France: Growing up and working as a Jew in France

An account of growing up and working in France by a Jewish woman, who now lives in Australia @ Jews Down Under.

Paris: "Death to the Jews"

[...] I returned to Paris in 2004. I had never had Arab colleagues before, but on my first project upon returning there were quite a few. They were born in North Africa, highly educated and in France to get work experience before going back home. We had a few conversations about politics – not unusual in France. Some of them told me that there was a tradition of anti-Semitism in their country, especially among the older generations. They themselves didn’t seem anti-Semitic at all. However talking about Israel was much more difficult. I tried very hard to have an exchange with those I considered I could. But it was almost impossible. They always came back to the ‘Deir Yassin’ massacre or videos they would have seen of Israeli soldiers torturing Palestinians. I completely disagreed with their point of view, but I could understand why they felt compelled to have a strong opinion on the matter being fellow Arabs/Muslims. 

With the French (non-Jewish) colleagues on the other hand, it was much harder to understand why they cared so much about that issue – and seemingly no other. I would have to dig very deep to find any similarity between someone born in France or Gaza. I now think it goes back to the French traditional anti-Semitism.

They cannot stand to see the Jews having their own independent place on earth. Believing that the Israeli Jews kill Palestinians may relieve them of their guilt of being Nazi collaborationists during WW2. I remember spending hours in the evening researching on the internet and reading books to try and ensure that I had the ‘right’ argument for these often heated exchanges. It was exhausting and so unfair. I don’t believe any other people are guilty by default like the Jews and need to defend themselves like we do. In the end I just gave up and avoided the subject.

Burial of Ilan Halimi in Jerusalem

Then there was Ilan Halimi in 2006. A young Jewish man kidnapped in Paris by a gang of ‘barbarians’ – that’s what they called themselves – because they thought all Jews were rich. He was held captive in the basement of a housing commission and tortured for 3 weeks until he was left for dead on the street. Around me and in the media they tried by all means to prove it was not an anti-Semitic act. They couldn’t stand that if it was actually anti-semitism. They focused more on the killers than the victim to try and find excuses. They also blamed the Israeli prime minister for asking the Jews to leave France. 

After our holidays, my husband [who is not Jewish] mentioned our trip [to Israel] to his work colleagues. They attacked him with indignation – how could he go to this murderous country! They were not Arabic or Muslim, just French. My husband was shocked by the comments – especially coming from those he had become quite close to. He had never experienced something like that in Australia. [...]

Jewish victims of Mohamed Mehra

Today I hear there are almost no Jewish children in public schools, even in the centre of Paris. It has become very difficult to teach about the Shoah even though it is part of the curriculum. Jews cannot walk in Paris wearing a kippah for fear of being attacked. During the last Gaza operation in July 2014, mobs took the streets of Paris screaming ‘Kill Jews’, burned Jewish shops and attacked a synagogue terrorising those locked inside. This year there was “Charlie Hebdo” and “Hyper Casher”.

The Jews are leaving France in numbers. I don’t see what can improve this situation. Israel is constantly slandered in the media and people dare to say that the Jews, because of Israel, are responsible for what is happening to them. They say the real victims are the Muslims and they should be protected. The government has deployed the army in front of all the Jewish schools, and it is the Jews not the Muslims who are leaving the country because they fear for their lives.

I have never seen a crazy mob on the streets of Paris calling to kill the Muslims – but I have seen violent Muslims calling to kill the Jews. More.