1933
January 30 – Adolf Hitler rises to power in Germany
1934
August 3-5 – The Pogrom (persecution of Jewish population) in Constantine, Algeria
The bulletin of the Federation of Jewish Communities in French Algeria is published
The three subdivisions: Fezzan, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica, are merged into one colony, Libya, governed by Italo Balbo
A Jewish School is opened in Benghazi, with support from the Italian government; mandatory work on Saturdays (Shabbat) is enacted on customs officials
1935
March 15 – reports of a sailor from the ship Sebu spreading Nazi propaganda in French Morocco
July 21 – the Ship Larch anchors in Rabat's Port with Nazi propaganda on board, confiscated by the French authorities
Mussolini proclaims himself 'Protector of Islam' – promoting a policy of amity between the Fascist Party and the Arab world
A crisis arises from tensions between the heads of the Jewish community, the Chief Rabbi and the Italian Governor surrounding a case of marriage of an underage girl; the Chief Rabbi resigns and is expelled from Libya
Libyan Jews delegation to the 2nd Maccabiah Games
1936
The "Popular Front" government, led by Léon Blum, rises to power in France
The "Blum-Violette Proposal" is promulgated
Yehoshua Cohen Aloro founds a Betar branch in Algiers, Algeria
In Algeria, Rabbi Yosef Genassia begins publishing Nishmat Kol Hai [every living soul], a translation of the Mishnah into Judeo-Arabic.
March 11 – Messali Hadj founds the "Algerian People's Party" in Algeria
March 21 – End of Henri Ponsot's term in Morocco, replaced by Marcel Peyrouton
September 25 – Marcel Peyrouton is replaced by Charles Noguès in Morocco
Enacting the 'Shabbat Laws' on merchants – The Italian governor sentences two Jews to whipping, for closing shop on the Shabbat
1937
Inauguration of the Great Synagogue of Tunis, Tunisia
Founding of the "Algerian People's Party" in Algeria
Muslim congress of all political powers in Algeria
Rabbi Aldo Lattes of Rome is appointed Chief Rabbi of Libya
1938
The Italian Manifesto of Race is published
The Italian Racial Laws are promulgated and Jews are removed from office in Italy's embassy in Tunisia
The Italian "Laws for the Defense of the Race" are legislated in Libya
Jews are prohibited from studying alongside Italians in secondary schools in Libya
A law is promulgated, expelling Jews from public schools in Libya
The Italian "Laws for the Defense of the Race" are legislated
1939
September 3 – World War II breaks out
Libya is officially declared a part of Italy
The Italian government prohibits Zionist activity
1940
A first basic "Who is a Jew" law is promulgated as a Bey edict, unsdersigned by Esteva, the resident general of the French Protectorate of Tunisia.
June – Italy joins the axis powers and enters the World War; Italo Balbo dies in Libya
June 17 – France surrenders to Germany
June 22 – Armistice between France and Germany
June 24 – Armistice between France and Italy
Organized retribution of Muslems and French soldiers against the Jewish quarters of Fes, Morocco
July 3 – Destruction of the French Navy by the British Navy in Algeria
July – Advocate Helen Cazes-Ben-Atar establishes the 'Casablanca Council'
September – Allied bombardment in Tripoli. Italian forces invade British controlled territories in North Africa; all foreign citizens are expelled from Libya
Jewish citizens of Axis enemies are imprisoned in detainment camps
October – First steps towards organized Jewish Resistance in Algeria
October 7 – The Crémieux Decree is repealed in Algeria
October 3 – Anti-Jewish legislation (Statuts des Juifs) of the Vichy government in France
October 3 – the 'Statutes on Jews' is published, known as 'Aliver Law' in the Maghreb
October 7 – Repeal of the 'Crémieux Decree'; French citizenship of Algerian Jews is revoked
October 31 – An edict calling for implementation of the 'Statutes on Jews' is issued in Morocco
1941
Xavier Vallat, the anti-Semitic Jurist, is sent on behalf of the Office for "Jewish Matters in France" in order to expedite the "Policy on Jews".
Second Basic Law – Racial definition of "Who is a Jew"; French anti-Jewish laws are enacted – the Statutes on Jews.
