Though no one knows for sure, some date the emergence of a Jewish community in Tunisia as far back as 70 B.C.E. These Jews first settled on the island of Djerba off Tunisia's southeast coast. Other settlements eventually developed on the mainland. By the time of Roman rule, thriving Jewish communities existed throughout Tunisia and on Djerba.

Djerba today is home to a strong and vibrant Jewish community, proud of its distinctive history and traditions. Although the past decade has seen an increasing number of Djerban Jews move north to Tunis for economic reasons, the island continues to contain Tunisia’s largest concentration of Jews.

2006