The ancient North African Jewish communities date as far back as the First Temple, but in all the millennia of their existence, they never knew a day of peace. Though at times North Africa was preferable to Spain as a haven for Jews, at other times, the situation was reversed, but either way, Spanish and North African Jewry were always closely connected. As a result, Torah study thrived there for centuries until the mass aliyah to Israel in the 20th century.