MESSAGE TO SHJT MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS

December 2019 was marked by the long public transport strike, which led to the postponement of many cultural events and association activities. Despite the difficulties, the SHJT was able to maintain the two major events planned long in advance: the ceremony commemorating the round-up of the Jews of Tunis by the S.S. (9 December 1942), held at the Mémorial de la Shoah on 8 December before a large audience, which shows how important this ceremony of remembrance is for people originally from Tunisia; and the international conference devoted to the relationship between the Jews of the Maghreb protectorates and France, held from 17 to 19 December, which brought together speakers from the Maghreb, Israel, the United States, Italy and France and gave rise to innovative papers of very high quality.

The coronavirus epidemic, which had already begun in Asia in December, then spread to Europe and other parts of the world. It has struck, and continues to strike, thousands of families and has paralysed all economic and social activity. Within our association, many of us have been affected or have had to mourn the loss of someone close, a relative or a friend.

The activities we had planned have of course been cancelled and postponed to better days, which we wholeheartedly wish for and hope are near. In the meantime, to keep the bond between us and to offer you a moment of relaxation and culture, we will hold the next lecture on the scheduled date, that is, on 19 May next, in the form of a videoconference via the Zoom application. Jean-Marcel Nataf will address the following subject: “ Books and Manuscripts of the Tunisian Rabbis: Masterpieces to Be Safeguarded.”

All information on the time and how to connect will be sent to you in due course by the general secretariat.

As soon as the public authorities allow meetings to be held, we will convene the general assembly of members, which will allow us to meet again in a more relaxed setting and to appoint the board of directors for the next academic year. For me it will be a highlight: reporting to you on the achievement of the two goals I set myself in June 2018 – creating a website for the Society and holding an international conference in Paris – and handing over the baton with a sense of duty accomplished, looking back on all that has been achieved since that day in 1997 when Jacques Taïeb and I decided to create a learned society to stimulate university research on the history of the Jews of Tunisia and to create the conditions for cooperation among researchers.

With my warmest regards, and assuring you of the full dedication of the members of the board of directors,

The President

Claude Nataf