Available:*
Shelf Number | Material Type | Copy | Shelf Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 944.004924 21 | 1:E-BOOK | 1 | 1:ONLINE | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
In the first English-language edition of a general, synthetic history of French Jewry from antiquity to the present, Esther Benbassa tells the intriguing tale of the social, economic, and cultural vicissitudes of a people in diaspora. With verve and insight, she reveals the diversity of Jewish life throughout France's regions, while showing how Jewish identity has constantly redefined itself in a country known for both the Rights of Man and the Dreyfus affair. Beginning with late antiquity, she charts the migrations of Jews into France and traces their fortunes through the making of the French kingdom, the Revolution, the rise of modern anti-Semitism, and the current renewal of interest in Judaism.
As early as the fourth century, Jews inhabited Roman Gaul, and by the reign of Charlemagne, some figured prominently at court. The perception of Jewish influence on France's rulers contributed to a clash between church and monarchy that would culminate in the mass expulsion of Jews in the fourteenth century. The book examines the re-entry of small numbers of Jews as New Christians in the Southwest and the emergence of a new French Jewish population with the country's acquisition of Alsace and Lorraine.
The saga of modernity comes next, beginning with the French Revolution and the granting of citizenship to French Jews. Detailed yet quick-paced discussions of key episodes follow: progress made toward social and political integration, the shifting social and demographic profiles of Jews in the 1800s, Jewish participation in the economy and the arts, the mass migrations from Eastern Europe at the turn of the twentieth century, the Dreyfus affair, persecution under Vichy, the Holocaust, and the postwar arrival of North African Jews.
Reinterpreting such themes as assimilation, acculturation, and pluralism, Benbassa finds that French Jews have integrated successfully without always risking loss of identity. Published to great acclaim in France, this book brings important current issues to bear on the study of Judaism in general, while making for dramatic reading.
Summary
In the first English-language edition of a general, synthetic history of French Jewry from antiquity to the present, Esther Benbassa tells the intriguing tale of the social, economic, and cultural vicissitudes of a people in diaspora. With verve and insight, she reveals the diversity of Jewish life throughout France's regions, while showing how Jewish identity has constantly redefined itself in a country known for both the Rights of Man and the Dreyfus affair. Beginning with late antiquity, she charts the migrations of Jews into France and traces their fortunes through the making of the French kingdom, the Revolution, the rise of modern anti-Semitism, and the current renewal of interest in Judaism.
As early as the fourth century, Jews inhabited Roman Gaul, and by the reign of Charlemagne, some figured prominently at court. The perception of Jewish influence on France's rulers contributed to a clash between church and monarchy that would culminate in the mass expulsion of Jews in the fourteenth century. The book examines the re-entry of small numbers of Jews as New Christians in the Southwest and the emergence of a new French Jewish population with the country's acquisition of Alsace and Lorraine.
The saga of modernity comes next, beginning with the French Revolution and the granting of citizenship to French Jews. Detailed yet quick-paced discussions of key episodes follow: progress made toward social and political integration, the shifting social and demographic profiles of Jews in the 1800s, Jewish participation in the economy and the arts, the mass migrations from Eastern Europe at the turn of the twentieth century, the Dreyfus affair, persecution under Vichy, the Holocaust, and the postwar arrival of North African Jews.
Reinterpreting such themes as assimilation, acculturation, and pluralism, Benbassa finds that French Jews have integrated successfully without always risking loss of identity. Published to great acclaim in France, this book brings important current issues to bear on the study of Judaism in general, while making for dramatic reading.
Author Notes
Esther Benbassa teaches Jewish History at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne, and is Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Among her books translated into English are Haim Nahum: A Sephardic Chief Rabbi in Politics, 1892-1923 , and, with Aron Rodrigue, The Jews of the Balkans and A Sephardi Life in Southeastern Europe .
