Historic synagogue damaged in Tunisia protests

A historic synagogue in Tunisia has been heavily damaged amid anti-Israel protests.

A video and images widely shared on social media showed hundreds of protesters setting fire to the synagogue in the central Tunisian city of Al Hammah.

It is said to have happened soon after the deadly blast in Gaza on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, that killed hundreds of people, which has been blamed on Israel by most of the Arab world. Israel attributed it to a misfired rocket by a Palestinian militant group.

The synagogue, previously damaged in the 2011 Arab Spring protests, is not an active worship site. It houses the tomb of a 16th-century rabbi and was a historic pilgrimage site.

The American Jewish Committee said in a statement on Wednesday that it was “horrified by the burning and destruction” of the synagogue.

“Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of Tunisia's Jewish community. We are closely monitoring the situation and are in close contact with community leaders,” it said.

Tunisia has a long Jewish history - Jewish people were present in North Africa before the arrival of Islam or Christianity.

Of the 100,000 that were there before the creation of Israel in 1948, only about 1,500 remain.