Sunday, May 07, 2023
Elder of ZiyonSome 7000 Jews, mostly of from the Tunisian Jewish diaspora, are expected to come, joining the 1300 Jews who live in Djerba.
There are lots of articles in the Arabic press describing how this proves Islamic tolerance.
The Tunisian Minister of the Interior, Kamal El-Feki, visited Djerba on Saturday to review the security there. He said that their welcoming Jews "reflects how our country is a land of coexistence and peace and that it welcomes everyone, providing all with safe conditions for the presence of its visitors on its soil."
The head of the French Imams Forum, Hassan Chalghoumi, who will participate in celebration, said visiting the Ghriba Synagogue is evidence that freedom of religion and belief exists in Islamic culture and religion."
What is not being said is that Jews in Djerba have been subjected to many antisemitic attacks. One merchant was stabbed by a group of Jew-haters in 2014, students in Djerba have flown swastika flags and posters honoring Hitler, and there have been reports of police harassment of Jewish merchants this year. A policeman shot and killed several during Simchat Torah in 1985 and a truck bomb killed 21 in 2002.
It is admirable that Tunisia is publicly making statements of tolerance for Jews. But imagine if the world treated Tunisia the way it treats Israel.
No matter what they say or do, it would be called "Jew-washing." Anything they do good for Jews would be treated as if they are only pretending to like Jews because they want to distract the world from their human rights violations (which are significant and have been getting worse.)
Tourism is an important revenue stream for Tunisia, and it would be hurt badly if there were any incidents during these celebrations.
But here's the thing. A country should be judged on its actions, not on some theory about the reason it is doing something. No one is a mind reader. If Tunisia's Jews and Jewish visitors are safe and have civil rights, then all credit should go to Tunisian leaders. There may be reasons behind their actions are don't perfectly fit the idea of acting according to a perfectly moral code, but that is irrelevant - the actions are all that matters, no matter the intent. And with Tunisia, everyone instinctively knows this, and treats Tunisia's government accordingly.
How the world treats Israel is the exception to this common-sense rule. The entire concept of "pinkwashing" or "greenwashing" is fundamentally bigoted - it assumes that Israeli Jews are inherently evil and any actions that contradict that are a smokescreen.
The difference in how the "progressive" world treats Tunisia and Israel show that the real antisemites aren't the Tunisians, but the critics of Israel.
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