Canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the annual Ghriba pilgrimage to Djerba is expected to resume this year, especially after the clear improvement of the health situation.
According to Perez Trabelsi, president of the Jewish community in Djerba and chairman of the committee in charge of organising this ritual, the annual visit to the Ghriba synagogue will take place between May 14 and 22.
Nearly 5,000 Jewish pilgrims from various countries including France, Italy and Morocco will be hosted in Djerba from the beginning of May.
Regarding the preparations, the head of the Jewish community assured that Djerba is ready to welcome these visitors in the best conditions, given that the date of the pilgrimage coincides with the beginning of a tourist season that looks promising.
Trabelsi stressed the economic and cultural vivacity that the Ghriba pilgrimage brings to the whole region.
Perez, who has headed the organising committee of this major event for Jews from all over the world for more than 45 years, spoke of the history of this ritual which “has a memorial and identity dimension, particularly for Tunisian Jews who chose to settle in Europe and Israel during the 20th century.”
For him, this culminating spiritual moment at the Ghriba sanctuary, the largest Jewish place of worship in Africa, is a sign of the inter-religious mix that prevails in Djerba. “We still have confidence in Tunisia to ensure the continuity of this annual rite”, he added
