Synagogues torched in Tunisia

Leader of local Jewish community criticises lack of action by security services to stop arsonists in Gabes region.

Middle East Online

TUNIS - Arsonists set fire to a synagogue in the southern Gabes region of Tunisia, a leader of the local Jewish community said Tuesday. "Someone set fire to the synagogue on Monday night and the Torah scrolls were burned," Trabelsi Perez said, criticising the lack of action by the security services to stop the attack. "What astonished me was that there were police not far from the synagogue," added Perez, who is also head of the Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba, the oldest synagogue in Africa. Twenty-one people were killed, including 16 European tourists, when Al-Qaeda bombers attacked Ghriba in April 2002.