Hundreds of Jews visited Africa's oldest synagogue, El Ghriba, on Wednesday for their annual religious pilgrimage. The pilgrimage took place two months after attacks on the Bardo Museum in Tunisia's capital, Tunis, killed 22 people. Five hundred visitors arrived for the Ghriba pilgrimage this year, according to Rene Trabelsi, who runs a travel agency in Paris and organizes the pilgrimage. Guarded by armed Tunisian police, Jewish revelers chanted and danced as the three-day pilgrimage began at the Ghriba synagogue, on Tunisia's Djerba Island 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Tunis. In 2011, after the uprising that toppled then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the annual celebration was canceled. In 2012 only a few dozen Jews attended out of fear of possible attacks by hardline Islamists. In 2002, terrorists linked to al-Qaida attacked the synagogue with a truck bomb, killing 21 people, including Western tourists. Security for this year's pilgrimage was tight, with hundreds of police on duty. Predominantly Muslim Tunisia is home to one of North Africa's largest Jewish communities. Although they now number fewer than 1,800 people, Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times. The Ghriba synagogue, the base for most of Tunisia's Jews, is built on the site of a Jewish temple believed to date back almost 1,900 years.
Credit: Reuters
Most of the visitors are French, with around a dozen Tunisians who live in Israel. Tour operators also said there were visitors from Italy, Britain and the U.S.
Tunisia steps up security for pilgrimage to Ghriba synagogue
Some 500 visitors, mostly from France and Tunisia, make pilgrimage to Tunisia's ancient El Ghriba synagogue, Africa's oldest synagogue • Pilgrimage comes two months after 22 people were killed in attacks on the Bardo Museum in the capital, Tunis.
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