Zarzis is a small town, not even detailed in my trusty Lonely Planet, 50 kilometers south of Djerba on mainland Tunisia. It is now home to the third largest Jewish community in Tunisia, after Djerba and Tunis, and includes 20 families, between 100 and 110 people.

I had the pleasure of being escorted around Zarzis and through the Jewish section by the President of the community. I am greatly indebted to him because with his guidance and company I was able to meet some Jews from Zarzis and understand their history and current life.

The Jewish section of Zarzis is actually a single street located right behind the central souk or market, where most of the Jews also work in jewelry. There are two entrances to this street, both of which are barricaded and heavily guarded by at least 4 policemen 24 hours a day. Located on this street is everything the community needs for their Jewish existence: a synagogue, a boy’s and girl’s school, a kindergarten, to which is attached a recently built “wedding hall” (actually just a large room with no roof), and a room for the shochet, who comes from Djerba weekly to slaughter and provide kosher meat. Reflecting the small size of the community, each family is given a locked box in the synagogue where they can store their sidurim, tallit, tfillin etc. In 1948, the Jewish street was filled with about 300 Jews, but now Muslims also live with them because of their diminished numbers.

The migration of Jews from Zarzis began in 1958 and was comprised of Zionists who wished to populate Israel. At that time, both Djerba and Zarzis had not experienced violence or abhorrent anti-Semitism first hand, so, according to the President, those who decided to migrate at that time were not motivated by fear, but rather by a desire to live in the Holy Land. Some, but not many, Jews migrated in 1967 after reports of violence in Tunis. However, in 1982 the Jews in Zarzis received their first taste of anti-Semitism when Jewish cars and shops were set ablaze and destroyed in reaction to the Sabra and Shatila massacres in Lebanon. During this outbreak of violence, the President’s family temporarily moved to Tunis until order was restored. Afterwards, the migration picked up in earnest. Those Jews from Zarzis who did not migrate were now aware of the possible influence of outside political events on their lives, and, as a result, the President’s family again temporarily relocated to Marseilles during the Gulf War. While they feared the worst due to the violent reactions in 1982, their move turned out to be unwarranted as fortunately, no violence occured. According to the school teacher, currently the migration has almost halted, except for those few who leave for special circumstances, ie. medical treatment.

The relations between Muslims and Jews were both described as and seemed from my perspective amicable. The President seemed to know everyone in Zarzis, Jew and Muslim, and he explained that he was “friendly with the Muslims, but not friends.” He attributed the respectful and problem-free nature of their relations to the strong government and police protection of the Jewish community in Zarzis. Because the Tunisian President Ben Ali “loves and protects the Jews,” 15 uniformed and plain-clothed policemen monitor the Jewish “hara” or section at all times, including the policemen guarding the entrances. I experienced this firsthand as the police called the President about every 30 minutes during the day I was visiting, to check up on my actions and location. He told me that they were on extra alert and were extra protective not only because I was another Jew in Zarzis, but also because I am an American, whom they rarely see in this town.

During my day in Zarzis I spoke to the kindergarten teacher and the teacher at the boy’s school and learned about their system of education. The kindergarten currently has 10 children ages 2 to 5 who learn Hebrew basics along with other typical kindergarten activities. The teacher is a sweet, young, 25-year-old woman who recently took the position after the former teacher got married. She finished high school in Zarzis, but did not receive any special training to teach at the kindergarten. After kindergarten the boys attend the boy’s school and have classes on the Torah and Gmorah from 8:30 to 12:30, and then Hebrew classes in the evening. The morning teacher lives in Djerba and commutes every day to teach his ONE class of 15 boys between the ages of 6 and 17. He offers lessons at 1:30 for the older Jewish men of the town. The girl’s school is similar but they learn Jewish history, Hebrew and the holidays only during the morning. Both boys’ and girls’ educations are supplemented by attendance at the public school during the hours they are not at the Jewish school. There they learn Arabic, French, history, math etc. Most Jews from Zarzis complete high school, but higher education is rare.

Their marriage customs reflect their proximity and close relations with their Jewish neighbors to the north in Djerba. Women usually get married from the age of 18 to 22, a bit later than Djerba because the majority finishes high school in Zarzis. However, the custom of the man’s parents asking the girl’s parents for her hand is the same, and marriage between the two communities is common, given their small size. Men in Zarzis also marry at an older age than women, once they are financially viable to support a family. The kindergarten teacher explained to me that she is not yet married because the only eligible men in Zarzis are her brothers, which portrays the difficulties of living in a town with such a small Jewish population.

While the similarities between Zarzis and Djerba are apparent, I felt one major difference; the Jews of Zarzis seemed to be much less weary, less resistant and more open to an outsider in their midst. Indeed, I was welcomed warmly, felt at home and really enjoyed the kind people I met in Zarzis, a stark contrast to the general behavior I observed in Djerba. I speculate that this may be due to the small size of the Zarzis Jewish community, which has forced its evident assimilation into the town in which they live, and caused them to be accustomed to dealing with “others.”