a Spanish enclave on the Mediterranean coast. Spanish Jews maintain the modern synagogue and ancient cemetery.