94 Friday, November 25, 1983

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Synagogue Fire Frightens Jewish Remnant in Tunisia

By GEORGE E. GRUEN

Director,
Middle East Affairs
American Jewish Committee

The synagogue of Zarzis,
Tunisia, was completely de-
stroyed by fire on the night
of Oct. 27-28. Five Sifrei
Torah and other religious
objects burned with it. Al-
though the authorities have
termed the cause of the fire
accidental, the Jewish
community suspects foul
play. There is also concern
for the future within the
community, which views
with foreboding the failure
of the government to issue
the usual expressions of
sympathy.
There are about 100 Jews
left in Zarzis, a small town
in southern Tunisia, near
the Libyan border. The syn-
agogue was in the center of
the town, and in the heart of
the Jewish quarter. The
roaring fire woke sleeping
Jews in its neighborhood,
but it was too late. For a
week thereafter the 100
Jews stuck close to home, if
not locked in and literally
trembled.

Nobody "claimed" the
deed, but it was an-
nounced on French tele-
vision as the work of
Palestinians, and one
gathers this is the view of
the Jewish community as
well. The area, however,
is also prey to considera-
ble Libyan propaganda
and pressures.

Recently, a number of
Palestinians moved down
from the north, where they
have camped since the
forced departure of the
Palestine Liberation Or-
ganization from Beirut,
Lebanon last year. The
Palestinians are not forbid-
den to travel or move about.
The economic situation, is
critical too, so that it, or
Libya, or Palestinians, or
greater Muslim fanaticism,
or a combination of several
of these factors, may be
reasons for such a wanton
act.
Chief Rabbi Franji Uzan
and leaders of the Tunisian
Jewish community met
with the Tunisian Minister
of Interior several days
after the fire. As expected,
the government promised a
full investigation, but
stated publicly and briefly
that it was probably an ac-
cident, caused by an electri-
cal short circuit or a burn-
ing candle. As it happens,
an electrician did examine
the ruins of the building and
definitely declared that it
was not a short circuit.

There remains the
theory of a small candle
... (A burning candle
that had allegedly fallen
on a pile of carpets was
also the official explana-

tion offered by the au-
thorities for the fire that
damaged the ancient Be-
zalel Synagogue in
Djerba on May 9, 1979.
However, a local Jewish
woman reported having
seen three men "force
their way" into the syna-
gogue late on the night of
the fire and saw them
leave a few minutes later.
A young Jewish man told
the French newspaper,
Le Matin Dimanche, that
there had been no can-
dles burning in the
Djerba synagogue on the
night of the fire, which
occurred on an ordinary
weekday.)

Rabbi Uzan, in a com-
mendable act of foresight
and courage, went for his in-
terview armed with a list of
11 previous cases of fires
which had taken place since
1980 — several shops and
homes in addition to a few
less successful attempts
against institutions — and
asked whether all were "ac-
cidents."
It should be remembered
that President Habib Bour-
guiba had, in the past,
promised and always main-
tained a very positive
stance as far as the protec-
tion of the Jews in Tunisia is
concerned, vigorously con-
demning anti-Semitism and
all acts of vandalism or ter-
rorism against the com-
munity, and promptly act-
ing to insure Jewish physi-
cal safety at times of Arab-
Israeli tensions.
This is the first time, to
the community's know-
ledge, that the record is less
than perfect in that neither
he nor any spokesman has
forcefully come out against
the attack or at least the
possibility of foul play in the
case of the Zarzis syna-
gogue.

Although the beautiful
main synagogue was
completely burned out,
the fire was sufficiently
contained for the two
side rooms to remain
fairly intact, so that the
Zarzis Jews can use one
for prayers and the other,
as heretofore, for the
Talmud Torah courses.
There are some 15 chil-
dren presently attending.

Chief Rabbi Uzan has al-
ready addressed a request to
the Central Consistory in
Paris to send prayer books,
shawls and other required
objects so that religious ser-
vices may be properly re-
sumed.
The Zarzis Jews, after the
first shock of seeing their
synagogue destroyed, are
now determined to continue
life as normally as possible.
Characteristic of this at-
titude is the terse reply by

one of the younger members
of the community, who has
three children, to the ques-
tion of whether he now
planned to leave the coun-
try: "Why?"
This attitude is typical of
an ancient community that
has in the past seen relative
calm restored after brief
outbursts of violence. The
last serious incidents occur-
red during the High Holi-
day period in 1982, follow-
ing the initial reports of the
Phalangist massacre of
Palestinians in the Sabra
and Shatilla refugee camps,
in the Israeli-held section of
West Beirut. Several
Jewish persons were in-
jured and homes and shops
were attacked, ransacked
and burned in Zarzis,
Djerba, and the town of Ben
Gardane, near the Libyan
border.

Official
Tunisian
sources had at the time
said that these attacks
had been carried out by
opposition elements be-
longing to extreme
right-wing Islamic or-
ganizations. An official
government com-
munique said that 26 de-
monstrators were ar-
rested.

In 1948, the Tunisian
Jewish community had
numbered around 105,000,
with 65,000 of them living
in Tunis. The Jews of
Tunisia constituted a heal-
thy, prestigious commun-
ity, including at one time a
member of parliament. The
impact of Tunisian
nationalism, culminating
in the country's indepen-
dence in 1956, and fear of
the repercussions of the
Arab-Israeli conflict on
popular Muslim sentiment
prompted successive waves
of emigration.
By 1961, the Jewish popu-
lation had declined to
70,000. France and Israel
were the two major destina-
tions for Jews who left
Tunisia. Religious attach-
ment and Zionist sentiment
played a role in the case of
those who chose Israel.
Following the outbreak of
the Six-Day War in June
1967, a crowd of frenzied
Tunisian demonstrators,
shouting such slogans as
"Down with the Jews," and
"Let's burn the Jews,"
burned the monumental
Star of David adorning the
front of the great synsagogue
in Tunis. Numerous Jewish
stores were looted and many
Jews were attacked and
beaten by the de-
monstrators.

