Source: The Middle East Institute

Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed is facing severe criticism following his appointment of René Trabelsi, a Jewish businessman, as Minister of Tourism a week ago. Although the cabinet has approved the appointment, opponents are threatening to force the resignation of the entire Tunisian government. It is worth noting that Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, like President Beji Caid Essebsi, represents the secular Nidaa Tounes party, which holds 85 of the 217 seats in the Tunisian parliament. These threats originate primarily from representatives of Nidaa Tounes' main coalition partner, the Islamist Ennahda movement, which is affiliated with the international Muslim Brotherhood but widely considered moderate. The party holds 69 seats in the Tunisian parliament.

As for the newly appointed Minister of Tourism, René Trabelsi, he was born on the Tunisian island of Djerba and is the son of Perez Trabelsi, the current head of the Djerba Jewish Community Committee. He adheres to Jewish religious traditions, holds dual Tunisian-French citizenship, and resides in both countries. Trabelsi owns Royal First Travel, a highly successful tourism company established in Tunisia in 1990. It was precisely his remarkable success in the tourism industry that prompted Prime Minister Youssef Chahed to appoint him, despite protests and resistance from radical Arab nationalists and Islamists, in the hope of leveraging his professional expertise, experience, and network to boost state revenues from this key economic sector.

Opponents of the appointment base their objections primarily on Trabelsi's close ties with Israel. Suspicions were even raised regarding his potential possession of Israeli citizenship; however, these claims remain unverified and have been denied by the minister himself. Nevertheless, this has not deterred opponents from protesting the inclusion of a practicing Jew in the Tunisian cabinet. Their stance was summarized by the prominent Tunisian political commentator Ziad el-Hani, who initially offered a politically correct argument: "He owns travel agencies and airlines, which presents a conflict of interest with his ministerial duties." However, to ensure his objections resonated should the conflict-of-interest argument prove insufficient, el-Hani immediately added: "Furthermore, he constantly travels to Israel and brings Jews from there to visit the El Ghriba synagogue."

The El Ghriba synagogue (meaning "extraordinary" or "miraculous" in the local Arabic dialect) is located in the former Jewish village of Hara Sghira (now predominantly Muslim and known as Er-Riadh). It is one of the oldest active synagogues in the world, believed to have been founded in the 1st century AD by priests from the Temple of Jerusalem who fled to Djerba following the Roman destruction of the city in 70 AD. Steeped in legend, the synagogue serves as a pilgrimage site, primarily for Jews of Djerban descent now living in France, Israel, and elsewhere. Tunisian authorities permit these pilgrimages, including for citizens of Israel, a country with which Tunisia has no diplomatic relations. However, Jewish and particularly Israeli pilgrimages to El Ghriba draw fierce opposition from radical Islamist groups. In 2002, an Al-Qaeda attack targeting Jewish pilgrims on Djerba resulted in 21 deaths, including 14 German tourists.

René Trabelsi is only the third Jew in the modern history of Tunisia to hold a cabinet position. The first two, Albert Bessis and André Barouch, served in ministerial roles in the mid-1950s. In the relatively recent past, the Jewish population of Tunisia exceeded 100,000 (officially recorded at 105,000 in 1948), and played a prominent role in the country's economic and public life. However, following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the end of the French protectorate in 1956, rising nationalist sentiments among the local Arab population frequently manifested in anti-Jewish hostility. This triggered a mass emigration of Tunisian Jews, with the majority relocating to France and a smaller portion moving to Israel.

Historically, Jewish settlement in Tunisia predates the arrival of Arab populations. According to local tradition, the first Jewish settlers belonged to the tribe of Zebulun, arriving in North Africa alongside the Phoenician colonists who founded Carthage. Documented evidence confirms a Jewish presence in Tunisia during the Roman era. By contrast, Arab integration into the region occurred much later, during the conquests of the late 7th century AD.

Today, Tunisia's Jewish population is estimated at between 1,500 and 2,500 people, concentrated primarily on the island of Djerba. A precise figure is difficult to establish, as many Tunisian Jews, like Minister René Trabelsi, maintain dual residences and spend significant time in France, which now hosts a far larger Tunisian Jewish diaspora than Tunisia itself.