Algerian Jewish Sign Language originated in Ghardaia, a mostly Berber town located in the M’zab (sub-Saharan) region of Algeria. The Jewish community there was socially and genetically isolated. Consanguineous marriage resulted in a high percentage of deafness (2.5%), that goes back at least five generations. By the 1960s, the entire Jewish community had left Ghardaia and emigrated to Israel or to France, and deaf people continued to use the sign language among themselves and with  their hearing family members.In this research poject we investigate the socio-linguistic conditions that led to the emergence of the language in Ghardaia and to its survival in Israel. Additionally, we document the vocabulary of this language (see AJSL dictionary) and its linguistic structure.