Ceuta and Melilla: Europe's most fortified border also serves as a Jewish religious boundary

The 12-kilometer steel fence separating the Spanish city of Melilla from Morocco, known as one of Europe's most fortified borders, serves a unique dual purpose. While primarily built to prevent illegal migration into the European Union, it also functions as a religious boundary for the local Jewish community.

Rabbi Aaron Peretz undertakes an annual inspection of the fence, not for security concerns, but to ensure its integrity as an eruv. An eruv is a halachic boundary that permits Jews to carry items outside their homes on Shabbat. "Few people know this," Rabbi Peretz remarked, explaining that the existing security fence eliminates the need to construct a separate religious boundary.

This dual functionality is a distinctive feature of Melilla, a Spanish city located on the African continent. The city has a rich history of multicultural coexistence, with Catholic churches, mosques, a Hindu temple, and synagogues situated within close proximity. This diversity is reflected in its architecture, including the elegant Or Zaruah Synagogue, completed in 1925.

Melilla's Jewish community has a long history, flourishing after the Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859-1860 when Jews from northern Morocco settled in the expanding Spanish port. Although the community has decreased in size, it remains one of Spain's most vibrant Jewish centers outside of Madrid and Barcelona. The recent border crisis in the neighboring Spanish city of Ceuta, where thousands of Moroccan nationals crossed into Spanish territory, has revived long-standing fears about the vulnerability of Spain's African enclaves.

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The security fence also serves as the city’s eruv [halachic boundary allowing Jews to carry on Shabbat]. We don’t need to build one. Every year we simply check that the enclosure remains intact.