In the wake of the desecration of a Jewish sage’s grave, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi promised a European rabbinical body he would protect his country’s Jews. Essebsi, who won the country’s presidential election last year, made the pledge this week during a meeting with Rabbi Moche Lewin, who was in the country as a…
Two Italian Jewish tourists survived the terrorist attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunisia. Alberto Di Porto, 71, and Anna Di Porto, 60, of Rome both managed to escape the shooting attack Wednesday in the capital city of Tunisia by gunmen wearing what appeared to be military uniforms which, according to reports at press time,…
A memorial was held in Tunis for one of the Jewish men killed during an attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris. Yoav Hattab, 21, was the son of the city’s chief rabbi. The memorial was held Saturday night outside of the Great Synagogue in Tunis. About 1,500 Jews live in Tunis. About 150 people…
Rabbi Benjamin Hattab and Latifa Ibn Ziaten / France 2 screenshot Since the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris, we’ve been hearing a lot about rising Muslim anti-Semitism and the precarious situation of Jews in France. But amidst all the fear, there was a moment of true connection when a…
For an old Moscow hand who had the privilege to cover the last days of the Soviet Union for the Forward 25 years ago, Tunis feels a bit like perestroika. From every restaurant and hotel lobby, television screens blare commentators of all persuasions arguing passionately about politics with raised voices and rapid-fire gesticulations as the…
In advance of the second round of Tunisia’s presidential elections, the head of the country’s Jewish community endorsed the campaign of secularist hopeful Beji Caid Essebsi. Joseph Roger Bismuth, president of the Jewish Community of Tunisia, or CJT, gave Essebsi his support in an interview published Thursday by the news site AfricanManager.com ahead of the…
Illustration by Lior Zaltzman Jaco Halfon spent the last week of November glued to his computer at home in L.A. Presidential election results were coming in from his homeland of Tunisia. Halfon, a Tunisian citizen, wanted to make sure that he was up-to-date and that readers of his popular Jewish website Harissa got the relevant…
A Tunisian Jewish family on the island of Djerba / Getty Images The Tunisian Ambassador to the United Kingdom recently came to the Chabad here in Oxford to give a Shabbat dinner talk. Needless to say, this event was not an ordinary Shabbat dinner by any means. After a meal of traditional Tunisian foods, the…
100% of profits support our journalism
