Lag B’Omer pilgrimage to Tunisian synagogue chilled by Gaza war

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(RNS) — A year after an attack killed two Jewish pilgrims and three local police at the ancient El Ghriba synagogue on Tunisia’s Djerba island, only a small crowd was in evidence for this year’s Lag B’omer pilgrimage, an event that in past years has drawn thousands. Jews in Tunisia and across the Arab world blamed a tense political climate in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “There was no pilgrimage this year basically,” said Rebekah, a French-Tunisian Jew who was one of the few who made the trip this year and who asked that her last name be withheld. “It was only the prayers for Lag B’omer and a commemoration for victims of last year.”
The pilgrimage is a deeply held tradition among the Tunisian Jewish diaspora worldwide. In past years, worshippers came from the U.S., France and even Israel, despite the lack of official relations between Tunisia and the Jewish state.
Last year, over 5,000 came for the event, and in past years attendance has been as high as 8,000.
Pilgrims light candles at El Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba in May 2023. (Photo by David Benaym)
In April, just over a month before Lag B’omer, the community announced that it would not be hosting an official pilgrimage, citing security concerns.
“Those who come to visit are welcome and they can hold religious rituals, light a candle, inside the synagogue,” Perez Trabelsi, the head of the island’s …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]