TheEl Ghriba Synagogue (Arabic:كنيس الغريبة), also known as theDjerba Synagogue, is an ancientOrthodoxJewish congregation andsynagogue, located in the Jewish village of Hara Seghira (currently known as er-Riadh), several kilometres southwest ofHoumt El Souk, the main town on the island ofDjerba,Tunisia.^[1] The synagogue appears to be theoldest synagogue in the world.^[2]

El Ghriba Synagogue
Arabic:كنيس الغريبة
The synagogue interior, in 2007
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Rite	Maghrebi (Tochavim)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue Pilgrimage site
Status	Active
Location
Location	Er Riadh,Djerba
Country	Tunisia
Location of the synagogue inTunisia
Geographic coordinates	33°48′50″N10°51′34″E / 33.81389°N 10.85944°E /33.81389; 10.85944
Architecture
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish
Date established	6th centuryBCE

Besides being the center of the island's Jewish life, the synagogue is also aJewish site of pilgrimage. While extensively renovated in the 19th century CE, the buildings may date from the 6th centuryBCE:^[2] one of the legends associated with its founding claims that either a stone or a door fromSolomon's Temple or theSecond Temple is incorporated in the building. El Ghriba is the most famous of the about 20 synagogues that were being used until the 1950s in the three Jewish villages on Djerba.

In 2023 Djerba was declared aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site.^[3]

The synagogue has been thetarget of terrorist attacks in 1985, in 2002, and in 2023.

Djerba is home to around 1,300 Jews,^[4] and El Ghriba is an important feature of Jewish life on the island.^[5] According to legend, the construction of the synagogue dates from to the High Priests' escape following the destruction ofSolomon's Temple by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in the year 586 BCE (or, alternately, the destruction of theSecond Temple in 70 CE). The High Priests carried with them a door and a stone of the destroyed Temple. Thus the synagogue links theJewish diaspora to the "sole sanctuary of Judaism".^[6] In modern times, the local Jews are distinguished by their dress, which includes a black band around their pants, which signifies the destruction of the Temple.^[7]

Another tradition claims that the synagogue was built on a spot where a young girl (ghriba, "the isolated one") had lived, that had not been accepted by the others. She died, and her uncorrupted body was found by the Jews of the nearby village, and then buried in a cave which became the site of an annual pilgrimage forLag BaOmer.^[6]

The synagogue was built at the end of the 19th century at the spot where the sixth-century building had stood.

On the outside, the current synagogue is a modest building, whereas the interior is richly decorated. In contrast to the other synagogues of Djerba, El Ghriba consists of two covered halls. Following several structural extensions the first of the two halls was built through the roofing of a formerly open courtyard in order to increase the capacity for the number of visitors. At the entrance, there are twocolumns dividing the room into three areas. This hall is connected to the main hall by three vaults. At this side there are two columns, supporting a high skylight of numerous windows. Initially there were twelve windows in the hall, representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

During later renovations further windows were added. The north side also was modified. The Teva (the cupboard for the Torah) is located under the skylight (at the western side of the prayer room). A third column to the east is missing. It probably never got constructed. Local tradition sees that as a reminder of the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. Furthermore, it is said that the building should remain unfinished, because "nothing, except for the divinity, is perfect". The wooden benches for the believers are situated around the Teva. The inner walls are decorated ceramic tiles with blue, white and brown ornaments that were painted in hand work. A recess underneath the holy arc marks the spot where the body of the girl is supposed to have been found: It is known as «the cave of the girl».^[8]

The inner courtyard is surrounded by covered loggias standing on columns. Pilgrims can use the adjacent buildings for accommodation. The oldest of them were built at the end of the nineteenth century, whereas the newer ones stem from the early 1950s.

The pilgrimage takes place every year on the 33rd day of theCounting of the Omer,^[9] in between Pesach and Shavuot. On the 14th of Iyar, the festivities begin, in remembrance of thetannaiticrabbi Meir Baal HaNess, and last until theLag BaOmer on the 18th of Iyar, in remembrance ofTannaiticRabbi Simeon bar Yochai (regionally known as Rabbi Shimon).

In 1985, three people were killed, including one child, and fifteen people were wounded during the festival ofSimchat Torah when a local policeman responsible for guarding the synagogue fired into a crowd of celebrating Jews. The attack was in response toOperation Wooden Leg (Hebrew:מבצע רגל עץ,romanized: Mivtza Regel Etz),^[10] when Israel targeted the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. The local policeman, whose relative was killed in the operation, targeted the synagogue in a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment following the operation.^[11][12]

On April 11, 2002, a truck full of explosiveswas detonated close to the synagogue, killing 21 people, among whom were 14 German tourists, five Tunisians, and two French nationals.Al-Qaeda militants claimed responsibility for the bombing,^[13][14] which was found to have been masterminded byKhalid Sheikh Mohammed and financed by a Pakistani resident of Spain.^[15]

On 9 May 2023, a member of theTunisian National Guardviolently attacked Jewish worshippers outside, the synagogue, shooting and killing two Jewish cousins (one of the two men a French tourist and a Tunisian citizen living inNetivot, Israel), and two Tunisian security guards.^[16] Eight others were injured. The shooter, a guard at a naval center, initially shot and killed a colleague and seized his ammunition before heading to the synagogue. He was shot dead by security guards during a gunfight.^[17]

The synagogue is being supervised by an independent administration committee that was established at the end of the nineteenth century, when Djerba was a French protectorate. The administration committee organizes the annual pilgrimage and distributes the pilgrimage's revenues to the village elders.

• Chaim Madar
• History of the Jews in Djerba
• La Ghriba, a documentary film
• List of synagogues in Tunisia
• Three Pilgrimage Festivals
• Oldest synagogues in the world

• Virtual tour onYouTube
• Elshamy, Mosa'ab (November 25, 2015)."Ancient Jewish community endures on Tunisian island"(Blog and images).Spotlight: AP Images.Associated Press. RetrievedSeptember 13, 2024.