Tunisian Jewish women in the 1920s

Tunisian Jewish women in 1920. From literary and archaeological sources, evidence has been gathered of a rich Jewish communal life going back some 2,300 years. Tunisia is mentioned in a number of places in the Talmud and in the works of Josephus, who testified to the transportation from the Land of Israel of 30,000 Jews to Tunisia, by the Romans under the Emperor Titus.

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, and Jewish students were graduating from the universities in significant numbers and entering a wide spectrum of professions.

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.