TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian demonstrators defied the threat of a security clampdown on Wednesday as they spilled onto the streets of the capital and at least four other towns for a third night of violent protest fuelled by economic hardship.

Police fired teargas to disperse crowds in Tunis and in Tebourba, a small town nearby where one protestor was killed in Monday, witnesses said.

Since starting with one small protest on Sunday - just days before the 7th anniversary of the Arab Spring movement that convulsed North Africa and the Middle East in 2011 - the demonstrations have spread across much of the country.

They spiralled after the government hiked prices of staple goods and introduced new taxes at the start of the year to try to tackle a ballooning deficit and appease foreign lenders.

Late on Tuesday, clashes erupted in more than 20 towns, as protesters attacked police stations and government buildings and torched cars, also hurling petrol bombs at a Jewish school on the southern tourist island of Djerba.

About 50 policemen were wounded in that violence and 237 people were arrested, including two Islamists, said interior ministry spokesman Khelifa Chibani.

“What happened is violence that we cannot accept. The state will remain steadfast,” Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said in a video broadcast by local radio after he visited towns hit by clashes.

While Tunisia is widely seen as the only democratic success story among the Arab Spring nations, it has also had nine governments since then, none of which have been able to deal with growing economic problems.

The 2011 uprising and two major militant attacks in 2015 damaged foreign investment and tourism, which accounts for 8 percent of Tunisia’s economic activity.

Chahed on Wednesday accused the opposition of fuelling dissent by calling for more protests.

Riot police clash with protesters during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tunis, Tunisia, January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

JEWISH SCHOOL ATTACKED

The previous day, petrol bombs were hurled at a Jewish school on the southern tourist island of Djerba, home to an ancient Jewish community.

There were no protests in Djerba itself, but locals said unknown assailants had exploited the fact that there was a reduced security presence as police were busy elsewhere.

“Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of (the)... school,” the head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters.

Jews have lived for over 2,000 years in mainly Muslim Tunisia, where Islamists, secular groups and labour unions have since 2011 argued over what direction the country should take.

Djerba is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue, which was hit by al Qaeda-linked militants in 2002 in a truck bomb attack that killed 21 people including Western tourists.

Among the hundreds arrested on Tuesday were two radical Islamists who had helped storm a police station in Nefza town, the interior ministry spokesman said. In Tunis, a crowd stormed a Carrefour market.

GROWING ANGER

The protests have drawn in hundreds in each town where they have taken place, though they have been smaller than previous waves of demonstrations since 2011.

But public anger has been building since Jan. 1, when the government raised the price of petrol and other items and hiked social security contributions and taxes on cars, phone calls, internet usage and hotel accommodation.

The Ennahda Islamist party, which governs in a coalition with secularists, called for the minimum monthly wage to be hiked to 357 dinars ($143) and for more aid for poor families, echoing calls by labour unions.

There was no immediate response from the government.

Slideshow (8 Images)

But in a sign that the public coffers are strained, Taoufik Rajhi, minister of economic reforms, told parliament there was no extra money for the health sector, infrastructure or education.

At 15 percent of economic output, the state’s wage bill is one of the highest per capita in the world, and parliament on Tuesday passed a law to offer voluntary redundancy to public service workers as part of plans to trim it to 12.5 percent by 2020.</s>The current unrest in Tunisia has seen violent clashes in some 20 Tunisian cities. — Reuters picTUNIS, Jan 10 — A Jewish school on a Tunisian island that is home to an ancient Jewish community was attacked late on Tuesday as violent anti-government protests raged elsewhere in the North African country, witnesses said.

Petrol bombs thrown at the school on the tourist resort island of Djerba caused some damage but no injuries, the head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters.

There were no protests in Djerba but locals said the assailants had exploited the fact that there was a reduced security presence as police was busy elsewhere combating anti-government protests around the country.

“Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a Jewish religious school in Djerba,” Trabelsi said.

During the time of the attack violent clashes were raging in some 20 Tunisian cities as people protested against rising prices and new taxes imposed by on Jan. 1.

Mainly Muslim Tunisia has a Jewish minority of fewer than 1,800 people. Jews have lived in Tunisia for over 2,000 years and Djerba is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue, El Ghriba, which was hit by al Qaeda-linked militants in 2002 in a truck bomb attack that killed 21 people including Western tourists. — Reuters</s>TUNIS (Reuters) - A Jewish school on a Tunisian island was attacked late on Tuesday as police battled violent unrest elsewhere in the country, arresting more than 200 people, witnesses and the interior ministry said.

Petrol bombs thrown at the school on the tourist resort island of Djerba, home to an ancient Jewish community, caused some damage but no injuries, the head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters on Wednesday.