January – The British [temporarily] conquer Libyan Cyrenaica
Tripoli Jews monopoly on wholesale commerce is nullified
January 9 – A permit was granted to found the Algerian 'Aid and Assistance Committee' (Comité d`Etude, d`Aide et d`Assistance)
February – German forces enter Tripoli
March 29 – The 'General Commission on Jewish Matters' is assembled in France
April – An edict for disbanding the 'Casablanca Council'
Axis forces retake Libyan Cyrenaica
Significant worsening in the general state of the communities; attacks on Jews in Benghazi, Libya
'Tripoli Women's Company' is assembled, aimed at aiding war victims in Libya
May 10 – Cessation of maritime transport between Marseilles and Fort-de-France
June 2 – The second 'Statutes on Jews' are promulgated, known as 'Vallat's Law' in the Maghreb; personal and civil rights of Jews are revoked and edicts and decrees against Jews are enacted
The Vichy regime promulgates the 'Jew Census Law', according to which all Jews of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are to produce full and detailed records of their property and status
June 2 – The 'Statutes on Jews', Algerian Jews status is asserted
June 6 – A law prohibiting Jews from owning weapons or trading in gunpowder in Algeria
July 16 – The 'numerus clausus' law is enacted, preventing Jews from practicing free, 'Gold-Collar' vocations
July 22 – Edicts pertaining to Algerian Jews' property
August 18 – Xavier Vallat visits Morocco
August 19 – A decree prohibiting Moroccan Jews to reside in the European quarters in urban centers is promulgated
August 23 – Numerus Clausus in education in Algeria
November – Second British occupation of Libyan Cyrenaica
November 21 – Edicts pertaining to Algerian Jews' property
November 29 – Edict prohibiting Jewish Midwives to work in Algerian hospitals
Jewish swimmer Alfred Nakache sets a world record in a 200 meter swim
November-December – Implementation of the 'Statutes on Jews' and racial ordinances in Morocco
1942
January – Second Axis counter-attack in Libya. Expulsion of hundreds of foreign Jewish citizens out of Libya
February – Mussolini commands the "thinning" of the Jewish population in Libya
March 31 – The "General Union of Algerian Jews", a Jewish council, is assembled,
May – Rommel's forces push through to Egypt, stopped at El-Alamein
Transportation of Cyrenaica Jews into Jadu Camp in Libya
June – Worsening in anti-Semitic legislation; a thousand of Tripoli's Jews are sent to forced labor camps in Libya
October – Mandatory recruitment enacted in Libya
October-November – Battles of El-Alamein; Allied forces curb the Axis' assault; Allied invasion of Libya
First steps towards the rehabilitation of the Cyrenaica's communities in Libya
November 7-8 – Members of the Algerian Jewish Resistance take over Algiers and hand it over to the U.S. Army. Jewish Resistance activity in Algeria
November 8 – Pétain's regime declares truce in Algiers
November 8 – "Operation Torch", allied forces land in Algeria and Morocco, aided by the Jewish resistance
November 9 – German army forces arrive in Tunis. Tunisia is conquered by the Germans
November 11 – Militia members and the 'Fighter Legion' break into the Casablanca Jewish quarter, desecrating a synagogue, looting, vandalizing and violently attacking Jews. The Jewish quarter is surrounded by the Rabat police force. Members of the Jewish community of Beni-Mellal are arrested on the streets, robbed and abused, and their property confiscated
November 28 – Violence against the Jews of Rabat, Morocco
December 9 – The hunt for Jews for purposes of force labor begins in Tunisia. Edicts and heavy monetary fines are set and enacted on the Jewish community in Tunis
A French law calling for "Arization of Jewish property" [transfer of property into Aryan hands] is promulgated as a Bey edict – elimination of Jewish influence on national economy
Nähring, chief of the German southern command, orders all Jews to be recruited for fortification works in northern and southern Tunisia
Jewish soldier from Eretz Israel recruited to the British Army, who also volunteered as a teacher Nahum Yerushalmi, and the principal of the Alliance Israélite Universelle School in Eretz Israel (Land of Israel, British mandated Palestine), co-write a Hebrew book titled "The Tongue of Israel"
Under German order, a "Recruitment Council" of Jewish workforce is assembled, headed by Paul Ghez, for purposes of rounding up Jews for force labor
A first fine, for a sum of 20 million francs, is set upon the Jews, allegedly compensating for the victims of bombardments
A second fine, for a sum of 3 million francs, is set upon the Jews for not supplying force labor workers on due time
December 24 – Assassination of Admiral François Darlan
Albert Camus publishes The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus
1943
A decree is promulgated, ordering Tunisian Jews to wear a yellow badge
January – The British campaign for Libya is complete; detainees in force labor camps are released
January 28 – All edicts of Jewish property confiscation are repealed in Algeria
January – Churchill, Roosevelt and de Gaulle convene in the Casablanca Conference in Morocco
March – A British military rule is established in Libya
Renewed of the Zionist activity in Libya. Reopening of the Hebrew school in Benghazi; soldiers from Eretz Israel aid in the rehabilitation of the Jewish communities in Cyrenaica and promote Zionist activity
March 14 – Repeal of Racial Laws in Algeria
April – The Bermuda Conference decrees the establishment of a transition camp, in Morocco, for refugees evacuated from Spain
May 13 – Allied forces domination of Tunisia, liberation of Tunisia
End of term of Charles Noguès, replaced by Gabriel Puaux
April 1 – Reinstating Jews to their official posts in Tunisia
May 30 – De Gaulle receives control over Algeria
October – Libyan Jews imprisoned in Italy are taken to concentration camps in Europe
The return of detainees from Jadu Camp to their homes in the Jewish communities in Libya
Emissaries from the Jewish Settling of Palestine (Ha-Yishuv) arrive in Libya
October 20 – Annulment of the repeal of Crémieux Decree in Algeria
1944
April – Visit of Moshe Sharet; Arrival of Israel Gur, emissary of the Mossad LeAliyah Bet [institution for Immigration B]. Establishment of agricultural training program in Zavia Farm in Libya
July 30 – Moroccan Goumier soldiers set out for violent retribution against Jews in Sefrou, Morocco
November – Emergency conference of the World Jewish Congress in Atlantic City, NJ, USA
1945
May 7 – Re-organization of the Jewish Community Councils
November – Riots against Tripoli Jews; Riots spread to other Libyan cities. Community youths establish a self-defense organization