• A police car is parked near Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, where five people were killed in a gun attack on Tuesday night. AP Photo
    A police car is parked near Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, where five people were killed in a gun attack on Tuesday night. AP Photo
  • Soldiers secure an area near the synagogue. AFP
    Soldiers secure an area near the synagogue. AFP
  • President Kais Saied heads a national security council meeting in Tunis following the synagogue shooting. Reuters
    President Kais Saied heads a national security council meeting in Tunis following the synagogue shooting. Reuters
  • Tourists walk through the alleys of the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in Djerba. AFP
    Tourists walk through the alleys of the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in Djerba. AFP
  • Jewish men stand with a rabbi outside a yeshiva (Talmudic school) in the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in Djerba. AFP
    Jewish men stand with a rabbi outside a yeshiva (Talmudic school) in the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in Djerba. AFP
  • Tunisian authorities were investigating the shootings. They sparked mass panic during a Jewish pilgrimage at Africa's oldest synagogue. AFP
    Tunisian authorities were investigating the shootings. They sparked mass panic during a Jewish pilgrimage at Africa's oldest synagogue. AFP
  • People gather near the synagogue following the gun attack. Reuters
    People gather near the synagogue following the gun attack. Reuters
  • Hundreds of people were in the area at the time of the attack, as the annual pilgrimage to the synagogue was drawing to a close. AFP
    Hundreds of people were in the area at the time of the attack, as the annual pilgrimage to the synagogue was drawing to a close. AFP
  • Police take positions near the Ghriba synagogue on Tuesday night during the shootout. AFP
    Police take positions near the Ghriba synagogue on Tuesday night during the shootout. AFP

Grieving Jews in Djerba condemn decision to move bodies of shooting victims


Ghaya Ben Mbarek
  • English
  • Arabic

The Jewish community in Djerba is protesting against the authorities' decision to move the bodies of two Jewish civilians who were killed in a gun attack near a synagogue to the capital Tunis for an autopsy.

The victims’ families and relatives blocked the street outside Sadok Mkaddem regional hospital on the Tunisian island of Djerba, in objection to transferring the bodies from the hospital, which took place on Wednesday.

Five people were killed including two civilians in the shooting.

Aviel Haddad and Benjamin Haddad were caught in crossfire between police and the attacker. The cousins, who were dual citizens, were attending the annual Jewish pilgrimage at Ghriba synagogue and died on their way to watch a football match.

Their relatives voiced their anger at the latest move.

“They’ve worked their whole lives to build their homes here, now you don’t even allow them to enter it one last time,” said one of the protesters, who did not want to be named.

Protesters said the authorities had not allowed them to honour their traditions by reciting verses from the Torah in respect of those killed.

“Have some respect and let us at least have one good cry,” the protester added.

Djerba is home to the largest remaining Jewish community in North Africa.

The island is reeling from the fatal shooting in a place where Muslims and Jews have coexisted for years.

“It’s a tragedy … we were scared, we did not know what was going on as we kept hearing tens of military helicopters fly over our homes,” Fawzia told The National. The bystander has been living in Djerba with her family for 15 years.

“It [the pilgrimage] went really well and we had such a blissful time all together till the end,” she said.

The Ghriba pilgrimage is not only an occasion for local and Jewish visitors to fulfil a religious ritual, it is also a time when communities of various religious backgrounds come together to celebrate their coexistence.

Demanding the truth

Around 5,000 Jewish worshippers attended the annual Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia's southern resort island of Djerba before tragedy struck. AFP
Around 5,000 Jewish worshippers attended the annual Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia's southern resort island of Djerba before tragedy struck. AFP

An investigation into the attack, in which several others were injured, is under way.

A national guard reportedly shot his partner dead before opening fire on visitors and officers near the synagogue before being killed himself.

The motive and background of the gunman are not yet known.

“If something like that happens, you need to show yourselves and tell us what’s going on, you cannot hide,” Rabbi Levi, a French pilgrim of Tunisian descent, told The National. He said the Tunisian government had a responsibility towards the victims’ families.

“They deserve to know what happened,” he said.

Like many Tunisians in Djerba, Mr Levi said he had lost his faith in the system.

“You cannot hide the body or kidnap it … even if you do not respect the Jewish law, we are fine with that. Just let us know the situation,” he added.

For Amiel Diai, a long time friend of the two victims and a local jewish resident of Djerba, the shock of losing dear friends is amplified by authorities' seeming disregard to his community's grief.

“We did not ask for much, we just wanted to read Tehillim [Torah verses in Hebrew] on them but they did not let us,” Mr Diai told The National.

Mr Diai, who spoke to one of the victims, Aviel, just few minutes before the fatal shooting, said he has not been able to properly process the news or the loss he bore because of ensuing chaos and the lack of communication surrounding the incident.

“They [the police] are being rigid with us, it’s no longer worth living here to be honest,” he said.

Others from the Jewish community also expressed their frustration and hopelessness.

“There is no peace anymore in here [Djerba], one of us was killed by their [police] weapon and you’re telling me there is still peace,” Bingham, said a protester from Hara Kebira, the largest jewish neighbourhood in Djerba.

“When someone gets killed by a police weapon there’s no law but when asked to have a cry on the men in their father’s [ancestors] home, they suddenly remembered the law,” she added.

Like many others, Bingham said she felt that both the incident and its follow up made her feel no longer welcomed in Tunisia and staying in the country feels like a burden day after day.

Meanwhile, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied said in a meeting with the National Security Council on Wednesday that the parties behind the attack were “criminals who chose the Ghriba synagogue specifically, to sow discord, strike the tourism season and the state”.

Mr Said stressed Tunisia is a land of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

It is not the first time the 2,500-year-old synagogue has been targeted.

In 2002, a bomb attack for which Al Qaeda claimed responsibility killed more than 20 people on the island.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH DETAILS

Liverpool 2

Wijnaldum (14), Oxlade-Chamberlain (52)

Genk 1

Samatta (40)

 

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

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Other must-tries

Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp

Torque: 730Nm

Price: Dh649,000

On sale: now  

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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

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Rating: 4/5

'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure' ​​​​
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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Total club appearances 411

Total goals scored 241

Appearances for Barca 186

Goals scored for Barca 105

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Match info

Uefa Nations League Group B:

England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)

Brief scores:

Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17

Result: UAE won by 21 runs

Series: UAE lead 1-0

Factfile on Garbine Muguruza:

Name: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)

World ranking: 15 (will rise to 5 on Monday)

Date of birth: October 8, 1993

Place of birth: Caracas, Venezuela

Place of residence: Geneva, Switzerland

Height: 6ft (1.82m)

Career singles titles: 4

Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)

Career prize money: $13,928,719

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Preliminaries:

Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)

Main card:

Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)

Title card:

Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)

Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)

Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)

The Bio

Name: Lynn Davison

Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi

Children: She has one son, Casey, 28

Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK

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Favourite Author: CJ Sansom

Favourite holiday destination: Bali

Favourite food: A Sunday roast

Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

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Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

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Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

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Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

Feeding the thousands for iftar

Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth 

Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people

The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box

350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley

Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck

Race card

6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (Dirt), 1,900m
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB), Dh82,500 (D), 1,200m
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB), Dh120,000 (D), 1,400m
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB), Dh92,500 (D)1,400m
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB), Dh95,000 (D), 2,000m

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: May 11, 2023, 1:20 PM