There were no protests in Djerba but locals said the assailants had exploited the fact that there was a reduced security presence as police were busy combating anti-government protests elsewhere in the North African state.

“Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a Jewish religious school in Djerba,” Trabelsi said.

At the time of the attack, violent clashes were raging in some 20 Tunisian cities as people protested against rising prices and new taxes imposed by on Jan. 1.

About 50 policemen were wounded in the clashes, said Interior Ministry spokesman Khelifa Chibani.

“Last night criminals looted and burned security centers, 45 police cars were torched and some government offices were attacked,” he said. “They blocked roads and carried out robberies in many cities ... Obviously, these are not protests, but theft and damage to public and private property.”

Mainly Muslim Tunisia has a Jewish minority of fewer than 1,800 people. Jews have lived in Tunisia for over 2,000 years and Djerba is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue, El Ghriba, which was hit by al Qaeda-linked militants in 2002 in a truck bomb attack that killed 21 people including Western tourists.</s>The Jewish community of Djerba was targeted on Tuesday night, as violent anti-government protests raged elsewhere in the North African country, witnesses said.



Head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters that petrol bombs had been thrown at the Jewish school on the tourist resort island of Djerba, causing some damage but no injuries.





There were no protests in Djerba but locals said the assailants had exploited the fact that there was a reduced security presence as police were busy elsewhere combating anti-government protests around the country.“Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a Jewish religious school in Djerba,” Trabelsi said.Trabelsi's son, Elie, an activist from the Djerba Jewish community wrote on Facebook that there had been a failed attempt to burn a house of prayer in the Jewish neighborhood with a Molotov cocktail and that thankfully nobody had been hurt. "Security and civil protection are now doing their duty," he wrote.At the time of the attack, violent clashes were raging in some 20 Tunisian cities as people protested against rising prices and new taxes imposed on January 1.Tunisian protesters demonstrate against the government in Tunis, January 9, 2018. (REUTERS)Hours earlier, the main opposition party had called for protests to continue until the government scrapped what it called an unjust 2018 budget including price and tax hikes.Mainly Muslim Tunisia has a Jewish minority of fewer than 1,800 people. Jews have lived in Tunisia for over 2,000 years and Djerba is home to Africa’s oldest synagogue, El Ghriba, which was hit by al Qaeda-linked terrorists in 2002 in a truck bomb attack that killed 21 people including Western tourists.In an interview last year with a Tunisian radio station, Perez Trabelsi declared that Tunisian security was better than Israeli security, in response to an Israeli warning against travel to the country.</s>TUNIS: A Jewish school in southern Tunisia was hit by petrol bombs during anti-government protests, witnesses said on Wednesday.

No one was hurt but the school suffered some light damage in the attack late on Tuesday during a violent protest against austerity measures in the tourist resort island of Djerba, the head of the Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters.</s>(JTA) — A firebomb thrown at the El Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba caused minor damage and no injuries.

The incident occurred Tuesday night amid protests over economic condition in several Tunisian cities, though not in Djerba itself, Reuters reported. There are no suspects.

In 2002, terrorists blew up a vehicle near the El Ghriba synagogue, killing 21.

Four Jewish families live in the area. Most of the Djerba Jewish community, which numbers in the hundreds and is the largest in the Arab world, lives two miles north of there in a neighborhood that is under heavy protection and whose entrances are guarded around the clock by the country’s internal security services.

Tunisian police increased their security around the Djerba Jewish institutions.

In recent years, Israel’s Counterterrorism Bureau has warned Israelis not to travel to Tunisia for the annual pilgrimage to the El Ghriba synagogue, citing recent information that indicates the intention to carry out terror attacks against visiting Israelis or Tunisian Jewish communities.

The traditional festive procession near the El Ghriba synagogue on Djerba takes place on or around Lag b’Omer, a break during the 49 days of semi-mourning between Passover and Shavuot. It draws hundreds of Tunisian Jews and visitors from Israel.

The synagogue, in the village of Er-Riadh, dates back to 586 B.C., although the current building was reconstructed in the 19th century. El Ghriba is sometimes cited as North Africa’s oldest synagogue.</s>TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Two Molotov cocktails have been thrown at a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, setting fire to the building.

The president of Djerba's Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the attack was perpetrated by two people on a motorbike. He said the synagogue suffered no damage.

"The perpetrators want to sow dissension between Jewish and Muslim communities living in harmony on the island for many years," Trabelsi said.

A reporter at the scene told the AP the synagogue was empty and the fire was quickly extinguished. The reporter couldn't be identified in accordance with her company's policy.

