Tunisia prepares to welcome the largest Jewish pilgrimage in Africa to the Ghriba Synagogue

Tunisia is preparing to resume Jewish pilgrimages without restrictions to the Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba in the coming days.

The committee organizing the Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba Synagogue in Tunisia explained that the Jewish pilgrimage will be opened to participants after two years during which it was held with limited attendance due to regional tensions, according to Agence France-Presse, quoting Perez Trabelsi, head of the committee.

Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisia

The Tunisian official indicated that the Jewish pilgrimage scheduled for April 30, which will continue until May 6, will be open to everyone without restrictions, regardless of nationality, as part of the gradual return to normalcy.

The pilgrimage ceremonies will be confined to the synagogue, without any external events, as the organizers emphasized that Tunisia and Djerba remain a land of tolerance, coexistence and peace.

The Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba Synagogue often attracts thousands of Jewish pilgrims from around the world, especially from Europe and the United States, as it is the oldest synagogue in Africa, to participate in three days of celebrations and rituals.

The annual Hajj pilgrimage had been organized during the past two years with very limited attendance, due to reasons related to the security situation in Tunisia and the war in Gaza.

Small numbers and a focus on rituals

In the 2023 season, around 7,000 people participated in the pilgrimage, before two Jews and three gendarmes were killed in an attack carried out by a policeman in front of the synagogue on the last day of the celebrations.

In May 2024, the pilgrimage was limited to prayers and lighting candles without marches, due to that attack and the Israeli war on Gaza, while last year only about fifty pilgrims participated in rituals that were kept to a minimum.

The Ghriba Synagogue dates back to the 6th century BC, and in 2002 it was the target of a suicide truck bombing that killed 21 people.