Choice Review

The Jews of France, now the world's second largest Jewish diaspora population, have lived under a dizzying procession of social, cultural, and political circumstances since the French Revolution, from the striking advances of 19th-century assimilation to the growing waves of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments in the 21st century. Drawing on earlier surveys as well as philosophical, sociological, and demographic literature by Jews and non-Jews, French-born and educated sociologist Cohen (Bar Ilan Univ., Israel) has attempted to characterize the distinctive features of contemporary French Jewry. His findings, based on a 2002 analysis of 1132 phone interviews and a follow-up study three years later, depict an aging community concentrated largely in Paris and other urban areas, where they tend to be better educated and overrepresented in the academic, executive, managerial, and liberal professions. Cohen also cites the erosion of the old distinction between Juif and Israelite, the removal of large numbers of Jewish children from the public schools, the community's mounting concern over terrorism and antisemitism, its growing attachment to Israel, and, particularly, its remarkable range of values between adherence to tradition and individualism, and between communal values and autonomy. He concludes with the prospect of waning Jewish numbers and influence in the Hexagon. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. C. Fink Ohio State University