A mob was filmed storming and setting fire to a historic unused Tunisian synagogue on Tuesday only hours after news broke that Israel had allegedly bombed a Gaza hospital.
Videos show the scene after the mob, which numbered in the hundreds, vandalized the historic synagogue and the grave of a 16th-century rabbi that was a historic pilgrimage site for Jews, the Jerusalem Post reported. (RELATED: Jewish Man Attacked While Entering New York Synagogue Amid Spike In Antisemitic Hate Crimes)
Many members of the mob carried Palestinian flags, and videos of the incident circulated online with pro-Palestine hashtags, the outlet noted.
En Tunisie, la synagogue d’El Hamma a été détruite et incendiée hier soir par des centaines d’émeutiers, sans la moindre intervention policière. De nombreuses vidéos sur TikTok et Facebook. Et pas la moindre mention dans les médias nationaux https://t.co/U601jWVYWq pic.twitter.com/6F8uIZhoe3
— Joseph Hirsch (@josephhirsch5) October 18, 2023
Images de la destruction de la synagogue filmées ce matin à El Hamma pic.twitter.com/NmO8Iah3ir
— Joseph Hirsch (@josephhirsch5) October 18, 2023
In 1948 there were 105,000 Jews in Tunisia but by 2019 this community was reduced to around 1,000, the Jewish Virtual Library noted. The Jewish presence in the country dates back to at least Roman times, the outlet noted.
Antisemitic incidents have spiked around the world since Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel. A Germany synagogue was firebombed on Wednesday, while videos posted on Oct. 12 showed headscarf-clad women in London taking down posters of missing Israelis.