Source: Toronto Star
On April 4, 2004 the Toronto Star reported, "Next week marks the second anniversary of an Al Qaeda suicide bombing that rocked this sleepy island resort, desecrating an ancient synagogue and killing 20 people, including 14 Germans, a French citizen and five Muslim Tunisians. But Youssef Uzon, head of Djerba's resilient Jewish community, isn't planning any ceremony to commemorate the April 11, 2002, attack at La Ghriba synagogue. Today, the Jewish community is immersed in Passover preparations — baking matzo for a holiday that recalls the flight of the biblical Israelites from Egypt into freedom. 'Every day on the radio, we hear about memorials for people killed in attacks,' says Uzon. 'There is enough misery in the world. Why do we need to add misery upon misery?' Undeterred by the attack, the 900 Jews of Djerba have put the devastating bombing behind them, focusing instead on ways in which they can continue to cultivate one of the last remaining Jewish outposts in the Arab world. Although hundreds of thousands of Tunisian Jews left the country following the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967, those who stayed doubt that immigration to Israel or France would make them any safer. Instead, they believe Tunisian ruler Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali will protect them from Islamic fundamentalists."