CHI Update: Inauguration of the First Space Dedicated to the Jewish Heritage in Nabeul, Tunisia

Fig. 5-Photos inside library-Saoussen 1920x600

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CHI Update: Inauguration of the First Space Dedicated to the Jewish Heritage in Nabeul, Tunisia

Faten Bouchrara, Laboratoire Régions et Ressources patrimoniales de Tunisie, La Manouba

About three weeks ago (August 14), ASOR partnered with The Laboratoire Régions et Ressources patrimoniales de Tunisie de l’Université de Manouba on an event celebrating the Jewish heritage of the city of Nabeul in Tunisia. This event is part of an 18-month ASOR project in the Maghreb region, specifically in Tunisia and Morocco, centered on the documentation and preservation of cultural heritage sites belonging to religious and ethnic minorities. This major project is funded by an anonymous donor and entitled “Heritage Advocacy in North Africa.” It includes also outreach efforts highlighting the importance of this human patrimony and promoting values of tolerance and multiculturalism.

The Laboratoire Régions et Ressources patrimoniales de Tunisie de l’Université of Manouba is a university center located in the capital Tunis, that conducts multidisciplinary research in the field of architectural, ethnological, and cultural heritage, with the objective to provide a database on the various aspects of heritage in Tunisia. Since 1999, studies have focused mainly on the Jewish cultural heritage in Tunisia and were presented on many occasions in outreach events.

Following the events of 1960 and 1967, most of the members of the Tunisian Jewish community (once numbering more than 100,000 persons) emigrated to France and Israel. Today, only 1200 Jews remain in Tunisia, with the majority living on the island of Djerba. With these departures, a large part of the Jewish heritage was left abandoned. ASOR has been working quietly with volunteers in Tunisia for about one year, and we are now at a place where we can begin to speak publicly about this project—we plan monthly updates in News@ASOR through at least March 2023.

Figure 1. Habib Kazdaghli, director of the Laboratoire Régions et Ressources patrimoniales de Tunisie of the University of Manouba and Will Raynolds, co-director of ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives (ASOR CHI), inaugurate the event in Nabeul (© Saoussen Nighaoui and Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba).

The latest outreach event held on August 14 celebrated a landmark achievement in preserving and presenting the Jewish heritage in Tunisia with the inauguration of the first cultural space dedicated to the Jewish cultural heritage in Nabeul. The activities of the day coordinated by Awatef Bahroun began with a conference meeting co-organized by Awatef Bahroun with the presentation of papers focusing not only on the Jewish memory of Nabeul but also on the Jewish presence in the entire region of Cap-Bon (Fig. 1). Mounir Fantar of the Institut National du Patrimoine of Tunisia presented the discovery of a synagogue dating back to Roman times. Walid Zdini, vice-president of the Association for the Safeguarding of the Medina of Soliman, gave a paper on the endangered Jewish cemetery of Soliman dating to the first half of the 20th century. Faten Bouchrara of the Laboratoire of Manouba presented the new publication of Fakher Rouissi on famous Tunisian Jewish singers. The morning event was concluded with the screening of the documentary Lamps of our Ancestors filmed by Amira el-Mufti and Suleyman Khitouni. Presenters spoke of encouraging actions, such as the inauguration of this cultural space, stressing the importance of peaceful coexistence between the different religions in Tunisia.

The afternoon was devoted to the proper inauguration of the Judeo-Nabeulian memory space located in the renovated Gaston Karila Library, built in 1919 and which has been closed since 1968 (Figs. 2-3). The library was named after Gaston Karila, a member of one of the most influential Jewish families in Nabeul and who died at the age of 25 in 1918 due to the Spanish flu.

Figure 2. Commemorative plaque at the entrance of the Gaston Karila Library commemorating the renovation of the memory space led by Albert Chiche in memory of his wife (© Ibitssem Khadraoui).

Figure 3. Visitors entering the memory and cultural heritage center housed in the Gaston Karila historic Library (© Saoussen Nighaoui and Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba).

The renovation of this historical building was made possible by Albert Chiche, 73, the last remaining Jew in Nabeul, who single-handedly raised funds on Facebook to renovate and rehabilitate the former library and turn it into a space dedicated to the Jewish memory of this city. Both Jewish and non-Jewish Tunisians contributed financially to the renovation attesting to the value that all Tunisians place in their diverse and shared cultural heritage. Visitors perused the premise rich with artifacts donated by the Nabeulian Jewish diaspora showcasing the rich history of the Jews in this city (Figs. 4-6). Chiche hoped that this endeavor would encourage future efforts to maintain the denominational cemetery situated at the exit of the city and the dilapidated synagogue located only a few yards from the Library. This event concluded with a visit (ziara) in the Jewish cemetery of Nabeul to the tomb of Saddiq (Righteous) Rabbi Yaaqoub Slama, a Talmudist scholar from Tunis who died in 1774 and whose tomb is a site of an annual pilgrimage (figs. 7-8).

Figure 4. Visitors inside the memory and cultural heritage center housed in the Gaston Karila historic Library (© Saoussen Nighaoui and Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba).

Figure 5. Gallery of photos entitled “The Last Magnificent” pays tribute to the last Jewish inhabitants of Nabeul, including the Karila family who led the community under the French protectorate and was also the benefactor of the synagogues of the city (© Saoussen Nighaoui and Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba).

Figure 6. Will Raynolds (right) and Ibtissem Khadraoui (Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba) pose with Albert Chiche (left) who organized a Facebook campaign to fund the renovation of the building and create this memory space dedicated to the Jewish inhabitants of Nabeul (© Ibitssem Khadraoui).

Figure 7. Band playing traditional music at the entrance of the Jewish cemetery of Nabeul (© Saoussen Nighaoui and Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba).

Figure 8. Tomb of the Righteous Rabbi Yaaqoub Slama, site of a religious pilgrimage (© Saoussen Nighaoui and Laboratoire du Patrimoine La Manouba).

Throughout the day, the Laboratoire Régions et Ressources patrimoniales de Tunisie de l’Université de Manouba and ASOR offered trophies to persons who made this event possible. In the morning, two awards were given to two Jews from Nabeul in recognition of their work in preserving the Jewish memory: Albert Chiche and Monique Hayoun, a software engineer living between Paris and Nabeul and deeply involved in Jewish heritage awareness efforts (figs. 9-10).

At the Jewish cemetery, another two trophies were presented to Gozlan Azria, a Jew from Gabès who died last January, and to his son, Guy Azria, a tour operator who organizes memory visits in Tunisia. Guy arranged travel details for 50 Jews who came specifically for the ziara of Rabbi Yaaqoub Slama (Fig. 11).