Djerba is home to Tunisia's main Jewish community. The 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue, which was targeted in a 2002 extremist attack, is located on the island.

In recent days, violent protests over price hikes have left one person dead and raised fears of broader unrest in the country that was the birthplace of the Arab Spring.</s>(JTA) — “Call Me By Your Name” has earned wide praise for its nuanced and lush portrayal of a young man’s coming to terms with his sexuality.

In the movie, which is directed by the Italian-Algerian filmmaker Luca Guadagningo, 17-year-old Elio (played by Timothee Chalamet), an American Jew living with his parents in Italy in 1983, deals with his attraction to Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old grad student studying with Elio’s professor father (Michael Stuhlbarg). The teen and student end up forming a romantic connection and grapple with the consequences of their attachment as they try to keep their relationship secret.

Though the film, which is based on a book by the same name by André Aciman, did not receive any awards at the Golden Globes on Sunday, many expect it to win big at the Academy Awards.

In addition to the themes of sexuality, love and belonging, the film also deals with religion. Elio and Oliver are Jewish and speak about what their religious identities mean to them and how they differ from each other. Aciman is the author of the lush 1995 memoir “Out of Egypt,” about his childhood as the son of secular French-speaking Jews in Alexandria who were forced out after the rise of Nasser. Aciman has said his Jewish identity was central to the 2007 novel “Call Me By Your Name.”

“I would never have been able to write this book without Jewish content,” he said in an interview with The Times of Israel.

In Egypt, Aciman was not open about his identity. At swimming lessons he feared the changing room because he did not want to reveal that he was circumcised.

“I don’t want to undress before the other boys because if I did so, I’d reveal to the Catholics who thought I was Catholic, to the Greek Orthodox who always suspected I was one of theirs, or to the Muslims who assumed I was soon to convert to their religion, since I was the only European boy who attended Islam Class every week, that I was — to them — a sham,” he wrote in an essay for The Threepenny Review.

Another time, Aciman was taken aback to see two brothers wearing mezuzah necklaces openly on the beach.

It’s about Jewish identity as well as sexual awakening.

The influence of Aciman’s own experience with Judaism can be seen in the movie, in which Elio grapples with his religious identity. The teen, who rarely meets other Jews, is stunned to discover Oliver wearing a Star of David necklace openly.

“My mother says we are Jews of discretion,” he tells Oliver.

Later, Elio follows Oliver’s lead and dons a Jewish star necklace, finding a different way to relate to his Judaism than the one chosen by his parents.

Despite the fact that Elio’s family, like Aciman’s, are “Jews of discretion,” they still find ways to celebrate Judaism. For example, a scene at the end of the movie shows the family celebrating Hanukkah and lighting the menorah.

The cast has plenty of members with Jewish roots.

Chalamet, the actor who plays Elio, is the son of an American Jewish mother and a French father. In an interview with the blog Film School Rejects, he said he found the character’s Jewishness an integral part of the film.

“It wasn’t something I could verbalize or understand in a conscious domain, but rather there’s something inexplicable about it that is a driving force in the film,” Chalamet said.

Hammer, who plays Oliver, has Jewish heritage on his father’s side, and his great-great-grandfather was the Russian-Jewish oil tycoon Armand Hammer. But his family did not focus on their Jewish background, Hammer said.

“It was always a big deal in my family that we were Russian, more so than anything else,” Hammer, who has a tattoo of his last name written in Russian on his wrist, told Vulture. “My great-grandfather Armand was Jewish, but he didn’t even get his bar mitzvah. He was gonna be bar mitzvahed, and then he died the month before. That’s case in point of how it all kinda went.”

Meanwhile, Stuhlbarg, who portrays Elio’s father, was raised in a Reform Jewish home in Long Beach, California. Stuhlbarg, who portrayed Jewish physics professor Lawrence “Larry” Gopnik in the film “A Serious Man,” has said that being Jewish was an important part of his childhood.

“I went to Hebrew school, I was bar mitzvahed, I went to confirmation class, and I went to hang out at this Jewish community center, and went to Jewish camp, even. It was a big part of my life,” he told The Scorecard Review. “As I got bit by the acting bug, that sort of became the second half of my religion.”</s>On Staten Island parents and students were stunned to find out their school is closing in a matter of months. Roseanna Colletti reports. (Published 3 hours ago)

On Staten Island parents and students were stunned to find out their school is closing in a matter of months. Roseanna Colletti reports. See More</s>Molotov Cocktails were hurled at a Jewish school in southern Tunisia during anti-government protests. Witnesses reported no causalities.



This is a developing story.
A Jewish school on the Tunisian island of Djerba is firebombed.