Salafist 'flytilla' planned for Lag La'Omer

  President Moncef Marzouk (right), paying a visit to the al-Ghriba synagogue on Djerba on the 10th anniversary of the al-Qaeda bombing, is shown a Torah scroll.

With thanks : Ahoovah

A Salafist 'flytilla' is planned to disrupt the annual Lag La'omer pilgrimage to the island of Djerba, which this year takes place on 9 May.

The good news is that only some 144 out of 4,000  have so far accepted the invitation by the Solidarite Palestine organisation on Facebook.

"Look at the media reports, have the Zionists got the right to sully the land of Tunisia in all impunity?" the Facebook page asks, calling for activists to demonstrate their ' Islamic resistance' on 9 and 10 May. It also tells them where they can find cheap flights.


The Facebook page Union des Tunisiens a l'Etranger has posted the following:

"In May of each year, thousands of Jews from France,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel, Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Israel,  Italy,  North America etc. converge towards the island of Djerba from Israel, Israel, Israel,  Israel, of Israel,  Israel,  Israel, from Israel,  on the Ghriba pilgrimage, which is one of the oldest synagogues in the world and dates back 2,500 years."

 The campaign gives cause for concern:  by claiming to be against 'normalisation' with Israel it is in fact targeting freedom of religion in Tunisia.

The Tunisian government is anxious for the pilgrimage to go ahead. It is one of the main revenue-earners in the tourist calendar on the island of Djerba. 

Last year the pilgrimage was cancelled. Ten years ago, 21 tourists were killed when al-Qaeda bombed the Al-Ghriba synagogue.    

Djerba - a model of interfaith coexistence (video taken two years ago)