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This is an ambitious and for the most part successful attempt to compress 16 centuries of Jewish life in France into a compact account, though it is necessarily wide in reach rather than deep, and for a popular work the writing is surprisingly stiff and formalÄperhaps an unfortunate by-product of such a tight compression. Some of the most important moments of French Jewish history (the Dreyfus Affair, the Holocaust and the resistance, for example) are given only cursory treatment and are narrated without dramatic verve. But Benbassa's command of the secondary literature is impressive. A professor of Jewish history at the Sorbonne, she reminds us that France was not just Paris, and her examination of Jewish life, emphasizing its regional variety, outside the French capital is important. Benbassa argues that France's intricate relationship with "its" Jews and their modern history of emancipation served as a paradigm for Jews in the Balkans and the Near East. "`Frenchness' became an integral part of the identity of these Jews," she states. She offers a close inspection of this paradigm from the time of the ancient Romans through the latest immigration to France from North Africa. Both the specialist and the general reader will find much that is useful here. There are interesting asides on social history: the role of women, styles of clothing and variations in language, though these asides are sometimes not fully developed. Overall, the work's examination of anti-Semitism, Zionism, modernism and the prolonged effects of the French Revolution more than make up for its defects. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Choice Review
Benbassa's clear, cogent, and concise synthesis of the history of the Jews of France is a most welcome addition to the increasing number of more specialized studies of French Jewry. Spanning the centuries from Roman Gaul through the present day, the author focuses on and adds new interpretive twists to ideas such as assimilation and pluralism. Any work of this nature must by necessity stress certain matters and give shorter shrift to others. Benbassa gives greatest emphasis to the modern era, yet even in the premodern sections she surveys essential material in an admirably truncated form. When concentrating on the early modern and modern periods, her treatment is richer, more nuanced, and fuller. Benbassa discusses firmly and clearly the shifting social and demographic forces, Jewish participation in the arts, East European migrations, the Dreyfus Affair, the Vichy regime, the Holocaust, and the influx of North African Jews. The paradox of France, the land of the "rights of man," of Dreyfus and Vichy, emerges from this eminently readable book, which includes a fine bibliography. General readers; undergraduates. S. D. Benin; University of Memphis
Library Journal Review
This survey of the life of the Jews in France from Roman times to the near-present offers a very useful summary of a troubled history. As the extensive bibliographies show, very little has been published on this subject in EnglishÄcertainly nothing as broadly conceived as this book. Benbassa (Jewish history, the Sorbonne) reports on the way French Jews were alternately tolerated and distrusted in, and eventually deported from, France throughout history. But in every era described, they were never expelled entirely. Disappointingly, however, Benbassa refuses to recount the sufferings of French Jews (other writers, she explains, have repeatedly dealt with these tragedies). Consequently, the reader is left with the impression that, because they were often recognized by French civil and ecclesiastical officials for their value to society as bankers, artisans, and merchants, Jews in France had it pretty good. The book contains a useful chronology (which in some cases offers more information than the text itself). Recommended for academic libraries and large public libraries with Judaica collections.ÄJames A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L., Atlanta (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This is an ambitious and for the most part successful attempt to compress 16 centuries of Jewish life in France into a compact account, though it is necessarily wide in reach rather than deep, and for a popular work the writing is surprisingly stiff and formalÄperhaps an unfortunate by-product of such a tight compression. Some of the most important moments of French Jewish history (the Dreyfus Affair, the Holocaust and the resistance, for example) are given only cursory treatment and are narrated without dramatic verve. But Benbassa's command of the secondary literature is impressive. A professor of Jewish history at the Sorbonne, she reminds us that France was not just Paris, and her examination of Jewish life, emphasizing its regional variety, outside the French capital is important. Benbassa argues that France's intricate relationship with "its" Jews and their modern history of emancipation served as a paradigm for Jews in the Balkans and the Near East. "`Frenchness' became an integral part of the identity of these Jews," she states. She offers a close inspection of this paradigm from the time of the ancient Romans through the latest immigration to France from North Africa. Both the specialist and the general reader will find much that is useful here. There are interesting asides on social history: the role of women, styles of clothing and variations in language, though these asides are sometimes not fully developed. Overall, the work's examination of anti-Semitism, Zionism, modernism and the prolonged effects of the French Revolution more than make up for its defects. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Choice Review
