MIDDLE EAST: About 1,000 Jewish pilgrims flocked to Tunisia's Ghriba synagogue for the start of an annual festival, just weeks after a suicide attack outside the building killed 18 people, mostly German tourists. Two Germans died from their injuries yesterday.
Only 200 European Jews came to Djerba for the pilgrimage, according to the head of the Jewish community on the island, Mr Perez Trabelsi.
They have been joined by members of Tunisia's Jewish community, which numbers 3,000. In previous years, several hundred European Jews had attended the pilgrimage to Ghriba, one of Judaism's holiest sites.A handful of pilgrims from Israel are also expected at the two-day festivities. After the April 11th suicide attack Mr Trabelsi vowed the pilgrimage would go ahead.
The perpetrator died in the blast, which also killed 13 German tourists, a French tourist, a French-Tunisian tour guide and two maintenance workers.