Three weeks ago, Israel airlifted 21 of its citizens out of harm’s way as Tunisians toppled the 23-year regime of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Less than a month later, the “Jasmine Revolution” is still on the national agenda as demonstrations apparently aimed at the nascent interim unity government continue unabated. Just last Sunday, thousands of people took to the streets to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghennouci; and while the issues have nothing to do with the country’s ancient Jewish community, only a matter of days earlier, Islamist protesters mustered in front of Tunisia’s main synagogue shouting chants of a coming destruction to befall local Jews.
Amidst such a backdrop, Jewish community officials are understandably on edge. On the one side stands a history pockmarked with sectarian violence; on the other stands the assurances of government authorities. For the time being, leaders such as Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shmuel Pinson believe them.
The current government is “doing everything in its power to make the situation safer for the Jews of Tunisia,” he says. Its promise to community president Roger Bismuth that it will “spare no effort to safeguard” civic rights and freedoms can be trusted, explains the rabbi.
Despite the chaos in the street, no one from the small Jewish community has been hurt.
“There have been many miracles,” says Pinson, who is currently in Brussels. “No Jew was touched during the revolution of these past three weeks of unrest, and this was a time in which protesters were free to do anything.”
In the long run, tourism and the income it brings to the nation’s coffers may yet turn out to be the safety net for Tunisia’s long-standing Jewish community. The island of Djerba on Lag B’Omer brings in upwards of 30,000 Jews from as far away as France, England and Israel.
“They come to stay at the kosher hotel and visit the synagogue for the holiday,” says Pinson.
The reality, he points out, is that local Jews can take precautions, pray and wait it out.
“Most locals,” he says, “are staying out of sight to be on the safe side.”
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