Jews of Tunisia

History of Jews in Tunisia

The history of the Jews in Tunisia goes back to Roman times. As of 2011, 700 Jews were living in Tunis and 1,000 on the island of Djerba.

A tradition among the descendants of the first Jewish settlers was that their ancestors settled in that part of North Africa long before the destruction of the First Temple in the 6th century BCE. The ruins of an ancient synagogue dating back to the 3rd-5th century CE was discovered by the French captain Ernest De Prudhomme in his Hammam-Lif residence in 1883 called in Latin as sancta synagoga naronitana ("holy synagogue of Naro").

After the fall of the Second Temple, many exiled Jews settled in Tunis and engaged in agriculture, cattle-raising, and trade. . . . continued

Contemporary Tunisian Jewry

• The Last of the Arab Jews Wall Street Journal
• Sephardic Jewry & Mizrahi Jews Pages 138 - 141 - Rabbinic Responsa by rabbis of Tunisian origin
• Map of Tunisia
• Jewish Culture Thriving in Djerba - Tunisia Tunisia Live Video

Notable Tunisian Jews

1. • Max Azria, fashion designer
2. • Alain Boublil, French lyricist and librettist
3. Serge Bramly, French writer and essayist
4. • Elsa Cayat, French psychoanalyst and columnist killed in the Charlie Hebdo shooting
5. • Claude Challe, French DJ and club owner
6. • Pierre Darmon, French tennis player
7. • Yehuda Getz, rabbi of the Western Wall in Jerusalem
8. • Mathilda Guez, Israeli politician
9. • William Karel, French film director and author
10. • Élie Lellouche, French trainer of thoroughbred racehorses and jockeys
11. • Ofer Lellouche, Israeli painter, sculptor, etcher, and video artist
12. • Pierre Lellouche, French politician
13. • Hayyim Madar, Chief Rabbi of Tunisia
14. • Alain Mamou-Mani, French film producer and writer
15. • Menahem Mazuz, justice of the Supreme Court of Israel and former attorney general
16. • Albert Memmi, French author and essayist
17. • Nine Moati, French novelist
18. • Serge Moati, French artist, journalist, film director, and writer
19. • Victor Perez, boxer and World Flyweight Champion in 1931 and 1932 who died in the Auschwitz death march
20. • Jacques Saada, Canadian politician and former cabinet minister
21. • Philippe Séguin, French politician and former president of the National Assembly and Court of Audit
22. • Silvan Shalom, Israeli politician
23. • Joseph Sitruk, former Chief Rabbi of France
24. • David Tal, Israeli politician
25. • Avraham Tiar, Israeli politician
26. • Aharon Uzan, Israeli politician
27. Georges Wolinski, French cartoonist killed in the Charlie Hebdo shooting
28. • Ariel Zeitoun, French director, producer and screenwriter
29. • Nissim Zvili, Israeli politician and former ambassador to France
30. R' Rahamim Hai Havita Hakohen, (1901 -1959)
31. R' Matzliach Mazus, (1912 - 1972)
32. R' Yitzchak HaYisraeli, l (c832 - c932) Kairouan, Tunis
33. R' Yehudah ben Kuraish, Tahort, Tunis late 9th-early 10th century.
34. R' Donash ben Tamim, Kairouan, Tunis late 9th century
35. R' Chusiel ben Elchanan, d. Kairouan, Tunisia c 1000
36. R' Nissim ben Yaakov, d. Kairouan, Tunisia 1050
37. R' Chananel d. Kairouan, Tunisia, c 1055
38. R' Shalom Shimuni of Gaftsa, Tunisia
39. R' Avraham Bitan of Djerba (d.2001),
40. R' Sousou Joseph Cohen (d. 1980)
41. R' Abraham Cohen-Itshaki Rav Abraham Cohen-Itshaki