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‘Jewish life goes on’: Djerba Jews and their supporters show resilience after deadly attack
(JTA) — The day after a gunman killed four people outside an ancient place of Jewish worship on the Tunisian island of Djerba, men gathered in the same synagogue not to mourn, but to celebrate.
They were there to witness the blessing of a new life: a brit milah, or ritual circumcision. Not long after, a recording of the ceremony, complete with the men chanting in Hebrew as they surrounded the eight-day-old baby, made its way to the phone of Isaac Choua, a Sephardic rabbi living in New York.
For Choua, watching the ceremony was a relief from the horrors that had emerged the day before, when a rogue security official at the Tunisian synagogue killed two Jewish cousins, Aviel Haddad, 30, and Benjamin Haddad, 43, as well as two security guards before being gunned down.
“Something beautiful happened,” said Choua, the Middle East and North Africa communities liaison for the World Jewish Congress, in an interview. “They had a brit milah in Djerba, even with all the chaos. Jewish life goes on.”
Tuesday’s deadly shooting came during the Hiloula, an annual pilgrimage and celebration of Jewish sages held on or around Lag b’Omer, which takes place a little more than a month after the beginning of Passover. The annual festivity attracts thousands of Jews from around the world, many of Tunisian descent. It is held at the El Ghriba synagogue — a 19th-century building constructed on a site believed to have been a Jewish house of worship for as long as 2,500 years.
The pilgrimage has grown substantially in recent years, after trepidation following an attack on the synagogue by Al-Qaeda in 2002 that killed 20 people, and a suspension of the pilgrimage in 2011 amid security concerns in the wake of the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia.
The Tunisian government has invested in the pilgrimage, billing it as a symbol of the country’s tolerance, and has provided intense security. Last year, Tunisia was one of six African countries that signed the “Call of Rabat,” an initiative of the American Sephardi Federation that sought a commitment to preserving Jewish heritage on the continent.
Jason Guberman, the executive director of the American Sephardi Federation, said the numbers that the Hiloula attracts today have not yet reached the 10,000 or so who attended before the 2002 attack. The Arab Spring and COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “have also deterred pilgrims in the past decade.” He estimated that fewer than 5,000 people attend annually now.
Additionally, Tunisia’s authoritarian president Kais Saied remains unfriendly to Israel and has rebuffed efforts by successive American administrations to join the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries.
Djerba, nonetheless, remains an oasis of coexistence, said Yaniv Salama, the CEO of the Salamanca Foundation, which seeks to reinvigorate Jewish communities in Muslim lands.
”You have to understand something about Djerba,” Salama said. “The community there has very, very deep ties with the local municipalities. Everything is done in conjunction — there are joint [security] watches” between the Jewish and larger communities, “and joint communication between the Jewish community leaders and the local police.”
Jason Isaacson, the American Jewish Committee’s chief policy and political affairs officer, who has frequently visited Djerba, said it was significant that two Tunisian security officials died protecting the Jewish community.
“It’s obviously now going to be a source of shame for the country that this happened, within its own military forces, but this happens within military forces” everywhere, he said. “The fact that the country deploys a huge protective cordon around the synagogue and around the festivities and around the worshipers who come, to assure that it all goes off smoothly and proper in a celebratory spirit, is significant.”
Aaron Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank whose expertise is Islamist extremism in Tunisia, said the attack appeared to be an outlier, unlike the carefully planned 2002 attack.
“It wasn’t really a sophisticated attack,” Zelin said. “So it’s plausible it could have just been one person that just decided to do something on their own accord, and there wasn’t some broader plot or planning in the same way.”
Choua said the Tunisian Jewish Diaspora would not be deterred. “Jewish Tunisians are still going to either visit family [or] visit this pilgrimage site,” he said. “Jews are resilient.”
Djerba has the attention of the world, at least for the moment. The day before the attack Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. envoy monitoring antisemitism, alongside U.S. ambassador to Tunisia Joey Hood, joined Tunisian officials in a ceremony launching the Hiloula.
“I am sickened and heartbroken by the lethal, antisemitic attack targeting the Ghriba synagogue in Djerba during the Lag B’Omer celebrations, with thousands of Jewish pilgrims in attendance,” Lipstadt said on Twitter.
That may be the silver lining, the World Jewish Congress’s Choua said: The predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish Diaspora tends to forget the communities that persist outside the Western world.
“The Jewish world is noticing that there’s still Jews in the Middle East and North Africa,” he said. “This might even spark more tourism in the country itself.”
Salama said he did not expect the community of about 1,400 people, which includes a number of institutes of religious learning, to be broken following the attack.
“They’re all they’ll do their grieving and they’ll continue, they’ll push forward,” he said. “They really have got a stiff upper lip.”
