The Jewish community in Tunisia traces its origins to ancient times. As many scholars have often assumed, it is probable that Jews lived in Punic Carthage; a Judeo-African legend has it that the Jews came to the island in the southeast (e.g., in the island of Djerba (Jerba) in King Solomon's time. Another legend relates that the kohanim, escaping from Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E., carried one of the Temple's doors to the island, and it is believed to be walled in the synagogue called Ghriba (the wondrous). However, there is no factual evidence positively stating that Jews lived in Punic Carthage or its territories. The "Tarshish" of the Bible has nevertheless been identified with Carthage by the Septuagint and the Aramaic Targum of the prophets.

More recently, Tunisian Jews were forbidden to write in classical Arabic. As a result, they produced an abundant popular literature in colloquial Arabic printed in Hebrew characters, which began to appear in the late 19th century and continued until the 1960s. This body of literature contained over a thousand stories, legends, songs, and laments published in over 50 periodicals. The many authors include Eliezer Farhi, Jacob Cohen, Simha Levy, Daniel Hagge, and Michel Uzan. The establishment of the first Jewish printing presses in Tunis (1882), Djerba (1912), and Sousse (1917) encouraged the distribution of the publications, which were read throughout North Africa from Morocco to Tripolitania. Many rabbinical works by Tunisian rabbis such as Joshua Bessis, Hai Taieb, Solomon Dana, and even by foreign rabbis were also published. In 1963 the Hebrew presses at Tunis and Sousse were closed. Only the Jewish presses of Djerba continued to function, publishing one or two Hebrew works per year.