A Tunisian policeman shot to death last night (Tuesday) two worshipers who were participating in the LJ Ba’Omer celebrations at a Tunisian synagogue on the island of Djerba, and also two members of the Tunisian security services, before he was killed on Tuesday. Four more worshipers at the Gariba Synagogue on the island of Djerba and five officers Security More Tunisians were injured in the attack In a statement, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry identified the two worshipers killed as a Tunisian, 30, and a French national, 42, but did not give their names.
The attack took place after the officer shot his friend dead and took his ammunition. He then went to the Gariba Synagogue – the oldest in Africa – as hundreds of people attended the LJ BaOmer celebrations on Tuesday night.
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The synagogue had a previous attack when a truck bomb exploded and killed 21 people in 2002. “Investigations are ongoing in order to shed light on the motives for this cowardly aggression,” said the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior, avoiding referring to the shooting as a terrorist attack. The French Embassy in Tunisia announced that it had established an “emergency unit” following the attack.
The sound of gunshots in the synagogue caused panic among the hundreds of celebrants, according to the local media. According to the organizers, more than 5,000 Jewish worshipers, most of whom came from outside Tunis, participated in this year’s LJ B’Omer celebrations in Gariba, which were renewed in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the corona virus.
An ancient tradition
LJ Ba’Omer celebrations in Gariba are at the heart of Jewish tradition in Tunisia, where only about 1,500 Jews live today compared to about 100,000 who lived there before the establishment of the state. Jews from Europe, the United States and Israel also come to the event in Djerba to participate, although their numbers have decreased Since the attack in 2002.
Tuesday’s shooting came as Tunisia’s tourism industry finally enjoyed a recovery from a pandemic-era slump, as well as the aftermath of a pair of attacks in Tunis and Sousse in 2015 that killed dozens of foreign visitors.
After the Arab Spring ousted the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, Tunisia experienced a rise in Islamic terrorism, but the authorities claim that they have made significant progress in the fight against terrorism in recent years. The attack in Gariba comes as Tunisia is going through a severe financial crisis, which has worsened since President Kais Said took power in July 2021 and passed a constitution that gave his office unlimited powers and paralyzed parliament.
