The conquest of France by the Germans in 1940 led to the establishment of the pro-German puppet regime of Vichy whose
anti-Semitic race laws were incorporated into the Statute Books of France and its protectorates, including Tunisia.
In October 1942, German forces were ordered to occupy Tunisia and in doing so brought under their control a population of 90,000 Jews. The Germans immediately abolished all the communal organizations and mandated all Jews to wear the yellow Star of David. 5,000 young Jews were taken into forced labour camps; bank accounts were expropriated and valuables confiscated. Fortunately, the Germans were forced to evacuate the country in March 1943 before they could annihilate the Jewish population.
With the ending of the German occupation, the rights of the Jews were restored. After 1945, the Jewish population of Tunisia reached a peak of 105,000 (65,000 in Tunis alone), along with hundreds of rabbis and synagogues. Jewish newspapers appeared in abundance, Jewish students were graduating from the universities in significant numbers and successfully entering all professions.
It was a false dawn. The revival of the Jewish community coincided with an intensification of the struggle of the Muslim population for independence. The struggle escalated until, in 1954, the French Prime Minister, Pierre Mendès-France, himself a Jew, granted Tunisia home rule as a first step to full sovereignty, which was achieved in March 1956.
Despite the apparent warm and tolerant attitude towards Tunisia's Jews, Jewish organizations were ordered into one body known as the Jewish Religious Council, the members of which were appointed by the President. The existence of a multitude of Jewish organizations was held to be in conflict with the Government's aiming of equality for all citizens as guaranteed by the new constitution.
Under an order for slum clearance, the ancient Jewish quarter was razed to the ground, thereby demolishing the oldest and most historic synagogue in Tunis. Jews became prime targets for attack, particularly in the wake of occurrences such as the Suez crisis of 1956. Mob violence broke out in Tunis on 5 June 1967, the day Israel attacked its neighbors. One hundred shops were systematically looted and burnt; cars belonging to Jews were overturned and set ablaze; forty scrolls of the Law were taken out of the main synagogue and were desecrated before they were burnt; the main synagogue was set on fire until it lay a smouldering ruin, the police stood by and watched.
The President made an impassioned plea on radio and television to stop the rioting, apologizing to the Jewish community and promising to punish the perpetrators. The Jews of Tunisia found little comfort from the Government's expressions of regret and abandoned any idea that there could be a future in remaining in the country.
From the peak Jewish population of 105,000, the community declined to 23,000 by the end of 1967 and to 9,000 by 1990. About 60,000 chose to go to France, which allowed unrestricted immigration, while the remaining 45,000 emigrated predominantly to Israel. The Jewish population today numbers about 3,000, most of whom live mainly in Tunis and on the island of Djerba in the south of the country. The security of this very small community has been guaranteed by the Government, which has restored to the community a number of communal buildings (synagogues) that had been confiscated at the time of the riots.