Robert Ejnes, the executive director of CRIF, the umbrella body for French Jewry, said the French Jewish community is close to the Tunisian Jewish community because France colonized the country beginning in the 1800s, and because the community speaks French. He said that the Hiloula attracts French Jews of all ethnic origins.
“It’s really affecting the whole of the community of France because on the Hiloula, there are a lot of people going [from] the French Jewish community of all origins,” he said.
Ejnes found it notable that even after the attack, French Jews who attended the Hiloula posted photos of the festivities on social media. He said he expected the same number of people to attend next year’s Hiloula.
“People will be resilient,” he said. “They posted pictures of them[selves] at the Ghriba, saying, ‘We’ll be back.’”
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What Israel Can Learn From American Thanksgiving
A traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Gratitude is a deeply Jewish concept, emphasized in the Biblical text, the Talmud, Jewish law, and throughout rabbinic thought. Most significantly, gratitude is woven into the rituals of daily life, including the first statement of “modeh ani” that we recite upon waking each day as well as in the morning blessings.
This overlap between the value Judaism places on gratitude and the theme of the upcoming American holiday of Thanksgiving gives us a reason to truly recognize that day as a Jewish experience. But there is another deep connection between Judaism and Thanksgiving, one that Jews everywhere, including in Israel, should be more aware of and embrace.
Many of the values that the United States was built on, including justice, equality and freedom, stem from the Bible and Judeo-Christian tradition. This should be a reminder that here in Israel as well — the land where those ideas started — we should be more cognizant of those values as a society, especially in these challenging days as we rebuild after more than two years of war and face deep divisions among ourselves.
On Nov. 26, 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a day of public thanks, saying gratitude wasn’t just a feeling but a national duty, “acknowledging … the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
His statement reflects the influence of the Bible on the Founding Fathers’ worldview — and not simply because he referred to the Almighty. Rather, it is important to recognize that many of the values that Americans are especially grateful for on Thanksgiving — the values that allow a form of government for safety and happiness — are derived from Judeo-Christian concepts.
As outlined in his book Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers, Daniel L. Dreisbach, a professor at American University, describes the Bible as the most read and most quoted book in early American political discourse. Stories and quotes from the Bible were used to justify civil resistance, examine the rights and duties of citizens, and understand the role of political authority. Early American politics and its groundbreaking democratic system can only be understood properly by understanding the role of the Bible, he writes.
The Declaration of Independence and Constitution are secular documents, but the ideas contained in them have unmistakable direct roots in values illustrated in the Bible.
Although the United States faces many challenges, and the Biblical values of justice, equality, and personal freedom are not always upheld as they should be, the ideal of these values has been front and center to the country’s success and to the opportunities it has given to millions, including my own father, my in-laws, and grandparents, who immigrated to the US from the ashes of the Holocaust and were able to freely raise a Jewish family.
In Israel, also a democracy, political and community leaders need to recommit to the values of freedom, equality, and justice, especially now — not just in theory, but in policy and practice.
Even though Israel remains without a constitution, these values need to be paramount, both in speech and action; in classrooms and courtrooms; in the Knesset and in the beit knesset. Freedom must extend to agunot, women trapped in marriages that have fallen apart and are often abusive, because their husbands refuse to grant them the halachic get required for a legal divorce. Jewish law demands that state rabbinic and government officials must do more to ensure the religious and civil laws are used in ways that promote freedom and dignity for these women.
Equality must be extended to minorities, including Arabs, Muslims, Christians, and Druze, who often face discrimination. From the lack of government investment in these communities to the racism expressed by some politicians, community leaders, and parts of the general public, minorities often do not receive fully equal treatment. Equality is also a value that needs to be embraced by the citizens. The most glaring example of this today is the continuing refusal of the ultra-Orthodox sector to serve in the army, which puts an undue heavy burden on those who do serve, including secular and religious Jews, Christians, Druze, and Bedouins.
Perhaps an approach that can help is trying to be more thankful for and aware of these democratic values derived from our very own Jewish tradition, especially now as we attempt to pick up the pieces and rebuild. Part of being thankful is looking beyond ourselves.
This is illustrated in a powerful way in the order of the words in the morning recitation of “modeh ani” — “thankful am I.” Usually the order would be “ani modeh” (“I am thankful”), but this prayer flips that order, emphasizing the thankfulness before the “I.” This implies we are better off as individuals, as a family, community and as a society when the first word out of our mouths is “thanks” rather than “I.”
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln established an official date for Thanksgiving as a national holiday and called on everyone to care for the widows, orphans, and the wounded as the nation sought healing. This is the spirit we need in Israel now: to use gratitude as a moral call to rebuild our society, rooted in the very Biblical values that have long given hope to the world.
