Tunisian Islamists slam anti-Semitic chants

2012-01-26 58

The head of Tunisia's moderate Islamic party condemned anti-Semitic slogans chanted by a handful of ultraconservative Muslims during the arrival of Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Gaza government. Videos circulated online showed crowd members greeting Haniyeh at the airport in Tunis on Thursday chanting "Kill the Jews" and "Crush the Jews." After decades of being oppressed by Tunisia's secular dictators, Ennahda won elections with its leader Rachid Ghannouchi, and has been at pains to demonstrate its moderate credentials and belief in universal rights and freedoms to all Tunisians. Tunisia's new government has tried to ease any fears the country's small Jewish community has over the nation's Islamist-tinged government. The new president, former human rights activist Moncef Marzouki, went so far as to call on December 19 for any Tunisian Jews who had fled the country in the past to return.