A Jewish school on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, home to an ancient Jewish community, was firebombed on Tuesday, amid country-wide violent protests fueled by economic hardship.
Local media reported that Molotov cocktails had also been hurled at the entrances of a number of other Jewish locations, including a synagogue, causing no damage to the interiors.
There were no protests in Djerba itself, but locals said unknown assailants apparently exploited the diminished security, as police forces were busy elsewhere, to launch attacks.
"Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of [the] … school," the head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters.
"The perpetrators want to sow dissension between Jewish and Muslim communities living in harmony on the island for many years," Trabelsi said.
A reporter at the scene said the synagogue that was targeted had been empty and the fire was quickly extinguished. The reporter couldn't be identified in accordance with her company's policy.
Djerba is home to Tunisia's main Jewish community, which numbers in the hundreds. The 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Africa, was targeted in a 2002 terrorist attack that killed 21 people, including Western tourists.
Tuesday's fire was at a smaller prayer site.
In recent days, violent protests over price hikes have left one person dead and raised fears of broader unrest in the country that was the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
