This page focuses on the Grana Jews of Tunisia, whose families had mainly come from Livorno to the city of Tunis. It does not discuss the Touensa Jews, the ancient Jewish communities on the island of Djerba, and other Jewish communities in Tunisia.
Historic Timeline of the Grana Jews of Tunis
- 9th century: Jewish presence in Tunis established
- 1492: Expulsion of Jews from Spain
- 1535-1574: Spain occupies part of the Tunisian coast and abused those Jews who fell into their power.
- Late 16th-early 17th century: Livornese Jews (Grana) begin settling in Tunis
- 1685: ‘Grana’ Jews from Livorno establish a community in Tunis
- 1710: Husaynid dynasty takes control of Tunis, generally tolerant towards Jews
- 1741: Ali Pasha grants Livornese Jews special privileges in Tunis
- 1782: Hammuda Pasha reaffirms rights of Livornese Jews
- 1823: Destruction of the (Touensa) Great Synagogue of Tunis
- 1857: Fundamental Pact (Ahd al-Aman) issued, improving legal status of Jews
- 1881: French protectorate over Tunisia established
- 1898: Anti-Jewish riots in Tunis following the Dreyfus Affair
- 1910: Naturalization decree allows some Tunisian Jews to become French citizens
- 1940-1943: Nazi occupation of Tunisia
- 1956: Tunisian independence; some Jews emigrate
- 1961: Bizerte crisis leads to increased tension and Jewish emigration
- 1967: Anti-Jewish riots in Tunis following the Six-Day War
- 1970s-1980s: Continued emigration of Jews from Tunis, mainly to France and Israel
The Grana Jews of Tunis
The Portuguese-Jews in Tunis were know as the “Grana” in Arabic or Gorneyim (גורנים – derived from the Arabic for “from Leghorn”) in Hebrew. They wore wigs and spoke Spanish and Italian.
The established Jewish community were called the “Touensa”, wore appropriate clothes, and spoke a dialect of Arabic.
Both communities lived in the Hara (the Jewish quarter) but generally did not get on. A modus vivendi was not agreed between the two communities until 1741.
Red Coral Trade
Red coral from the Tunisian coast was traded through the Sephardic network for diamonds from Golkonda in India. In Madras (today Chennai) in India, the Jewish community was centred on Coral Merchant Street.
Genealogy of the Grana Jews of Tunisia
- Three of the ten registers of Kettubot were rescued and, edited by Robert Attal and Joseph Avivi, republished in Israel by the Ben Tzvi Institute. The Registres matrimoniaux de la communaute Juive Portugaise de Tunis XVIII-XIX has been put online by Bob and Francine Cassuto.
- La communauté juive portugaise de Tunis dite livournaise ou Grana : registres matrimoniaux 1812-1844 et 1872-1881 (avec notices généalogiques) by Gilles Boulu & Alain Nedjar is available for sale from the Cercle de Généalogie Juive. They also have a number of publications covering the period of French rule in Tunisia.
- Histoire des Juifs de Tunisie: des origines à nos jours by Paul Sebag
- I am aware of a book by Paul Sebag entitled Les noms des Juifs de Tunisie, but haven’t seen it. It was published in Paris in 2002. Harissa.com, the French-language Tunisian-Jewish website.
- Diamonds and Coral: Anglo-Dutch Jews and Eighteenth-Century Trade by Gedalia Yogev
- French civil records from Tunisia are now in the Archives nationales d’outre-mer.
- Histoire des Juifs en Tunisie (Wikipedia page) has a useful bibiography
- Video: Sephardic Jews in Diplomatic and Consular Archives, a Sephardic World talk by Thierry Samama
Travellers Report on the Grana Jews of Tunis, 1818
Extract of a Letter from Dr Cleardo Naudi of Malta to the Rev. C. S. Hawtrey, June 20, 1818, printed in the The eleventh report of the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews.
He reports that there were around 12,000 Jews in Tunis, divided between the Leghorn [Livorno] Jews and Tunesian (sic) Jews. Tunis had been the main African market for French goods during the Napoleonic Wars, and the Jewish community had done well. There was little interaction between the two communities and the Livornese looked down on Tunisians.
“The first, or Leghornese, do not exceed the number of seven hundred. They are governed by three Parnassi or Massare, and like those of the Jews of Leghorn, are elective, and have no duties but such as related to their religious ceremonies. Their liturgy is that of the Spanish synagogue; they are for the most part natives of Tunis, and consider themselves the descendants of the exiled families of Spain during the persecutions in that kingdom. They wear the European dress, and those how have not the means of doing so wear the hat for distinction. They have no dealings with the Tunesian Jews, and, during a period of seven ages, they count but four inter-marriages – in an event of this nature taking place, the party is excluded from their synagogues, and considered as one who has degraded himself. – They have also a separate market. Corporal punishments seldom occur, as is daily the case with the Tunesian Jews. Theirs are generally of a pecuniary nature.”
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