Two visitors and two security guards were killed in a shooting near the El Ghriba synagogue also known as Djerba Synagogue in Tunisia’s Djerba on Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post reported.
A community member named Aitan said that “there is great panic here. We are in lockdown in the synagogue and also in the guesthouse near the synagogue,” The Jerusalem Post reported. More than an hour after the attack started, Aitan in a tweet informed that the attack is not over. Aitan further said, “We hear [gun] shots. There are dead people. We are still besieged in the synagogue. Let’s hope everything will be fine. Please pray for us,” as per the news report.
Tunisian Interior Ministry said that a guard at the naval center of the National Guard in Djerba killed a colleague of his and then headed for the El Ghriba synagogue. It further said that the guard began firing indiscriminately at security guards at the synagogue who confronted him and killed him, as per The Jerusalem Post report.
According to the Tunisian Interior Ministry, the synagogue is cordoned off and secured. The Tunisian Interior Ministry said that investigations are being carried out to determine the killer’s motive.
Thousands of Jews from around the world have flocked to the ancient El Ghriba Synagogue in Tunisia for an “annual five-day pilgrimage that begins 33 days after Passover,” called Lag Baomer, The Jerusalem Post reported citing La-Croix news site.
As the news report, during the days of pilgrimage to El Ghriba Synagogue, “Jews light candles before entering a small cave where the Solomon’s Temple is supposed to be located.” The Jews then exchange dried fruits and sweets around a prayer.