Gunman kills three near Tunisian synagogue amid Jewish pilgrimage
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A gunman shot and killed at least three people Tuesday while trying to access the historic Ghriba synagogue on Tunisia’s island of Djerba, the site that day of a two-day Jewish pilgrimage that annually draws hundreds, the Tunisian government said. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine. ArrowRight The victims of the attack included two visitors, a 30-year-old Tunisian and a 42-year-old French national, as well as a security official, according to a statement by the Tunisian Interior Ministry. The gunman was also killed.
The gunman, a member of the national guard, killed a colleague before attempting to access the temple and shooting indiscriminately at security units stationed there, according to the Interior Ministry. Before the shooter was able to reach the temple, security officials confronted and killed him, the ministry said.
Five security agents and four visitors were injured as well.
אירוע חריג בבית כנסת בג'רבה | גורמים ישראלים: ירי בוצע לעבר המאבטחים שהוצבו במקום, אין דיווח על נפגעים באירוע • במקום שהו מאות אנשים בהילולת רבי שמעון בר יוחאי@AmichaiStein1 @kaisos1987 pic.twitter.com/c89iPbiAQe — כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 9, 2023
Every year, Jewish worshipers travel to the Tunisian island of Djerba, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Arab world. The island is also home to the 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue — Africa’s oldest.
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U.S. Ambassador Joey Hood, along with Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, and Tunisian officials, visited the synagogue the day before to open the pilgrimage celebration, according to a tweet by the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, the nation’s capital.
“This example of coexistence in Tunisia reinforces our shared commitment to multiculturalism and the protection of religious freedom,” the U.S. Embassy wrote.
In Tunisia, where Muslims, Jews, and Christians have lived side by side for centuries, pilgrims from around the world gathered on the island of Djerba last night for the annual Lag B’Omer celebration. Ambassador Joey Hood and visiting Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat… pic.twitter.com/6AqQPVNF8k — U.S. Embassy Tunis (@usembassytunis) May 9, 2023
In April 2002, an attacker linked to al-Qaeda killed 21 people, mostly German tourists, outside the Ghriba synagogue by detonating a truck filled with explosives. The synagogue has since implemented tighter security.
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Source: The Washington Post
