The views of a group of French Jews who are now living in London
It seems a distant memory now, but August brought a welcome break from the intensity of living in Paris.
Northern Italy is made of mountains and green hills, ancient stone cities and elegant bridges. People are welcoming and the food is great, from Courmayeur (“St. Moritz”) to Donizetti’s beautiful Bergamo.
We even stumbled on a wonderful photographic exhibition by Jonathan Freed in Aosta, and at the Verona Arena enjoyed Aida conducted by Daniel Oren sporting a blue and white kippa before a crowd of 14 000. We liked the Maria Callas exhibition too.
On our return, Paris was still immersed in the aftermath of the Nice attack that killed 86 and the grisly murder of the 85-year-old priest in Normandy.
As details emerged, the 'lone wolf' thesis fell apart — as did the idea that the murderers were driven by economic desperation. The parish’s commitment to interfaith dialogue with the Muslim community added a cruel twist.
Fear dominated the atmosphere: summer festivals were cancelled for security reasons, army and police officers visibly patrolled the streets, and security staff checked bags in theatres and commercial centres. While parents and teachers anxiously prepared for “la rentree” (back to school), the media locked onto three topics: Islam, terrorism and war in Syria.
In mid-August, the mayor of Nice sparked uproar by banning the burkini, and many mayoral colleagues followed suit. Two-thirds of the French population applauded, but the Anglo-Saxon world from Sydney to London via the New York Times was outraged at such 'bigotry.'
The French courts, acting with exceptional rapidity, ruled against the mayor on grounds of high principle and the civilised world breathed a sigh of relief. Like the veil, the burkini is defended as a matter of personal choice, but it is worn to comply with a powerful collective custom that pays scant attention to Western-style individual human rights , except when it suits. France is deeply attached to secularism (“laicity”) because of past battles against the Roman church and is struggling to respond to an assertive Islam and its growing Muslim minority.
French law forbids collection of official statistics based on race or religion, but the Institut Montaigne, a think-tank, has published a major study “A French Islam Is Possible”, with market researchers IPSOS.
The study provides a detailed portrait of Muslims in France and makes far-reaching recommendations to bring Muslims fully into the fabric of French society. Commentators hailed the report as confirmation that the majority of Muslims in France are integrating successfully – exactly as my family tells me.
Yet 28 per cent of Muslims – and a much higher percentage among the young and the converted – do not feel French and reject French values. They find their identity in Islam and feel victims of hostile powers (the US, Israel, the West generally) in the Middle East. These forces are frequently described by certain radicals as 'Crusaders' or 'Jews.'
As transmitted by Tarek Ramadan, Salafists and the Muslim brotherhood — not by their families or the local imam — Islam allows the young to recover a sense of lost pride. Anti-Semitism, the report observes, has thus become a marker of their identity.
French Jews, meanwhile, feel curiously — perversely — somewhat relieved. Perhaps it should not be said, but the Nice victims were of numerous nationalities and nearly a third were Muslim. The poor priest’s brutal killing provoked a French reaction even among those who had forgotten their Christian heritage.
Jews can now make their Sabbath prayers to the glory of France convinced they are again fully part of the French nation.
Reuven Levi has been a Paris resident for 35 years. He was married in the United States and is a father of three, grandfather of six, and an active volunteer in the Jewish Community.