Djerba, Tunisia — On a recent Sabbath morning, just five men sat reciting prayers in the sanctuary of the Ghriba synagogue, the oldest synagogue in North Africa and the holiest place for the Orthodox Jews who live here on the resort island of Djerba.
It was the weekend of the annual Ghriba pilgrimage, when hundreds of Jewish visitors from Israel, France and the United States visit the synagogue to celebrate the feast of Lag b’Omer. Yet on the Sabbath, when only those within walking distance attended, the true state of affairs was revealed: The village beside the synagogue had dwindled to just five Jewish families, barely 40 people.
Tunisia has been a center of Jewish life since at least Roman times, but only about 2,000 Jews remain in the country — down from more than 100,000 in 1948. More than 1,000 of them live on Djerba, in two settlements where they tend 14 synagogues and a Talmudic school for 100 students…
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