On Tuesday, Tunisia’s Jewish sect officially requested from the “Commission of Truth and Dignity” to investigate “violations” against the rights of Tunisia’s Jewish citizens following the country’s independence from France in 1956. The commission, which is responsible for enacting Tunisia’s “transitional justice” laws, was also asked to “rehabilitate” the nation’s Jewish community.
The move is steered by two representatives from Tunisia’s Jewish community, Wizzan Mortechai and Moussa Wizzan, as well as religious leader Haayem Beytan. The official request implores the Commission of Truth and Dignity to “search for and investigate human rights violations against Tunisia’s Jewish community”, which includes identifying illegal behavior directed towards Tunisians “whose only fault is belonging to the Jewish religion”.
In two messages posted to its official Facebook page, the commission reported that “A number of Jewish Tunisians have had their nationality taken from them without reason – a painful violation [of their rights] – and have had their properties taken from them across many regions without justification and without just compensation, and take-overs of property by suspicious parties."
The request by Tunisia’s Jewish community said that will extend its support not just to Tunisian Jews residing within the country’s borders, but also outside of Tunisia. There are currently 1500 Jews living in Tunisia between the capital Tunis and the southern island of Djerba. This is a unique feature, as most other Arab countries have lost their Jewish minorities to emigration following the establishment of Israel in 1948. Despite the presence of a Jewish community, it is but a fraction of the 150,000 Jews that resided in the country before its independence from France in 1956, most of whom have resettled in Europe and Israel.
