Tunisia’s chief rabbi apologises after protests following detention of Jewish man
Tunisia’s chief rabbi expressed regret over a protest by the Jewish community on the island of Djerba. The demonstration erupted after the arrest of a Jewish community member, with protesters… pic.twitter.com/M99bJgbRQH
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) April 3, 2025
Tunisia’s Chief Rabbi, Haim Bitan, issued an apology to security authorities following rare protests by members of the Jewish community on the southern island of Djerba against the arrest of a wanted Jewish citizen.
Members of the Jewish community and relatives of detained Jewish citizen Ilan Raccah gathered outside the security headquarters in Djerba on 29 March to protest against his arrest.
Chief Rabbi Bitan said the protesters were unaware of the final court ruling against Ilan, “which led them to this completely unacceptable behaviour”.
In the statement, he pledged to publish an official condemnation in all synagogues in Djerba and to deliver a sermon on the same subject at the Great Synagogue.
Rabbi Haim Bitan, the Chief Rabbi of Tunisia 🇹🇳, expressed in a letter his apology and condemnation of the protest by members of the Jewish community in Djerba, and for surrounding the city’s police headquarters in protest of the arrest of one of the community members as social… https://t.co/yG2vy5GNXc pic.twitter.com/UBoxJFK6Sn
— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) April 1, 2025
Protests are rare on the island of Djerba, home to most of Tunisia’s remaining Jewish community of approximately 2,000, after tens of thousands emigrated to the occupation state of Israel during the Arab-Israeli wars of the 1950s and 1960s.
The island also houses the famous Ghriba Synagogue, which hosts annual religious celebrations and is visited by Jews from around the world.
A spokesperson for the Court of First Instance in Medenine Governorate, southern Tunisia, said a final ruling had been issued by the Bizerte Court in the north, sentencing Raccah to seven years in prison for his involvement in a common law case.
According to the Times of Israel, Raccah, who is in his 20s, has been held since 10 July at the prison of Mornaguia, a western suburb of the capital Tunis. Local media sources have reported that he was suspected of inciting young men to set the car of a local businessman on fire.
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