The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

"The atmosphere in Tunisia towards Israel is bad" Israel today

2021-09-01T21:00:51.977Z


The political and health crisis plaguing Tunisia raises concerns among some 1,300 Jews in the republic • "Educated here to hate Jews from an early age"


At one of the main intersections on the island of Djerba, in the Almai neighborhood, local residents last February placed an official-looking directional sign pointing east.

The sign reads: "Al-Quds Capital of Palestine, 3,090 km".

The sign was placed after the authorities gave the initiative their blessing.

"This is a message about the devotion of the Djerba, and all the Tunisians, in defending the Palestinian problem and Al-Quds as the eternal capital of occupied Palestine," the signers at the time told local media.

Djerba currently has about 1,000 Jews - the largest Jewish community in Tunisia, and the second largest in the Arab world, after that of Casablanca in Morocco.

The general political atmosphere in the country, especially after the president's decision to suspend parliamentary activity about a month ago, has increased fear among Jews, who in any case feel they are living on borrowed time.

Many of them tried in conversations with me to embellish the grim reality - mainly to convince the authorities that they are loyal to the state, and do not slander it in public.

Do you live in fear?

"We have no special fears as Jews, we have the same fears that the rest of the population has: from the difficult economic situation, from the stuck political situation," says a member of the local Jewish community, but admits: "The revolution allowed freedom of the press and free elections. "In the streets, they express their views. The immigration of Jews from Tunisia has been going on for years."

But Tunisians have problems with Israel.

"The general atmosphere in Tunisia is bad. There is a minority that is beginning to understand that ties with Israel will only help Tunisia, but it is a minority. As long as people do not explain the situation correctly - that Israel defends itself against terrorist attacks - nothing will move."

S., a Jew who hails from the south and now divides his time between Djerba and France, remembers the reactions of his Arab comrades to the First Lebanon War.

"I had a lot of Arab friends then and they completely changed their skin, one day old. I think they have a basic hatred of Jews and Israel. They are educated for it from a young age. We studied together, played football together, but as soon as the war started they told me: ' If we can, we'll kill you first. "

And today?

"Today you can write freely about Israel on social media, it is something that has become legitimate. There were attempts to ban Jews from traveling to Israel, but the Jews explained that they could not sever ties with their families. And yet, Jews will not wave the Israeli flag in Djerba."

What leaves the Jews here?

"People are afraid of change and there are families who have no means to immigrate to Israel, where the cost of living is high. In any case, as long as there are Jews here, we must not neglect them. We must be careful, nice, not to say negative things about Tunisia. And meanwhile, we pray for redemption. And immigration to Israel. "

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-09-01

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.