Body
International visitors returned to Tunisia this year for the annual Jewish pilgrimage to El-Ghriba Synagogue on the Mediterranean island of Djerba, worshipping under tight security after a deadly attack in 2023 disrupted the festival. The pilgrimage ran from April 30 to May 6 and was held to celebrate Lag B’Omer, a holiday that draws both residents of Tunisia’s small Jewish community and members of the diaspora returning to ancestral roots.
AP reported that visitors this year came from France, China, Ivory Coast and Italy, including France’s ambassador to Tunisia, a symbolic presence after two French citizens were among those killed in the 2023 attack. That year, a national guardsman shot and killed five people at the El-Ghriba Synagogue soon after the festival, spreading fear among local Jewish residents and international pilgrims.
Organizers and participants said about 500 people attended this year’s pilgrimage. Inside the synagogue, the atmosphere was described as calm and devotional, while also busy with conversations and social exchanges among worshippers.
Worshippers lit candles, read sacred texts, and wrote wishes on eggs that were later placed in a sacred cave within the synagogue complex, a tradition participants said is believed to bring blessings. AP also reported that the pilgrimage remains a visible marker of Tunisia’s long-standing Jewish presence—described as dating back to Roman times—and is seen as a symbol of coexistence that can attract Muslim visitors alongside Jewish pilgrims.
Security measures were described as visible but contained around the synagogue, with heavier steps at access points to Djerba. Police checkpoints and barricades controlled entry to the island, vehicles were searched, and identification documents were inspected, with security concentrated especially in Hara Seghira and Hara Kebira, the island’s main Jewish quarters.
Despite ongoing security concerns, the traditional “Minara” procession took place for the first time since the 2023 attack. AP described the Minara as a pyramid-shaped tower of gold and silver placed at the center of the synagogue, with women draping it in colorful scarves in a gesture associated with good fortune, fertility and marriage.
After the Minara was prepared, a symbolic auction of paintings and Jewish religious items followed as part of a traditional fundraiser for the synagogue’s maintenance. The scarf-laden Minara was then placed on a cart and paraded outside with darbuka drum music, singing and candy-throwing, before being returned into the synagogue to conclude one of the pilgrimage’s pillar traditions.
Participation included long-time members of the community as well as returning pilgrims. Redj Cahen, described as a Tunisian-Italian pilgrim, returned after missing last year’s gathering and said, “We are back, and we are proud to be Tunisian Jews,” adding, “It is a feeling you cannot explain. Only those who come here understand.”
Former Tourism Minister René Trabelsi said, “This year’s Ghriba pilgrimage marks a gradual return,” and added, “We are returning little by little.” He said Tunisian authorities worked to keep the pilgrimage going despite the challenges and noted that the event plays a role in supporting the local economy.
Khedir Hnaia, who AP reported has worked at the synagogue for more than three decades, said he welcomed the return of longtime visitors and said, “We would like to reflect a good image to the world, to bring back the glory of Ghriba and make it even better than how it used to be.” Haim Haddad, a member of the pilgrimage organizing committee from Zarzis, said, “We need to stand up for our country, we love Tunisia very much and in the same way our country stood up for us we will always stand up for it.”
The pilgrimage has historically drawn thousands, according to AP, but attendance dropped sharply after the 2023 shooting outside the synagogue that killed two pilgrims and three security officers. AP also noted the synagogue was targeted in 2002 by a truck bombing by al-Qaida that killed about 20 people.