Er Riadh Attractions
8km/5mi from Houmt-Souk is Er Riadh, formerly known as Hara Seghira (the "Little Ghetto"), the island's second Jewish community. (The first was Hara Kebira, the "Great Ghetto", on the southeastern outskirts of Houmt-Souk.)
History
It is known that numbers of Jews came to Djerba after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, though according to other sources the first Jews arrived at a much earlier date - in the sixth century B.C., following the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. In the 16th and 17th centuries there was a large influx of refugees from Andalusia, who were able to live in peace on the island, for the people of Djerba were very tolerant of other religions. A hundred years ago Jews accounted for 10% of the island's population, but the establishment of the state of Israel after the Second World War led to large-scale emigration, and there are now no more than 1,000-2,000 Jews on Djerba.
History
It is known that numbers of Jews came to Djerba after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, though according to other sources the first Jews arrived at a much earlier date - in the sixth century B.C., following the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. In the 16th and 17th centuries there was a large influx of refugees from Andalusia, who were able to live in peace on the island, for the people of Djerba were very tolerant of other religions. A hundred years ago Jews accounted for 10% of the island's population, but the establishment of the state of Israel after the Second World War led to large-scale emigration, and there are now no more than 1,000-2,000 Jews on Djerba.
