EJC President Pierre Besnainou met with Tunisian government officials and local Jewish leaders to congratulate them on the election of the head of the Tunisian Jewish Community Roger Bismuth to the new Tunisian Senate, in Tunis on Friday, 8th of July.
“The European Jewish Congress salutes this positive development, which bodes well for both democratisation in Tunisia and the state of Jewish-Muslim relations” said President Besnainou. The election of Senator Bismuth would make him the only elected Jewish official in the country. There are currently around 1,900 Jews still living in Tunisia.
The elections took place on Sunday, July 3rd for the “Chamber of Advisors” a new body created to assume to role of a Senate. It will complement the already existing “Chamber of Deputies” therefore giving Tunisia its first bicameral legislature in its 50-year history.
