ALBAWABA - After the attack on Ghriba Synagogue near Tunisian Island, Kais Saied hosted Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders in an inter-faith meeting on Wednesday.
In an official video, Saied said “attests to the tolerance and coexistence that have characterised Tunisia for centuries.” Among the attendees were Tunisia's Grand Rabbi Haim Bittan, Mufti Hichem ben Mahmoud and Archbishop Ilario Antoniazzi.
This meeting comes after an attack that killed 6 people near Tunisia’s Djerba island, which is considered an annual pilgrimage destination for hundreds of Jewish people coming from Europe and Israel.
Saied assured the religious leaders that an investigation is in action to determine if the shooter had an associate. He said that the attack came to "undermine Tunisia and its stability, and sow discord and division".
On Tuesday, a soldier from Tunisia's National soldier naval base in Aghir, Djerba, carried out the attack. First, he used his weapon to attack his colleague, before carrying out his attack on the Synagogue. Later on, he was shot dead by the guards.
Tunisian authorities denounced the attack as “criminal”, refraining from marking it as a “terrorist attack” which would imply anti-semitic motives.
The religious site was previously attacked in 2002, in an attack that was claimed later on by Al-Qaeda, where 21 were killed back then.
Djerba island is a famous holiday destination just off the Tunisian coast and is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue and the annual Jewish pilgrimage. About 1,500 Jewish people are living on the island.
