Tunisia: Annual Jewish Pilgrimage an Achievement Tunisia's tourism minister says he wants an annual Jewish pilgrimage to the island of Djerba preserved after last year's was canceled due to unrest surrounding a popular uprising. Elyes Fakhfakh told reporters Tuesday during a conference on the island that the centuries-old pilgrimage illustrated the openness of Tunisia to the world. The pilgrimage to Djerba - whose Jewish community dates back to 500 B.C. - was canceled during unrest surrounding the overthrow of long serving dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Since his fall, there has also been a rise in Islamist groups - some extremist, accused of anti-Semitic rhetoric. The synagogue is believed to be one of the oldest in Africa, but was targeted by an al-Qaida truck bomb in 2002, killing 21 people, mostly tourists.