A Jewish jewellery shop owner was attacked by a man with a machete in Djerba, Tunisia on Wednesday morning, sources from the Djerba Jewish community told the Jerusalem Post.
According to the French Jewish Defense League - citing witness statements - the attacker had scouted out the area the day before, entering multiple stores to ascertain which ones were owned by Jews. The son of the Chief Rabbi of Djerba, Yaniv, told Chief Rabbi Moshe Lewin that "[the attacker] went to all the shops yesterday to ask if they belonged to Jews."
Then, on Wednesday morning, the man returned to the shop - which is owned by two Jewish men - and attempted to kill them with a machete tied to his hand. The attack was halted because the second man screamed, alerting members of the Jewish community who grabbed the attacker from behind and subdued him, sources told the Post.
URGENT !!! Tentative de meurtre dans lacommunauté juive de Djerba. Un homme a tourné hier dans tous les magasins pour demander s’il appartenaient à un Juif et est revenuce matin avec une machette tentant, cette fois, de tuerle propriétaire juif. pic.twitter.com/hxYBvrJFMV
— Radio Shalom (@radioshalom94_8) May 8, 2025
The sources added that one of the two men underwent surgery as his fingers were severed during the attack and had to be reattached.
"The police arrived afterward," the sources continued. "They truly do everything to protect the Jews, but do nothing against incitement [to violence] on social media."
Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar strongly condemned the attack in a post on X.
"This attack comes two years after the previous deadly assault that claimed Jewish lives and the lives of security personnel during the Lag BaOmer celebration," he added.
Sa'ar also called on Tunisian authorities to take all necessary measures to protect the Jewish community.
Sources told the Post that the community has been "under a vicious attack on social media for many weeks." Additionally, two weeks ago, a female tourist was attacked by someone shouting "Allahu Akbar."
Synagogue has been the target of multiple terror attacks
The incident took place on the eve of Lag Baomer, which is also the date of the annual pilgrimage to El Ghriba Synagogue on the Island. The synagogue itself has been the target of multiple terror attacks, including in 1985, 2002, and 2023.
In May 2023, two Jewish cousins were murdered in a shooting at the synagogue. Aviel Hadad, 30, was an Israeli citizen working as a goldsmith in the local market, and Ben Hadad, 42, lived in France and came in order to celebrate the festivities.
Djerba is home to most of Tunisia’s Jewish community, numbering about 2000 people. Most of the Jews live in Hara Kabira (the bigger quarter) and Hara Saghira (the smaller quarter), which includes the famous El Ghriba Synagogue, one of the oldest Jewish synagogues in North Africa.