On 14 November at 3.50 pm, as Israel embarked on its Pillar of Defense operation in Gaza, two synagogues were ransacked in the Tunisian town of Sfax.
According to Camus (Yigal) Bouhnik, born in Sfax but now living in Israel, vandals forced open the gate and front door of the Edmond Azria synagogue in rue Philippe Thomas. This synagogue was restored in 2010 by volunteers and with the help of Jewish community funds.
The back door of the Beth-El synagogue was discovered open and the synagogue plundered once more. It's the second time that the Beth-El synagogue in Avenue de Picville has been broken into. The vandalism, first reported in English on Point of No Return, began 15 months ago. Bouhnik claims that there is no security to speak of in Sfax:'every bastard is king and does what he fancies.'
Bouhnik has posted 87 photos of the damage, but it is not clear whether these are recent or taken of the early wave of devastation at the Beth-El synagogue. The synagogue had undergone major restoration, including the repair of its smashed windows, three years earlier.
Read Camus Bouhnik's report (Hebrew)
Looting and damage to Sfax synagogue is confirmed
Senseless destruction...again
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