Zarzis Synagogue ( ar, كنيس جرجيس) also known as Beit HaKnesset Mishkan Ya’akov ( he, בית הכנסת משכן יעקב), is located in the coastal town of

Zarzis Zarzis also known as Jarjis ( ar, جرجيس, link=no ') is a coastal commune (municipality) in southeastern Tunisia, former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see under its ancient name Gergis. To the Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs the port wa ...

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. It was built in around 1900 when the Jewish community of Zarzis numbered approximately 1,000. An

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attack in 1982, following

Sabra and Shatila massacre The Sabra and Shatila massacre (also known as the Sabra and Chatila massacre) was the killing of between 460 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites, by the militia of the Lebanese Forces, a Maronite Christian Lebane ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, left the synagogue and

Torah scroll A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...

s totally destroyed. It was subsequently rebuilt and is currently used by the town's remaining 100 Jews. The lavishly decorated synagogue leads into an open-air

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporar ...

which has adjoining rooms which serve as the talmud torah. The head of the community is Eliyahu Sofer.

See also