The history of the Jews in Tunisia goes back to the Punic
era. The first Jewish settlers settled in present day Tunisia long before the
destruction of the First Temple in the 6th century BCE and there have been
communities in Tunis and the island of Djerba ever since.
As of 2011, 700 Jews were living in Tunis and 1,000 on
Djerba. The most famous synagogue in Tunisia is the El Ghriba synagogue in the
village of Hara Sghira on Djerba. The current building was constructed in late
19th or early 20th century, but the site is believed to have had a synagogue on
it for the past 1,900 years.
The Jewish community has two homes for the aged, several
kosher restaurants and operates numerous primary and secondary schools, as well
as a yeshiva.
Tunisia's first Jewish museum opened in 2012.
Symbol of the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Muslims is
the chechia, worn by Jews typically in Bordeaux (maroon).
I'd like a lovely chechia...
ReplyDeletesome of my Israeli friends are of Tunisian origin, while some of my roman (jewish) friends are Libyan (but many roman jews are of very very ancient roman origin as you probably know...)
by the way (no, not by the way really ;) ) I'm spotting an increasing number of beret wearers in Italy nowadays!
ciao!
Paolo from Italy