President Bourguiba,
in a television address
the following day, called
the demonstrators "ir-
responsible fanatics who

deserve the gallows."
Eighty demonstrators
were, in fact, arrested
and the chief of police
was fired for failure to
curb the rioting.

As already noted, Presi-
dent Bourguiba has long
called for a peaceful solu-
tion of the Arab-Israeli con-
flict and he is known as a
champion of tolerance. In
November 1966, on a visit to
the ancient synagogue in
Djerba, Bourguiba had de-
clared that "our state be-
longs to all Tunisians with-
out distinction of race or re-
ligion."

Nevertheless, the near
pogrom of June 1967
frightened the Jews of

Tunisia and these fears
were intensified by rumors
that the demonstrations
had been sanctioned, if not
organized, by radical ele-
ments in the Tunisian gov-
ernment. An additional
wave of emigration reduced
the Jewish population to
12,000 in 1968.

When Bourguiba suffered
a heart attack, concern
mounted as to whether his
tolerant policy would be
pursued by his successor.
The 80-year-old president's
failing health has kept him
away for long periods of
time as he has sought medi-
cal treatments in Europe.

There has been a con-
stant if slow trickle of de-

partures of Jews from
Tunisia in recent years,
and presently there are
fewer than 4,000 left in
the country, more than
half in Tunis, some 800 in
Djerba, the rest scat-
tered. There is today vir-
tually no youth left, for as
soon as they reach higher
education levels, chil-
dren are sent "out,"
mostly to France. Thus,
the long-term prognosis
is bleak.

In a few more years, if not
sooner, all that will remain
of this historic Jewish com-
munity in the Arab world
will be a small group of el-
derly, sick and poor, who
fear uprooting more than
staying.

Group Homes for the Retarded
Gaining Popularity in Israel

By DVORA WAYSMAN

United Jewish Appeal

Adi lives with three
roommates in an attractive
apartment on a tree-lined
street in one of Jerusalem's
older neighborhoods. He is
24 and works in a book bin-
dery. The four occupants do
all their shopping, cooking
and cleaning.
Nothing particularly un-
usual or remarkable. Ex-
cept that Adi, Eli Shmuel
and Yitzhak are all re-
tarded adults.
A few years ago, the fu-
ture would have been very
dim for these young men. If
their parents were willing,
they might have lived a
"sheltered" life at home. As
the parents became too old
to care for them or died, they
would have been in-
stitutionalized.

The four Israelis are
part of the program of
"Agudat Shekel" (Shikun
Kehillati l'Mefagrim —
Institute for the Retar-
ded), which aims to inte-
grate the mildly retarded
into society., by making
them as independent as
possible. The program is
partly funded through
the United Jewish Ap-
peal (UJA).

This
live-in-the-
community system is a re-
cent development in Israel,
and there are only seven or
eight apartments such as
Adi's in the entire country,
although quite a few more
are in the planning stage.
The four roommates were
all born in Israel, two of
Moroccan parents. Eli also
works, in a Jerusalem
chocolate factory. He does
not earn a large salary, but
both he and Adi take special
pride in being wage-
earners, and contribute
one-third of their wages to a

Counseling in Agudat Shekel apartments for re-
tarded adults takes place in a relaxed and informal
atmosphere. The program to house Israel's mildly re-
tarded in the community is partially funded by the
United Jewish Appeal (UJA).

special fund for the apart-
ment.
Both wage-earners were
brought up at home and
went through the regular
school system, but in special
education classes. At 18,
they went to the Rehabilita-
tion Center run by the
Jerusalem municipality to
learn vocational skills.

Shmuel and Yitzhak
are still being trained,
but also hope to find jobs
in the near future, either
in sheltered workshops
or in the open market.

Although there are only
four residents, the apart-
ment has a staff of three
half-time Agudat Shekel
employees: Yehudit Beiner,
the director; Karen, the
house-mother; and David, a
counselor.
None of the staff stays
overnight at the flat, so the
residents feel independent
and unsupervised. They re-
cently asked for — and were
granted — Tuesdays as
staff-free days also. They
can entertain friends, go to

"Over 65 years of traditional service in the Jewish community with dignity and understanding."

HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL

restaurants or movies, or do
whatever they want.
At times when no staff
member is in attendance, an
upstairs neighbor is paid to
be available if they need
any help or advice. The
neighbors are all supportive
and kind to the four young
men, whose retardation is
classed as mild and all of
whom are functioning well
in their new community set-
ting.

Jerusalem already has
two other similar apart-
ments operating — one
for six retarded young
•women in Kiryat Yovel
and another for four men
the
prestigious
in
neighborhood of Re-
havia.

In this way, Israel's
mildly retarded are being
brought out of the shadows
into the sunlight, where
they are learning to make
valuable contributions to
society while they enhance
their own self-image and
self-worth.

543.1622

SERVING ALL CEMETERIES

26640 GREENFIELD ROAD
OAK PARK, MICHIGAN 48237

Alan H. Dorfman
Funeral Director & Mgr.

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