The Jews of France: A History from Antiquity to the Present

304 Pages·1999·1.46 MB·English

by  Esther Benbassa

THE JEWS OF FRANCE
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THE JEWS OF FRANCE
A HISTORY FROM ANTIQUITY
TO THE PRESENT
Esther Benbassa
TranslatedbyM.B.DeBevoise
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright1999byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,
Chichester,WestSussex
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Benbassa,Esther.
[HistoiredesjuifsdeFrance.English]
TheJewsofFrance:ahistoryfromantiquityto
thepresent/EstherBenbassa;translatedbyM.B.DeBevoise.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-691-05984-5(cloth:alk.paper)
1.Jews—France—History. 2.France—Ethnicrelations. I.Title.
DS135.F8B3613 1999
944′.004924—dc21 99-17461
Cetouvragepubliédanslecadreduprogrammed’aideàlapublication
bénéficiedusoutienduMinistèredesAffairesEtrangères,du
ServiceCultureldeL’AmbassadedeFrancereprésentéauxEtatsUnis,
etduMinistèrefrançaischargédelaCulture–Centrenationaldulivre.
Thiswork,publishedaspartoftheprogramofaidforpublication,
receivedsupportfromtheFrenchMinistryofForeignAffairs,the
CulturalServiceoftheFrenchEmbassyintheUnitedStates,
andtheFrenchMinistryofCulture–NationalCenterfortheBook.
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinJanson
OriginallypublishedasHistoiredesJuifsdeFrance,
ÉditionsduSeuil,1997.
Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirements
ofANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992(R1997)(PermanenceofPaper)
http://pup.princeton.edu
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
TO THE MEMORY OF
Annie Kriegel
A JEW OF FRANCE
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Contents
Translator’sNote xi
NotetotheFrenchEdition xiii
Preface xv
Foreword,byAronRodrique xxi
Chapter1. TheOriginsoftheJewishPresenceinGaul 3
DuringtheRomanConquest 3
UndertheFranks 5
TheChurchandtheJews 5
TheCarolingian“GoldenAge” 7
TowardRoyalAlliance 8
Ecclesiastical Reaction 9
EconomyandCulture 11
Chapter2. Nobles’Jews,Kings’Jews 13
IntheSeigneuries 13
Kings’Jews 15
TheReligiousZealofSaintLouis 17
BetweenChurchandTemporalPower 18
ConditionalLiberty 20
TheEraofCrises 21
AnotherReturn 22
North/South 24
Chapter3. JewishLifeintheMiddleAges 26
CommunalSpace 26
CulturalSpace 33
Chapter4. TheJewsoftheSouth 41
TheComtatVenaissinandAvignon 41
NewChristians andJews:SpanishandPortugueseinFrance 47
Chapter5. TheJewsoftheEastandofParis 58
MetzandLorraine 58
Alsace 64
Paris 70
viii CONTENTS
Chapter6. OntheWaytoEmancipation 73
TheEnlightenmentandtheJews 73
APolicyofEmancipation? 79
Chapter7. NewPerspectives 84
TheTerror 85
UnderNapoleon 86
TheGrandSanhedrin 89
TheConsistories 90
InternalDivisions 92
InaSecularState 94
Chapter8. EntryintoFrenchSociety 96
ASpectacularIntegration 97
FromTraditiontoIntegration 99
Paris:TheNerveCenter 103
Socioeconomic Profile 106
Demography 110
Chapter9. AdvancementandIdentity 114
AdvancementthroughEducation 114
IntheArtsandLiterature 115
IntheAcademyandStateAdministration 117
AlternativePaths 119
AndWomen 123
IntegrationandJewishness 124
FromJewtoIsraélite 125
ModernSolidarity 128
ScholarshipandthePerpetuationofTradition 131
Chapter10. BreachesinFranco-Judaism 134
Immigration 134
Anti-Semitism 137
TheAffair 141
Zionism 146
Chapter11. BetweentheWars 148
Migration 148
NeighborhoodsandTrades 149
ConceptionofJudaism 151
RevivalofAnti-Semitism 153
ReexaminingJudaism 156
CONTENTS ix
YouthMovements 157
RepositioningZionism 159
TheNaziPeril 161
Chapter12. TheDarkYears 166
TheWar 166
FromCitizentoPariah 167
TheRoundups 171
PublicOpinion 174
TheUGIF 175
TheResistance 177
Chapter13. Recovery 179
TheInfluxofNorthAfricanJews 185
TheNewFaceofFrenchJewry 189
Chronology 201
Notes 221
Bibliography 241
Index 271