 Israel is home to about 40,000 Jews of Libyan descent, who maintain unique traditions.Jewish communities, in Islamic times often living in ghettos known as "mellah", have existed in Morocco for at least 2,000 years.Intermittent large scale massacres (such as that of 6,000 Jews in Fez in 1033, over 100,000 Jews in Fez and Marrakesh in 1146 and again in Marrakesh in 1232) were accompanied by systematic discrimination through the years.