Jewish cousins killed in Djerba, Tunisia are French, Israeli

By ZVIKA KLEIN

Published: MAY 10, 2023 12:02

Avi and Ben Haddad, Jewish cousins who were killed at a synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. (photo credit: COURTESY OF THE FAMILY/MAARIV) — Avi and Ben Haddad, Jewish cousins who were killed at a synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia.

(photo credit: COURTESY OF THE FAMILY/MAARIV)

The two cousins killed at the shooting near the synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia were identified as Aviel and Ben Hadad, one being Israeli and the other being French.

The two Jewish cousins who were murdered in the Tuesday night shooting in Djerba, Tunisia near the synagogue are Aviel Hadad (30 years old) who was also an Israeli citizen working as a goldsmith in the local market and Ben Hadad (42 years old) who lived in France and came in order to celebrate the festivities.

The shooting took place near the ancient El Ghriba Synagogue (also known as the Djerba Synagogue) in the city of Djerba in Tunisia.

Mordechai Medar, a relative of those murdered in the attack, was interviewed on 103FM and criticized the authorities in Tunisia: "Unfortunately, the two Jews who were murdered are my wife's cousins. One is Israeli and the other is from Marseilles in Paris, with French citizenship."

Who were the victims of the shooting attack in Djerba, Tunisia?

Medar said that "they were murdered in cold blood, in a shooting. They were just in the parking lot and were supposed to enter [the synagogue] where they were standing just before the security check." He explained they were in the parking lot "Suddenly they saw a policeman who had a weapon, probably a very large weapon, who started shooting everywhere. He shot them in cold blood."

"The problem is that they were shot and killed, from the first second they were determined to be dead and the authorities hid it, they didn't tell [the family] that two Jews were murdered because it was probably important to them to protect the thousands of Jews and they didn't want to tell them that there were Jews who were murdered," he said.

Members of the security forces stand near the entrance of Ghriba synagogue, following an attack, in Djerba, Tunisia May 9, 2023. (credit: STRINGER/ REUTERS)

Two days ago, Aviel Hadad published a photo on his Facebook page with his two passports, Israeli and Tunisian. He published a video from a ceremony at the synagogue a short time before he was shot.

Jewish Agency chairman Doron Almog tweeted that he is "devastated by the attack at the synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. Our thoughts are with the families of the 4 casualties, including 2 Jews and 2 brave police officers. Our Fund for Terror Victims stands ready to support and assist families. We are here for any Jew in need worldwide."