The Jews of Tunisia: History, Traditions, and Memory a Two-Thousand-Year-Old Community

For more than two thousand years, Tunisia was home to one of North Africa's oldest and most distinctive Jewish communities.From ancient Carthage and the medieval scholars of Kairouan to the synagogues of Tunis and the island of Djerba, The Jews of Tunisia traces a history shaped by faith, family, trade, learning, music, cuisine, and memory. It explores the rich diversity of Tunisian Judaism: the Twansa and the Granas, Judeo-Arabic traditions, the Hara of Tunis, the Ghriba synagogue, and the many ties linking the country to the wider Mediterranean world.The book also examines the transformations of the modern era: European influence, the French protectorate, the Vichy period, the German occupation of 1942-1943, independence, and the major migrations of the twentieth century.More than a history of departure, The Jews of Tunisia is a journey through a heritage that remains alive in Djerba and Tunis, and in families across Israel, France, and the world.A compelling introduction to Jewish history, Tunisian history, Sephardic culture, and the living memory of the Maghreb.