The roots of Judaism in Tunisia extend in history
The roots of Judaism in Tunisia extend in history
 |
| Jews in Tunisia |
In May of every year, thousands of Jews from all over the world flock to the Tunisian island of Djerba, in the south-east of the country, where there is the Synagogue of Exotic, the oldest synagogue in Africa, to perform the Hajj.
A long history of Tunisian Jews
"The history of the Jews in Tunisia is a very long one, and the roots of Judaism in Tunisia have been extended in history," said Jacob Lelouche, a civil society activist and founder of the House of Remembrance Society, which deals with Jewish culture and heritage.
Now, he said, "in Tunisia there are about 1,400 Jewish citizens, mainly in Djerba and Zarzis (south of the country) where there are about 1,000 people, while there are about 400 in Tunis." "There are also 20 in the city of Sousse, five in Sfax, and four in the city of Nabeul."
In the same vein, the historian Mansour Bouleifa told Raseef 22 that the presence of Jews in Tunisia "dates back to ancient times through the conversion of some local people to Judaism by commercial relations with the Levant." But the bulk of them "came mainly from migrations from Andalusia, Italy and the Mediterranean countries, the market in the ancient city of Tunis, for example, takes its name from the Jews coming from the city of Livorne Italian".
A in Djerba and Zarzis, 400 in the capital, 20 in Sousse, 5 in Sfax, and 4 in Nabeul ... This is all that is left of the Jews of Tunisia
Many in Tunisia do not know that the Jews constituted about 20% of the Tunisian people before World War II
Wrong ideas about Jews
As for coexistence with the rest of Tunisian society, Lelouche said: "We have been living with our neighbors for centuries, and sometimes there are problems between our neighbors, and only then does each party remember that this is a Muslim and the other is Jewish.
"Many in Tunisia, especially young people, do not know that the Jews represented about 20 percent of the Tunisian people before the Second World War," he said, pointing out that "these people carry the wrong idea about the Jews because of the media, which leads some to not differentiate between Nationality and religion, and this is ultimately a problem of media and education. "
As for the activities of the "Dar Zekri" Society which he heads, he explained that the association organizes exhibitions and publishes books on the culture and heritage of Tunisian Jews. In addition, it will renovate synagogues in the various cities of the country.
Piece in mosaic Tunisia
As for the status of Jews in Tunisian society, sociologist Sufian Ben Gaballah, from the Tunisian island of Djerba, asked: "The Jews in Djerba are a sect or a minority?" "The terms are different, but the essence is the same: they are an ethnic group that represents a cultural minority within a multicultural and multi-ethnic society of Amazigh, Arab Muslim, Ibadite, and Jewish Muslims."
He added that "this diversity has produced throughout history a struggle and interaction to create a lifestyle characterized by social harmony within a socio-cultural based on a network of economic relations between different cultural components, which made the social construction Milli is cohesive. "
He continued: "The pattern of economic production includes the various actors without exclusion from the cycle of production, which is within the social ladder and ethnic coexistence and led to the development of the experimental community in the regional and Mediterranean climate
Discrimination against Jews
Despite his emphasis on the fact that the Jews of Tunisia were not persecuted, the historian Bulife noted that "they were discriminated against by imposing a tribute on them." During the 19th century, they were required to wear a different attire of Muslim clothing and trousers with a special mark underneath. They wear a long red robe, but they put on their heads a cover known as a quilt or shawl, gray or blue, so as not to be confused with Muslims. "
"Apart from this discrimination, they lived with the rest of society and specialized in trade and commercial mediation between Europe and Tunisia in particular. They specialized in the era of Al-Bayat in the trade of leather and wax, which is a very lucrative trade and they were unique in the liquor industry," said Dr. Louis Frank. During the 19th century. "
As for the relationship between the Jews and others on the island of Djerba, Sufian Ben Ghaballah said that "the Jews suffered from persecution in all the stations of history and geography, and they have created a method of coexistence and integration worthy of study, they have been able in Djerba in particular to find a prominent place for them in the patterns of economic production, And in culture by influencing economic transactions, customs and transactions within the market, and also in music and the arts. "
The contributions of Jews to Tunisian culture
The Jews contributed significantly to the Tunisian culture, especially in singing. Sheik El-Afrit (1897-1939), Habiba Masika, who died in 1930, and Raul Jorno (1911-2001), who recommended that he be buried in Jerusalem
In cinema, Albert Chamama (1872-1934) was the pioneer of Tunisian cinema. He directed the first Tunisian film, Zahra, in 1922, and two years later he directed another film, Ain el Ghazal, a silent feature film.
In the literature, the activist in the leftist Presbytivist movement and the former political prisoner under former President Habib Bourguiba, the writer and novelist Gilbar, emerged as the author of the novel "Crystal" written behind the bars
Prominent presence in politics
The Jews had a prominent presence in Tunisian politics and had held important positions since the 1857 "safety period" issued by Mohammed Bey. The Jewish monk Nessim Shamma took over the Ministry of Finance in 1860 but fled state funds in 1864 to Italy
In the first Tunisian government after independence, in 1957, the Jewish André Baroche took over the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. The unionist and political activist George (1916-2008) was also known for his strong opposition to the one-party regime in Tunisia in the time of Bourguiba. However, he was the only Tunisian to send a letter to former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to break the isolation and house arrest imposed on Bourguiba
The Jews of Tunisia and the Palestinian cause
The head of the Tunisian Jewish community, Pérez Trabelsi, refuses to push the Jews into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In December 2011, Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom called on the Jews living in Tunisia to "come to Israel." Trabelsi rejected the invitation and replied: "We are a Tunisian father and grandfather, and we will live and die in this land
But in the 1950s, many of the Jews of Tunisia emigrated to Israel. "Many of the Jews of Tunisian origin held positions in the Israeli occupation state, including former minister Saliban Shalom, born in the southern province of Gabes in 1958," said historian Mansour Bolifeh. "These migrations explain the sharp decline in the number of Jews since independence." Tunisia as foreign minister in November 2005 on the occasion of the World Summit on the Information Society
"During the 1948 war, there was little public awareness of the Palestinian cause," he said, "there were only some volunteers who went to fight in Palestine, but at the grassroots level there were no returns An act of remorse towards the Tunisian Jews or cases of aggression against them or their property
But during and after the 1967 war, Tunisia witnessed "major demonstrations in most parts of the country and the targeting of property and shops for Jews, especially in the capital." While attacks on them during the 1973 war were less severe, according to Bolivah.
Regarding migration to Israel, he said: "I think there were few, despite the activities of the Zionist organizations among the poor and Jews of the Jews, and the most Jews in all of Tunisia were social groups affordable
The Jews of Tunisia under Nazi occupation
After the occupation of France in 1940, the Germans entered the Tunisian territory in November 1942 within the so-called "Tunisia Campaign". But in May 1943 Allied forces defeated the Axis forces and Nazi forces left the country
"The entry of the Germans was accompanied by a popular welcome because of the dislike of the French colonists," he said. But he noted that "this popular welcome did not reach the level of identification with the Nazi policy towards the Jews, as the Tunisians did not engage in any actions against them or against their property
Jewish families living in Tataouine, the southernmost part of Tunisia, moved to the Muslim-inhabited villages of the Germans, so that the Germans could not discriminate against them. Many Jewish families fled to the village of Bani Baraka, which was an important commercial center in the region and remained there among the Muslims until the Germans left Tunisia
