Attack on El Ghriba Synagogue (2023)
1 Jew was killed in an antisemitic attack in Djerba, Tunisia on 5/10/2023
The attack at El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, resulting in five deaths, underscores ongoing threats to Jewish sites and the need for vigilance against terrorism.
On May 9, 2023, Wissam Khazri, a 30-year-old national guardsman, killed five people in a mass shooting at the El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. Khazri initially killed a colleague and seized his ammunition before targeting the synagogue, where a large gathering of Jewish pilgrims was celebrating Lag BaOmer. Two visitors and two Tunisian police officers were killed, while eight others sustained injuries before the perpetrator was killed by the police.
Tunisian Interior Minister Kamel Fekih reported that authorities had determined Khazri had targeted the synagogue in a premeditated attack, but they had not identified a motive.
The El Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba is Africa's oldest synagogue and the site of an annual pilgrimage that attracts thousands of Jewish visitors from Europe and Israel. The synagogue has been targeted by Islamist militants and has previously experienced attacks