ABSTRACT

Letter from Jerba, March 27, 1981:

It was a minor incident that took place this very evening with a non-Jew, petty, but of deep significance. I ordered a metal plate from him to be affixed to my motorbike on which my name and address were to be painted. He, however, changed the place name. Instead of Hara Kebira he wrote As-Sawani (Gardens). When I asked him why he made the change, he responded that it was its proper name. The name Hara Kebira is to be erased and not to be remembered or mentioned anymore. The municipal council and its president convened a special meeting on this question and decided to uproot the name of Hara Kebira and change it to As-Sawani. 1 argued with the man and insisted that for me its name was still Hara Kebira. Tomorrow, I intend to have the sign changed to read Hara Kebira.

His response pained me deeply. I thought to myself: We Jews, who reached this place long before them, who have a history of more than two thousand years here, not only are they seeking to push us out, but they are even conspiring to erase our past and the names of famous Jewish places from history.