Benbassa's clear, cogent, and concise synthesis of the history of the Jews of France is a most welcome addition to the increasing number of more specialized studies of French Jewry. Spanning the centuries from Roman Gaul through the present day, the author focuses on and adds new interpretive twists to ideas such as assimilation and pluralism. Any work of this nature must by necessity stress certain matters and give shorter shrift to others. Benbassa gives greatest emphasis to the modern era, yet even in the premodern sections she surveys essential material in an admirably truncated form. When concentrating on the early modern and modern periods, her treatment is richer, more nuanced, and fuller. Benbassa discusses firmly and clearly the shifting social and demographic forces, Jewish participation in the arts, East European migrations, the Dreyfus Affair, the Vichy regime, the Holocaust, and the influx of North African Jews. The paradox of France, the land of the "rights of man," of Dreyfus and Vichy, emerges from this eminently readable book, which includes a fine bibliography. General readers; undergraduates. S. D. Benin; University of Memphis
Library Journal Review
This survey of the life of the Jews in France from Roman times to the near-present offers a very useful summary of a troubled history. As the extensive bibliographies show, very little has been published on this subject in EnglishÄcertainly nothing as broadly conceived as this book. Benbassa (Jewish history, the Sorbonne) reports on the way French Jews were alternately tolerated and distrusted in, and eventually deported from, France throughout history. But in every era described, they were never expelled entirely. Disappointingly, however, Benbassa refuses to recount the sufferings of French Jews (other writers, she explains, have repeatedly dealt with these tragedies). Consequently, the reader is left with the impression that, because they were often recognized by French civil and ecclesiastical officials for their value to society as bankers, artisans, and merchants, Jews in France had it pretty good. The book contains a useful chronology (which in some cases offers more information than the text itself). Recommended for academic libraries and large public libraries with Judaica collections.ÄJames A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L., Atlanta (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Annie Kriegel | |
| Translator's Note | p. xi |
| Note to the French Edition | p. xiii |
| Preface | p. xv |
| Foreword | p. xxi |
| Chapter 1 The Origins of the Jewish Presence in Gaul | p. 3 |
| Chapter 2 Nobles' Jews, Kings' Jews | p. 13 |
| Chapter 3 Jewish Life in the Middle Ages | p. 26 |
| Chapter 4 The Jews of the South | p. 41 |
| Chapter 5 The Jews of the East and of Paris | p. 58 |
| Chapter 6 On the Way to Emancipation | p. 73 |
| Chapter 7 New Perspectives | p. 84 |
| Chapter 8 Entry into French Society | p. 96 |
| Chapter 9 Advancement and Identity | p. 114 |
| Chapter 10 Breaches in Franco-Judaism | p. 134 |
| Chapter 11 Between the Wars | p. 148 |
| Chapter 12 The Dark Years | p. 166 |
| Chapter 13 Recovery | p. 179 |
| Chronology | p. 201 |
| Notes | p. 221 |
| Bibliography | p. 241 |
| Index | p. 271 |
| Translator's Note | p. xi |
| Note to the French Edition | p. xiii |
| Preface | p. xv |
| Foreword, | p. xxi |
| Chapter 1 The Origins of the Jewish Presence in Gaul | p. 3 |
| During the Roman Conquest | p. 3 |
| Under the Franks | p. 5 |
| The Church and the Jews | p. 5 |
| The Carolingian "Golden Age" | p. 7 |
| Toward Royal Alliance | p. 8 |
| Ecclesiastical Reaction | p. 9 |
| Economy and Culture | p. 11 |
| Chapter 2 Nobles' Jews, Kings' Jews | p. 13 |
| In the Seigneuries | p. 13 |
| Kings' Jews | p. 15 |
| The Religious Zeal of Saint Louis | p. 17 |
| Between Church and Temporal Power is Conditional Liberty | p. 20 |
| The Era of Crises | p. 21 |
| Another Return | p. 22 |
| North/South | p. 24 |
| Chapter 3 Jewish Life in the Middle Ages | p. 26 |
| Communal Space | p. 26 |
| Cultural Space | p. 33 |
| Chapter 4 The Jews of the South | p. 41 |
| The Comtat Venaissin and Avignon | p. 41 |
| New Christians and Jews. Spanish and Portuguese in France | p. 47 |
| Chapter 5 The Jews of the East and of Paris | p. 58 |
| Metz and Lorraine | p. 58 |
| Alsace | p. 64 |
| Paris | p. 70 |
| Chapter 6 On the Way to Emancipation | p. 73 |
| The Enlightenment and the Jews | p. 73 |
| A Policy of Emancipation? | p. 79 |
| Chapter 7 New Perspectives | p. 84 |
| The Terror | p. 85 |
| Under Napoleon | p. 86 |
| The Grand Sanhedrin | p. 89 |
| The Consistories | p. 90 |
| Internal Divisions | p. 92 |
| In a Secular State | p. 94 |
| Chapter 8 Entry into French Society | p. 96 |
| A Spectacular Integration | p. 97 |
| From Tradition to Integration | p. 99 |
| Paris. The Nerve Center | p. 103 |
| Socioeconomic Profile | p. 106 |
| Demography | p. 110 |
| Chapter 9 Advancement and Identity | p. 114 |
| Advancement through Education | p. 114 |
| In the Arts and Literature | p. 115 |
| In the Academy and State Administration | p. 117 |
| Alternative Paths | p. 119 |
| And Women | p. 123 |
| Integration and Jewishness | p. 124 |
| From Jew to Israelite | p. 125 |
| Modern Solidarity | p. 128 |
| Scholarship and the Perpetuation of Tradition | p. 131 |
| Chapter 10 Breaches in Franco-Judaism | p. 134 |
| Immigration | p. 134 |
| Anti-Semitism | p. 137 |
| The Affair | p. 141 |
| Zionism | p. 146 |
| Chapter 11 Between the Wars | p. 148 |
| Migration | p. 148 |
| Neighborhoods and Trades | p. 149 |
| Conception of Judaism | p. 151 |
| Revival of Anti-Semitism | p. 153 |
| Reexamining, Judaism | p. 156 |
| Youth Movements | p. 157 |
| Repositioning Zionism | p. 159 |
| The Nazi Peril | p. 161 |
| Chapter 12 The Dark Years | p. 166 |
| The War | p. 166 |
| From Citizen to Pariah | p. 167 |
| The Roundups | p. 171 |
| Public Opinion | p. 174 |
| The UGIF | p. 175 |
| The Resistance | p. 177 |
| Chapter 13 Recovery | p. 179 |
| The Influx of North African Jews | p. 185 |
| The New Face of French Jewry | p. 189 |
| Chronology | p. 201 |
| Notes | p. 221 |
| Bibliography | p. 241 |
| Index | p. 271 |