The Tunisian Ambassador to the United Kingdom recently came to the Chabad here in Oxford to give a Shabbat dinner talk. Needless to say, this event was not an ordinary Shabbat dinner by any means. After a meal of traditional Tunisian foods, the ambassador spoke about the need for co-existence, the importance of listening to other narratives, and â?? most interestingly for me â?? the status of Tunisian Jewry today. Though only about 1,500-strong today, the community leads a vibrant life â?? and many of the 80,000 Tunisian Jews across France, Canada and Israel regularly return to Tunisia for visits, even buying property there.
The ambassador painted a very inspiring picture. Yet one lady present was not quite in favor of this interpretation: She continuously interrupted him to claim that Jews were either struggling for survival after being forced to leave Tunisia, complete victims, or that the Israeli side of the story was being completely ignored. Whatâ??s more, she implied that Jews would only buy property in Tunisia if it were cheap â?? that there was nothing to see and the country was â??dirtyâ? and â??barren.â? As for one Tunisian Jewish communityâ??s endorsement of the Islamist Ennahda party, she was completely dismissive.
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