Ghriba synagogue bombing

Ghriba synagogue bombing
Part of the Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
Synagogue entrance through which the fuel tanker drove during attack
Interactive map of Ghriba synagogue bombing
Location	Djerba, Tunisia
Date	11 April 2002;23 years ago (2002-04-11)
Target	El Ghriba synagogue
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Weapons	Natural gas truck bomb
Deaths	20 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	30+
Perpetrators	al-Qaeda
Motive	al-Qaeda claim: revenge for the deaths of Palestinians [1]

The Ghriba synagogue bombing was carried out by Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar on the El Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia in 2002.

History

Further information: El Ghriba synagogue and History of the Jews in Djerba

The El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba is the oldest synagogue in Africa. ^[2]

Bombing

On 11 April 2002, a natural gas truck fitted with explosives drove past security barriers at the ancient El Ghriba Synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba. ^[3] The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14 German tourists, three Tunisians, and two French nationals. ^[4] More than 30 others were wounded. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Deaths by nationality

Country	Number
Germany	14
Tunisia	3
France	2
Total	19

Although the explosion was initially called an accident, ^[8] as Tunisia, France, and Germany investigated, it became clear that it was a deliberate attack. A 24-year-old man named Niser bin Muhammad Nasr Nawar was the suicide bomber, who carried out the attack with the aid of a relative.^{[ who? ][ verification needed ]}

Al-Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack. ^[1] which was reportedly organized by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Saad bin Laden. ^{[9] [10]} However, Saad's family denied he was involved in the attack. ^{[11] [12]}

In March 2003, five people were arrested in Spain in connection with the attack. ^[13] On May 10, 2006, two of them, Spanish businessman Enrique Cerda and Pakistani national Ahmed Rukhsar, were sentenced to five years in prison for collaborating with a terrorist group. ^[14] In June 2003, a German man named Christian Ganczarski was arrested at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris in connection with the bombing. ^{[15] [16]} He was arrested by a joint intelligence operation, in the frame of Alliance Base, which is located in Paris, and transferred to Fresnes Prison in Paris. ^{[17] [18]} In February 2009, Ganczarski was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the bombing. ^[19]

Commemoration of the victims

On 11 April 2012, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Tunisian Grand Rabbi Haim Bitan, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tunisia, and Boris Boillon, Ambassador of the French Republic to Tunisia, visited Djerba to pay their respects to the victims on the attack's 10th anniversary. Marzouki met with victims' families and delivered a speech where he strongly condemned this attack and reassured Tunisian Jews of their place in Tunisian society. ^[20]

• 
  Silent march
• 
  Flowers laid for those killed in the attack
• 
• 

See also

• Antisemitism in Islam
• Djerba shooting  – 2023 shooting in Djerba, TunisiaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• History of the Jews in Tunisia
• List of terrorist incidents in Tunisia
• Second Intifada (2000–2005) in Palestine and Israel

References

1. "Al-Qaeda claims Tunisia attack". bbc.co.uk. 23 June 2002. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. In an audio tape broadcast on the Arabic al-Jazeera television channel, al-Qaeda official Sulaiman Abu Ghaith said the attack was revenge for the deaths of Palestinians... Mr Abu Ghaith said the 11 April attack "was carried out by al-Qaeda network. A youth could not see his brothers in Palestine butchered and murdered... [while] he saw Jews cavorting in Djerba".
2. تونس: إلغاء الاحتفالات اليهودية بجزيرة جربة بسبب الحرب على غزة [Tunisia: Jewish celebrations on the island of Djerba cancelled due to the war on Gaza]. الجزيرة نت Al Jazeera Arabic (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 May 2024.
3. "Blast at Tunisian synagogue kills five". 11 April 2002.
4. Official Procès-Verbal, 20 July 2002 in Tunis, El Fadel El Malki, Central Directorate of the Judicial police, The Criminal Affairs Bureau
5. Tepper, Greg. "Citing terror threat, Israel advises travelers to stay out Tunisia". The Times of Israel . ISSN   0040-7909 . Retrieved 10 May 2023.
6. "RFI - Ouverture du procès de l'attentat de Djerba". www1.rfi.fr Radio France Internationale . Retrieved 10 May 2023.
7. "Béji Caïd Essebsi, président de la Tunisie: "Notre premier créancier, c'est la France"". La Tribune (in French). 4 June 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
8. "Synagogue explosion 'no accident'". 15 April 2002.
9. "Two jailed over Tunisia bombing". 5 February 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009.
10. "Bin Laden son 'takes leading role'". 30 July 2002.
11. "Bin Laden's Family Under House Arrest in Iran « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT". Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
12. "Osama Bin Laden's Family Seek Asylum « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT". Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
13. Yoldi, José (12 March 2003). "Tres de los cinco detenidos por su vinculación con Al Qaeda quedan en libertad sin cargos". El País (in Spanish). ISSN   1134-6582 . Retrieved 10 May 2023.
14. "2 men convicted in Tunisia bombing". CNN. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
15. "France arrests al-Qaeda suspects". 6 June 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
16. "RFI - Ouverture du procès de l'attentat de Djerba". www1.rfi.fr. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
17. "Help from France key in covert operations". NBC News. 3 July 2005. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
18. "De la Haute-Silésie à Médine, l'itinéraire d'un "haut responsable d'Al-Qaida" arrêté en France". Le Monde.fr (in French). 12 July 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
19. "Michel Moutot. Al Qaeda militant found guilty for Tunisian synagogue attack". Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
20. Bouazza, Bouazza Ben (11 April 2012). "Tunisia marks 10 years since bloody synagogue bomb". San Diego Union-Tribune . Associated Press . Retrieved 10 May 2023.

33°48′50″N10°51′33″E / 33.81389°N 10.85917°E / 33.81389; 10.85917