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<strong>africa</strong> libya<br />
The resToraTion<br />
of libya’s<br />
revoluTionary Jew<br />
David Gerbi is a Libyan Jew. There aren’t<br />
many of them. He returned from exile to<br />
fight the battle against Gaddafi, and now<br />
he’s on a personal mission to restore<br />
the long-deserted Tripoli synagogue. He<br />
wants to make sure his community is<br />
allowed to play a part in the new Libya.<br />
By SIMON ALLISON.<br />
Photo: Libyan Jewish exile David Gerbi prays<br />
inside Dar Bishi synagogue in Tripoli October 1,<br />
2011. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem<br />
Jews in Libya go back a while -<br />
2,300 years, to be precise, during<br />
which time they were ruled by<br />
the Romans, the Ottomans, the<br />
Italian fascists and finally the<br />
Libyan People’s Arab Jamahiriya<br />
of Muammar Gaddafi, who in<br />
a fit of anti-Semitism expelled<br />
them all and confiscated Jewish<br />
property. Libya’s Jews scattered,<br />
some across the sea to Italy, but<br />
most to Israel. But not all gave<br />
up on Libya.<br />
This summer, at the height of the fighting against<br />
Gaddafi’s forces, one came back. David Gerbi returned<br />
from exile in Italy and joined the rebels, fighting not<br />
just for Libya’s future, but for the future of his people. “I<br />
want to bring back our legacy. I want to give the Jewish<br />
of Libya a chance to come back,” he said.<br />
After riding in with the rebels to take Tripoli, he<br />
started organising the restoration of the capital’s main<br />
synagogue which had been bricked over by Gaddafi.<br />
Inside the walls were covered in graffiti, and the floors<br />
with garbage. He describes the restoration as a test of<br />
the tolerance of Libya’s new rulers. “I plan to restore the<br />
synagogue. I plan to get my passport back. I plan to resolve<br />
the problem of the confiscated property, individual<br />
and collective,” said Gerbi. “I plan to help rebuild Libya,<br />
to do my part.”<br />
But his efforts aren’t meeting with universal approval<br />
in a country where Jews aren’t always welcome. As a<br />
National Transitional Council spokesperson wryly commented:<br />
“I think it’s just creating a lot more complications<br />
at the moment.”<br />
read more:<br />
1. With brooms and rakes, Libya’s ‘revolutionary Jew’ starts restoring<br />
Tripoli synagogue in the Washington Post<br />
tuesday - 4 october 2011
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