Security tight as Lag B’Omer pilgrimage begins in Tunisia

An annual Jewish pilgrimage to Africa’s oldest synagogue gets underway in Tunisia, where security forces are heavily deployed to ward off potential jihadist attacks.

Small groups of pilgrims are arriving in the searing heat at the Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia for Lag B’Omer.

Organizers expect up to 2,000 people to visit over two days, despite heightened worries about security following a string of jihadist attacks in the North African country.

Police and soldiers are out in force while a helicopter monitors from overhead. The island’s Jewish district Hara Kbira is cordoned off and visitors are required to undergo searches.

The number of pilgrims visiting the synagogue has fallen sharply since a 2002 suicide truck bombing claimed by Al-Qaeda that killed 21.

— AFP