The singer Yossi Barda, who performed at the El Ghriba Synagogue on the island of Djerba in Tunis shortly before the attack in which the cousins, Aviel and Ben Hadad, were murdered, spoke to Israel National News-Arutz Sheva about his preparations with one of the murdered men.
"I performed in the synagogue and there was a very warm and happy atmosphere. At the end of the performance, I mingled with the people and after a while, I told my son that we better go back to the hotel because I have another performance. We left and waited for almost an hour for a taxi to come. Someone volunteered to drive us back and after 20 minutes the shots rang out in the complex," Barda says.
He adds, "The thing that hurts me the most is that Aviel was a fan of mine and we had been in touch for many years, both when he lived in Djerba and in Israel. He was murdered an hour and a half after we saw each other. He told me how good it was to see me that when he sees me he sees only happy events.”
“Yesterday,” he continues, “there was talk of Tunisian policemen being injured and I was sorry because they protected us with great kindness that was genuine. This morning, I received the message that there are two dead. I see them and see they’re my friends who invite me to all their events. It's a very difficult day, everyone is in great mourning. The bodies are still in the hands of the security forces, and it's hard to digest what happened."
Despite the attack, Barda does not feel that Djerba is dangerous for Jews. "My son came with me for the first time and he always tells me that it might be dangerous. I told him to tell me when he stops being afraid and it took at most two days. There is no fear here. To enter the synagogue there is a security check and you see the calmness and kindness towards you."
"I will return to perform in Djerba. It is a place that moves me. This is where my father was born and I will always proudly sing the Tunisian national anthem and of course the Israeli national anthem," he concludes.