Tunisia seeks to add Djerba Island on UNESCO Heritage List

CAIRO- 16 May 2017: Tunisia is seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for Djerba Island, famous for hosting an annual Jewish pilgrimage to Africa’s oldest synagogue “Ghriba”, Tunisian Culture Minister Mohamed Zine el-Abidine announced on Sunday.

This year, about 3,000 Jews went on pilgrimage to the island, protected by tight security.
According to local Jewish leaders, 20 to 25 percent of these pilgrims were Israeli citizens traveling under relaxed travel policies that went into effect in 2004.

Judaism is the third largest religion in Tunisia with 1,500 members. One third of the Jewish population lives in and around the capital. The rest of the Jewish community has been living on the island of Djerba for 2,500 years.

Tunisia already has eight UNESCO-listed heritage sites, among them are the old cities of Tunis and Sousse and Carthage.