OLIVIA BUNING, in the MuseumCafé of the Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam
Photos of the annual pilgrimage to the Ghriba Synagogue on the island Djerba in Tunisia.
Every year on Lag ba-Omer (33rd day after Pesach, the Jewish Easter) a pilgrimage takes place to the Ghriba Synagogue on the island Djerba in Tunisia.
Thousands of Jews from Tunisia, France and Israel exuberantly celebrate in and around Africa’s oldest synagogue, which dates from the 5th century before the Common Era.
Djerba is sometimes called the Jerusalem of Africa and it has always been a spiritual centre of Judaism. It is also the only Jewish place of pilgrimage in North Africa where there is still a small Jewish community. In this period, the pilgrims commemorate Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Shimon Bar Jochai, founding fathers of Jewish Cabalistic mysticism. Tradition has it that all prayers spoken by visitors and pilgrims in the Ghriba Synagogue will be granted.
This pilgrimage is a unique event in the Arab world. In general, the Tunisian population approaches the temporary return of their former compatriots positively. The thousands of pilgrims are kept under close guard by the police and the army against potential attacks from the neighbouring countries Algeria and Libya.
