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

I had the pleasure of being escorted around Zarzis and through its 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 lives today.

The Jewish section of Zarzis is actually a single street located 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, 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 animals and provide kosher meat. A reflection of the small size of the community, each family is given a locked box in the synagogue to store their sidurim, tallit, tfillin etc. In 1948, the Jewish street was filled with about 300 Jews, but now Muslims also live among them because of their diminished numbers.

The migration of Jews from Zarzis began in 1958 and the migrants were largely 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 then were not motivated by fear, but rather 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. Now aware of the possible influence of outside political events on their lives, the President’s family again temporarily relocated to Marseilles during the Gulf War. While they expected the worst due to the violent reactions in 1982, their fear turned out to be unwarranted because, fortunately, no violence occurred. According to the school teacher, the migration is currently at a halt, except for those few who leave for special circumstances, ie. medical treatment.

The relations between Muslims and Jews were described as amicable, and seemed so from my perspective. 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 throughout the day to check up on my activitiew 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 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 one class of 15 boys ranging in age from 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, as soon as they can support a family financially. The kindergarten teacher explained to me that she is not yet married because the only eligible men in Zarzis are her brothers, demonstrating 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 wary, 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.  They have evidently assimilated into the town in which they live due to their small numbers, so they are more accustomed to dealing with “others.”