Qualla: El Ghriba Synagogue https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/n/p/8/el-ghriba-synagogue-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: El Ghriba Synagogue https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue El Ghriba Synagogue: Introduction https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. The name means "the strange one" or "the isolated one," and it belongs to a building that has defied the odds of history. El Ghriba Synagogue, in the village of Hara Seghira on the Tunisian island of Djerba, claims to be the oldest synagogue in the world. The claim rests on a tradition that High Priests fleeing the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE carried with them a door and a stone from the ruined sanctuary and founded a new place of worship on this small island in the Gulf of Gabes. Whether the founding date is historical or legendary, the community that sustains this synagogue has been here for a very long time.

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]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/n/p/8/el-ghriba-synagogue-wp/snp8-el-ghriba-synagogue-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full El Ghriba Synagogue: Relics of the First Temple https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue/ Photo credit Chesdovi, CC BY 2.5. The founding legend is specific and vivid. When Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Solomon's Temple, the Kohanim who were serving at the time escaped Jerusalem and eventually found themselves on Djerba. They brought fragments of the destroyed sanctuary with them, and the synagogue they ...

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Image: Chesdovi | CC BY 2.5

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/n/p/8/el-ghriba-synagogue-wp/snp8-el-ghriba-synagogue-relics-of-the-first-temple.mp3 0:06 2 full El Ghriba Synagogue: The Cave of the Girl https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue/ Photo credit Jalo, Public domain. A second tradition gives the synagogue its name. According to this story, a young girl, a ghriba, an isolated one, lived near the spot where the synagogue stands. She was not accepted by the other people of the area. When she died, her body was found uncorrupted by the Jews of a ...

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Image: Jalo | Public domain

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/n/p/8/el-ghriba-synagogue-wp/snp8-el-ghriba-synagogue-the-cave-of-the-girl.mp3 0:06 3 full El Ghriba Synagogue: Under Fire, Three Times https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue/ Photo credit upyernoz, CC BY 2.0. The synagogue's significance has also made it a target. In 1985, during the festival of Simchat Torah, a local policeman assigned to guard the building opened fire on a crowd of celebrating Jews, killing three people, including a child, and wounding fifteen. The attack came in re...

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Image: upyernoz | CC BY 2.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/n/p/8/el-ghriba-synagogue-wp/snp8-el-ghriba-synagogue-under-fire-three-times.mp3 0:06 4 full El Ghriba Synagogue: Persistence as Practice https://qualla.com/el-ghriba-synagogue/ Photo credit Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel), CC BY 4.0. Djerba is home to around 1,300 Jews, one of the last surviving Jewish communities in the Arab world. El Ghriba is the center of their spiritual life and a pilgrimage destination for Jews from across North Africa, Europe, and Israel. An independent administration committee, establ...

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Image: Dr. Ondřej Havelka (cestovatel) | CC BY 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/n/p/8/el-ghriba-synagogue-wp/snp8-el-ghriba-synagogue-persistence-as-practice.mp3 0:06 5 full