Declassified documents and historical accounts confirm that the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, played a central role in organizing the emigration of Moroccan Jews to Israel during the 1950s and 1960s. This covert operation, known as Operation Yakhin (1961-1964), facilitated the departure of approximately 100,000 Moroccan Jews, often in secret and sometimes in coordination with Moroccan authorities.
The operation was named after the biblical figure Yakhin and involved a network of agents who arranged transportation, provided false documents, and managed transit camps. Many emigrants traveled via France or other European countries before reaching Israel. The Mossad's involvement was necessary due to restrictions on Jewish emigration imposed by Morocco after its independence in 1956.
Historians note that the operation was part of a broader Israeli effort to increase the Jewish population in the newly established state. The emigration continued until the late 1960s, with significant numbers leaving after the Six-Day War in 1967. Today, the Jewish community in Morocco has dwindled to a few hundred, down from over 250,000 in the 1940s.