Rabbi Dr. Brander is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone, a network of 32 educational institutions in Israel. He previously served as a vice president at Yeshiva University in New York and is Rabbi Emeritus of the Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida.
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Israel Launches New Military Operation in Northern West Bank
Israeli soldiers walk during an operation in Tubas, in the West Bank, Nov. 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli security forces took up positions inside the northern West Bank city of Tubas on Wednesday and ordered some Palestinian residents from their homes in a counterterrorism operation.
Tubas Governor Ahmed Al-Asaad told Reuters Israeli forces, backed by a helicopter, were encircling the city and establishing positions across several neighborhoods.
“The incursion looks to be a long one; occupation [Israeli] forces have driven people from their houses, commandeered rooftops of buildings, and are conducting arrests,” he said.
The Israeli military said the operation carried out with police and intelligence forces began early on Wednesday following “preliminary intelligence identification of attempts to establish” terrorist strongholds and infrastructure.
The military said it located “an observational control room” during its searches of dozens of homes in the West Bank.
Israeli vehicles could be seen driving through the city, with troops patrolling streets carrying rifles and rocket launchers. Troops were also seen in the nearby town of Tammun.
PALESTINIANS ARRESTED, TROOPS SET UP ROADBLOCKS
Al-Asaad said Israeli forces ordered those whom they forced out of their homes not to return until the operation ends, which he anticipated could last several days.
“They are continuing to complete their control of the city,” he told Reuters, with Israeli forces setting up roadblocks and so far detaining at least 22 Palestinians.
The West Bank is home to 2.7 million Palestinians who have limited self-rule under the Palestinian Authority. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have settled there.
Wednesday’s activity extends military operations launched by Israeli forces across parts of the northern West Bank this year, beginning with the city of Jenin in January days after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Since Hamas carried out the Oct. 7 attack on Israel from Gaza two years ago, Israel has sharply curtailed movement in the West Bank, with new checkpoints erected and some Palestinian communities effectively sealed off by gates and roadblocks.
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A Reason for Jewish Hope: Perseverance Has Always Seen Us Through
The Western Wall and Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
In recent years, Jews across the world have witnessed intimidation, harassment, and even instances of violence. These developments are serious, and they deserve our full attention. Yet even in this climate, we must remember that we have, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “a rendezvous with destiny.” That rendezvous, when viewed across the arc of Jewish history, remains a profoundly hopeful one.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed in a moment like this. But perspective matters. If one were to graph the trajectory of the Jewish people across millennia, the line would not appear as a clean upward slope. It would look more like a stock market chart — containing multiple peaks and valleys. And yet, despite every downturn, the long-term trend has always been upward. It is important to recognize this as we endure the news cycle on a daily basis.
Children often repeat sayings like, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” or “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” We know reality is more complicated: words can harm, and challenges can shake us, but those old sayings contain a deep truth. Hardship, while never sought after, can strengthen us and forge unity. When we remember who we are — and what we have already overcome — we rediscover the inner steel that has carried our people through history’s darkest chapters.
This perspective is helpful today, especially as we confront new challenges from seemingly every direction. In New York City, for example, we will have a mayor — Zohran Mamdani — whose positions and rhetoric pose real questions as to whether he will defend Jewish people in New York against those who want to intimidate our community. The recent protest held outside a synagogue hosting a Nefesh B’Nefesh event was not just disruptive; it was frightening. Mamdani’s official response — which criticized the event itself — was lacking to say the least.
But even here, it is important to have perspective. Compared to the past violence and destruction we have been through, the challenges of this moment — though real — are not insurmountable. And unlike many eras of the past, today we have power and resources to fight back, and a state that exists to protect Jews with a Jewish army.
This does not mean that we are just passive passengers on history’s ride. Quite the opposite. We have obligations to resist with all our might in education, in advocacy, in political engagement, and in communal solidarity. We must defend our institutions and support those on the front lines, and we must cultivate the courage to stand proudly as Jews and supporters of the only Jewish state at a time when hiding might feel easier.
But humility is also part of wisdom. We are a people of roughly 15 million among billions. There are limits to the amount of influence we can exert on the world around us — and we can’t beat ourselves up too much about things that remain largely out of our control. The winds of history blow with a force larger than any one community. We have great challenges and even greater opportunities that point toward a future of continued growth, strength, and security.
It is natural to feel concern, even fear, when living through a period of backlash. Regression always feels permanent when you are inside it. But history tells a different story. This moment may be a valley, but valleys precede rises. We have every reason to believe that a rise is coming. Our rendezvous with destiny has never changed — and it is brighter than this moment suggests.
Daniel Rosen is the Co-founder of a Non-profit Technology company called Emissary4all which is an app to organize people to impact the narrative and move the needle on social media and beyond . He is the Co-host of the podcast “Recalibration”. You can reach him at drosen@emissary4all.org