A Tangled Legacy: Being a Jew in France

 “If you have a David star over here, you can have a problem, or if you wear a kippa, some people come to you and say you are bad Jews, ‘We are going to kill you and put you in the sea.’ It’s frightening.”

– Lohan Layane, a French Jew living in Paris, responding to acts of violence against Jews in Parisian suburbs and other areas of France. PBS NewsHour, Martin Seemungal

“Natan Sharansky [Director, the Jewish Agency for Israel] predicted that up to 15,000 French Jews would emigrate this year, and that more than 50,000 French Jews would leave in the next few years.”

– “Fear on the Rise, Jews in France Weigh an Exit,” Dan Bilefsky, the New York Times

In response to such stories and statistics, we Jews of Providence and elsewhere are seeking to understand what is happening in France, the country with the third largest Jewish population in the world and, historically, the first European country to emancipate its Jews. But today we wonder, is there really a new wave of Nazi style anti-Semitism in Europe, with France at its center? Are most French Jews streaming out of France seeking asylum in Israel? What is really going on?

On Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., Arts Emanu-El of Temple Emanu-El, Providence, will host the first of four important events dedicated to exploring these questions and to understanding what it means to be a Jew in France today and what it meant in the past. The Providence community is invited to all four events, titled A Tangled Legacy: Being a Jew in France.

The four-event Tangled Legacy series begins with a sweeping documentary film, “Comme un Juif en France” – “Being a Jew in France.” This film, crafted from a huge trove of fascinating archival footage, memorable music and clips from classic French films, explores the rich and complex history of Jews in France from the Dreyfus Affair to today. The original three-hour version of this documentary aired in three parts on French television in 2007.

The segment that will be screened at Temple Emanu-El on Feb. 10 focuses on the end of World War II and on the return of incarcerated Jews to the cities and villages of France. It considers the impact that the state of Israel’s establishment and the influx of Sephardi Jews from liberated North African colonies had on France. The film continues into the 21st century, investigating the charges of rising anti-Semitism and the county’s shifting attitudes toward Israel.

Throughout this compelling documentary, more than a dozen leading French politicians, intellectuals and artists contribute personal stories, analyses and insights that richly enhance the film’s provocative portrait of the French-Jewish cultural and historical experience. A panel discussion in response to the film will follow the screening. Dr. William F. S. Miles, professor of Political Science, Northeastern University, will lead the talk, which will include the participation of Loiza Miles and Henri Flikier.

Three more events open to the community will follow “Comme un Juif en France” – “Being a Jew in France.” They are: a book discussion, a French breakfast with guest lecturer and a major musical concert. The book discussion (Sunday, March 8, 10 a.m.) will consider Robert Harris’ 2013 book, “An Officer and a Spy!,” a gripping account of the Dreyfus Affair, told from the point of view of the French colonel who was intimately involved with its every occurrence.

Then, at the French breakfast on Sunday, May 3, at 10 a.m., Prof. Maud S. Mandel, Dean of the College, Brown University, Associate Professor of History, former Director of the Program in Judaic Studies, will explain Muslims & Jews in France Today: History of a Conflict.

Finally, on Sunday, May 17, at 7 p.m., A Tangled Legacy comes to a close with “The Jewish French Musical Connection,” the story of French Jewry told through music and narration. This major concert will include the world-renowned pianist Judith Lynn Stillman, members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Cantor Lynn Torgove. Tickets for these events go on sale three weeks prior to the event date.

To purchase tickets for the Feb. 10 screening of “Comme un Juif en France” – “Being a Jew in France” at 7 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El, Providence, go to TEProv.org or send a check to Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Prov., RI 02906. Note: “Being a Jew in France.” The $10 ticket price includes the film and panel discussion.

LINDA SHAMOON is co-chair of Arts Emanu-El at Temple Emanu-El in Providence.