JEWISH LIFE IN THE HOUMT SOUK TOWN IN THE ISLAND OF DJERBA TUNISIA

One gets the feeling that the life has not changed very much in this jewish neighbourhood of Houmt Souk for many years. The trading significance of Houmt Souk has been ascribed to the Jewish population. While almost all Jews know about El Ghriba synagogue in Erriadh, few kilometers south of Houmt Souk, there is no jewish community large enough to support a synagogue or regular services . 

I put on my kippah, after taking a taxi from Erriadh where I was staying and was walking around the streets. A woman calls out from the balcony and was speaking in Hebrew to me. I was told that all the inhabitants of this part of town, 1200 souls speak Hebrew. Children leaving their school , two jewish school in the jewish section and most of the children had their kippah on, in fact you get the feeling that this community has not lost its tradition. I said Shalom to any one who passed by me and it was returned with a smile. A young woman pointed at the synagogue of her father who appeared and spent the next half an hour showing me around one of the 11 active synagogues. He spoke Hebrew and Arabic and also French so we could communicate to some degree.

It was an emotional as well as a happy occasion. I had a glimpse of what life must have been for the Jews under other Arab countries before they were made refugees ( 900 000 Jews were thrown out of the Arab countries after the modern state of Israel was formed in 1948, ancient Israel predates all the civilizations in the region by hundreds or thousands of years). Most people do not realize that before the arrival of the Arabs (who are not native to the North African region) Berbers and Jews lived much in harmony for at least one thousand years.

But I was satisfied that despite the political pressures from Tunis where the majority of the population is Arab, here in Djerba, there is mutual tolerance and admiration between Jews and Berbers who maintain their distinct identity, away from the Arabs.

And what a pleasure to feel one with this millenium old jewish community which may have settled here after the destruction of the First temple..

So they are as old as Buddhism, as old as Patanjali and Yoga sutra  and predates Islam by one thousand years ..The history of Tunisia and its connection to the Roman Empire is very interesting. 

I read Pillar of Salt by the Tunisian-French jewish writer Albert Memmi a very long time ago and it is time to read it once again..