Tunisian Jews who organize an annual pilgrimage to one of the world’s oldest synagogues are planning a smaller event next month, citing security concerns less than a year after a deadly shooting that shocked their community.
Thousands of worshipers regularly travel to Djerba, the North African island where many of Tunisia’s remaining 1,500 Jews reside, to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer. But this year, the community decided to limit the festivities to the 26-century-old El-Ghriba Synagogue, instead of the events traditionally held across the island.
“Pray, light a candle, enter the synagogue, all visitors are welcome,” Perez Trabelsi, head of the island’s Jewish community, told the Associated Press.
The move comes more than six months after the war between Israel and Hamas, which reverberated across the Middle East and North Africa, sparking mass protests from Morocco to Iraq. In Tunisia, most protests have been peaceful, but in October, demonstrators desecrated a synagogue in Al-Hammah on the mainland.
The limitation on the Lag B’Omer pilgrimage is a blow to Djerba’s tourism industry after welcoming more than 7,000 people during the three-day event last year. A few days after its conclusion, a 30-year-old national guard killed five people at the El-Ghriba synagogue, causing panic among the population and visitors.
The shooting and the war between Israel and Hamas are politically sensitive subjects in the North African country. Trabelsi attributed the decision to limit Lag B’Omer festivities this year to security concerns related to the shooting, not the war. He said the community did not feel threatened, but its leaders felt obligated to protect it.
He praised the Tunisian authorities for their work to ensure the security of the event and underlined in a statement Friday the importance of the pilgrimage: “Tunisia and Djerba will remain lands of tolerance, coexistence and peace.”
Similar questions have been raised regarding annual pilgrimages to Jewish sites in Morocco, historically home to North Africa’s largest Jewish community.
The International Federation of Moroccan Jews called for canceling collective Mimouna celebrations and avoiding festive events in public spaces, according to local reports.
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– African News