Or Thora Synagogue of Tunis, 35 Achour Street
Designed by architects Jean Sebag and Aimé Krief the new Or Thora rabbinical school opened in 1930. The building also contained a synagogue and a Mikvé (a ritual bath used every month by married Jewish women). By the 1930s Or Thora was the only school in Tunis dedicated to Talmudic studies. In 1952 there were 300 pupils. On 12 February 1957, a year after Tunisia gained independence from France, Habib Bourguiba, the president of the new Republic visited Or Thora. The acclaimed Tunisian-Jewish singer, Asher Mizrahi, composed a song in Arabic especially for his visit. The basement of Or-Thora is now a café. A side entrance to the building reveals carvings of a Menorah. Abandoned religious books and texts are still visible inside the building.
