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Cemetery, Le Kef (El Kef, الكاف), Tunisia

Description

State of the Cemetery

Many years ago, groups of traveling Jews, known as “Bahutsim” (“outsiders”), would bury their dead at this cemetery, making it a collective of differing cultures and heritages. Being that Le Kef enjoyed its status as a prominent trading town, the cemetery used to be well-taken-care-of and treated with the proper respect. [1] Unfortunately, in modern times, the cemetery is a victim of vandalization. Travelers’ accounts describe the cemetery as being incredibly damaged, with tombstones missing and coffins cracked. [2] Vandals have apparently been visiting the site, smashing graves and overturning tombstones. Jewish lawyer Yves Kahmi noted that the vandals even went so far as to remove skeletons from their graves and leave them in plain sight. [3] Sadly, the Jewish community in Le Kef is practically nonexistent today, [1] so it can be assumed that there is no current plan to protect or even restore the cemetery to its proper state.

Brief History of Jews in Le Kef

The town of Le Kef is located near the border between Tunisia and Algeria, and for a long (yet undocumented) time, it served as a waystation for Bahutsim to trade, rest, and do work. Most of these Jews were descendants from Berber tribes. It wasn’t until the 19th century that a proper Jewish community was finally established in the town, and it grew quite quickly: by 1830, there were 200 Jewish citizens there, and by 1861, 600.
Aside from trade, the Jews of Le Kef were also ardent craftsmen, dealing in everything from kitchen utensils to clothing. Most of their trading was done on a street called “Souk Al-Yahud,” or The Jewish Market. A synagogue was established at an unknown date during the 19th century and was known as “Ghariba,” serving as a central synagogue not only for the Jews who lived in the neighborhood, but also for those travelling Bahutsim who wanted to attend festivals, circumcise their sons, and bury their dead.
Le Kef prospered significantly after WWI, with its trading economy flourishing and its citizens enjoying all the wealth coming their way. Unfortunately, however, it would not last: following the rise of the Moslem Destour Party, multiple anti-Semitic incidents arose, and although they briefly subsided in 1934, the immediate following of WWII made the Jews of Le Kef begin to feel unsafe staying in the town. Post-war in 1946, only 357 Jews still lived there. Following the Tunisian declaration of Independence in 1956, the number dropped to 313. Eventually, the rest of the Jews in Le Kef migrated en masse to France and Israel, leaving the community with very little remnants of a Jewish presence at all. [1]

Le Kef, Tunisia

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