Only a dozen pilgrims turned up Friday at this year’s Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia’s island of Djerba amid heightened security concerns after a deadly attack last year and as the Israel-Hamas war rages in Gaza.
The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa’s oldest, usually draws thousands of pilgrims from Europe, Israel and beyond, attracting international and local tourists as well.
But on the first day of the pilgrimage event this year, only about a dozen worshippers were present — almost none of them foreigners — with a heavy police and National Guard presence.
