Tunisian President Kais Saied
Tunisian President Kais SaiedReuters

Tunisia’s president is under fire Wednesday, after he blamed ‘thieving Jews’ for rising social tensions in his country.

President Kais Saied met with residents of the low-income Al-Tadamon neighborhood (also known as Ettadhamen-Mnihla) of Greater Tunis recently, discussing the ongoing economic challenges facing the country which have sparked a renewed protest movement.

During the encounter, President Saied blamed Tunisia’s woes on “thieving Jews”.

A recording of the visit to Al-Tadamon, including the president’s comments, were uploaded to his Facebook account Tuesday.

Saied’s comments drew condemnation from the Conference of European Rabbis, which warned that Tunisian Jews could be targeted as a result of Saied’s verbal attacks.

“The Conference of European Rabbis wishes to express its deep concern following the serious and public remarks made by Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed this morning, accusing Jews of being responsible for the instability in the country.”

“The CER urges the Tunisian President to withdraw these remarks, which constitute an immediate threat to the physical and moral integrity of Tunisian Jewish citizens.”

Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the CER, said Wednesday: “We consider that the Tunisian government is the guarantor of the security of Tunisian Jews. Such allegations threaten the integrity of one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world.”