diers were left in possession of the field.
All night long the town was in a state of siege — police patrols, Sengalese troops, Spahis. The Jews were barricaded in their houses. If panic is calm, that night was calm.
STARTS AGAIN IN THE MORNING
Sfax looked like a city of the dead on Tuesday morning. All shops shut. Jewish families living in the Arab village leave their homes, seeking refuge in the houses of relatives or friends in the European town. Troops in the streets. Sengalese guarding the abandoned shops.
About 8 o’clock in the morning the news arrives that the dockers are going out on strike. A mob invades the European markets, hitting women and children, Jews and non-Jews. The Sengalese troops, commanded by Captain Mermet, who showed a great deal of firmness, immediately come to the rescue and put a stop to the outbreak. Many arrests were made. About a hundred rioters filled the Caidat Gaol and the Commissariat, among them youth intellectuals and also Jews. Jews who had hit back when their wives were insulted, their goods stolen, and they themselves beaten. People arrested for defending themselves.
Soon everything was quiet. But not for long. Afraid of moving about in crowds that the troops could charge, the rioters went about singly, and snatching a chance when there was no policeman or soldier near broke into a Jewish house, or attacked a Jew. Thus more Jews were added to the casualty list.
On Wednesday fresh trouble. A group of young Jews escorting a companion working outside the town was set upon. The members fought bravely, but were borne down by superior numbers. Elie Scetbon had his teeth knocked out, Elie Azria has concussion, and Simon Ankri is black and blue with the blows he received all over his body.
The most deplorable part of the whole business was the undecided attitude of the authorities, the paper says. The military authorities said the civil authorities were responsible, and the police argued that the matter was one for the higher authorities. And meanwhile the Jews were being attacked and wounded.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
