Tunisie, Sicilie, Italie

Je suis un Juif pratiquant et descendant des Anusim italiens. Nous savons si peu de notre histoire familiale que, jusqu'à il ya quelques années, nous avons pensé que nous avions toujours été en italien, c'est-à-dire à Rome et de ses environs, puis nous avons trouvé un indice que nous venions a l'Italie de la Sicile . Maintenant, il semble que nous sommes arrivés en Sicile de la Tunisie. Nous espérons correspondre avec quelqu'un qui peut avoir des antécédents familiaux similaires, c'est-à-dire, les juifs tunisiens qui tracent leur lignée en Sicile, peut-être pour le commerce ou refuge de l'agression musulmane, et de Sicile (probablement Palerme) pour le continent italien, peut-être que Anusim «nouveaux chrétiens» qui cherchent la protection du pape de la Sicile Inquisition.

Y at-il parmi vous des antécédents similaires?

Pinchas,
New York, Etats-Unis

I hope that through this forum I will be able to make contact with Tunisian Jews who have family in Sicily or mainland Italy.

I am an observant Jew and descendant of Italian anusim. We know so little of our family history that, until a few years ago, we thought we'd always been Italian, that is to say from Rome and environs, and then we found a clue that we'd come to central Italy from Sicily. Now, there are indications that we arrived in Sicily from Tunisia. This makes good sense to us and we are hoping to correspond with someone who may have a similar family history, that is to say, Tunisian Jews who trace their lineage to Sicily, perhaps for trade or refuge from Muslim aggression, and from Sicily (likely Palermo) to the Italian mainland, perhaps as anusim "New Christians" seeking the pope's protection from the Sicilian Inquisition.

Is there any among you of similar background?

Pinchas,
New York, USA

Bonjour Pinchas,
mon patronyme est AZRIA, mon père est originaire de Sfax, en Tunisie. Il m'a dit un jour que sa famille était originaire du sud de l'Italie, peut-être de la région des Pouilles (Puglia) et aurait quitté l'Italie pour la Tunisie à la fin du 19e siècle.
Let me know if you prefer me to write in English.
Best regards,
Phil

Hello Pinhas,

I was also looking for the origin of my ancestors. My father was born in Tunis, as well as his whole family. My family name is Journo. it sounds Italian but the Journo family does not belong to the 'Grana' community (Sephardic jews from Leghorn in Tuscany who emigrated in Tunisia at the 18th century). Searching at the origin of my family name, I found out that Journo comes from Giorno, which is the abreviation of Bongiorno, which was the traduction of Yom tov! The Journo's belong to the Tunisian community not to the 'Grana' one, but how could they have an Italian root?

After many reseaches, I found out that Bongiorno was a name originarian from Sicily (Buongiorno with a 'u' in the northern part of Italy) . And I could found many Bongiorno in the white pages in Sicily! Finally a professor in history found out from a register of the Inquisition that a person named Bongiorno, new christian, was still practicing judaism in Sicily. In the same website, Harissa, I found Bongiorno and Bonjorno as Jewish sicilian names.

It seems that many Jews from Sicily went to Tunisia after 1492. Jews from Sicily had strong trading and inter-personnel links with the communities based in Tunisia. They spoke Arabic. Their integration was easy, much easier than the one from Leghorn apparently.

Best regards,

Dear Lorenzo,

Thank you for your reply. I envy the work that you have done in tracing your family and discovering your true surname. I hope that I will be as fortunate as you have been in my searches.

I am thinking that my Jewish ancestors came to Sicily from Tunisia and that after the expulsion, they went to Rome, perhaps as New Christians ("neofiti") or perhaps as Jews. Eventually they went to Veroli.

I hope that like you, I will be able to discover the surnames that they used in Tunisia and in Sicily. My surname is found in Palermo but the family that brought it there in the 19th Century was Christian.

All best regards,

Pinchas

Thank you for your reply, Phil. I understood your French very well but if you reply, you may reply in English.

My maternal grandfather was born in Puglie but, as best as I can understand, his family was not Jewish.

It is my father's family that was certainly Jewish and lived in Rome. I am thinking that his ancestors came to Rome from Sicily and that they arrived in Sicily from Tunisia.

I will continue my efforts to trace my family's travels but after hundreds of years, the trail is very cold.

All best regards,

Pinchas

The surname CHIKLY is not infrequent among Tunisian Jews.

I believe it is a transformation of the arabic SIQILLI, meaning "from Sicily". This is not the meaning suggested by author Paul Sebag, but the great historian of the Cairo Geniza S.D. Goitein mentions "SIQILLI" as a surname that would have been borne by Tunisian Jews having spent time in Sicily during the Middle Ages. Not sure this helps, but I thought I'd mention it.

dans le nom CHIKLY on trouve la racine hebraique CHEKEL

qui dans la bible est une unite de mesure de pierres precieuses

et le nom CHIKLY voudrait dire en hebreu MON UNITE DE MESURE