France: Anti-Semitism for Kids

[ethics]

Antisemitism in France—like oxygen--being everywhere today. An unusually clear-eyed piece in the International Herald Tribune shows how nightmarish life has become for French Jewish schoolchildren: Anti-Semitism infuses French debate on scarves (http://www.iht.com/articles/129008.html).
While the public discussion focuses on France’s vaunted secularism, on women’s rights and the definitions of Frenchness, racism is a silent but powerful undercurrent propelling the debate.


It is an undercurrent that Sarah Aguado, a precocious 13-year-old, knows well. As the only Jew in a school with a large Muslim minority, she was repeatedly insulted and attacked and finally forced to flee.

Classmates called her a “dirty Jew.” One student slapped her and made a racist remark. Another asked whether her family in Israel “owned guns and killed Palestinians.” Sarah stopped eating and had nightmares, her mother said. Five weeks ago, mother and daughter moved to the south of France, where Sarah enrolled in a new school, relieved to exit the “catastrophic” situation.

As France’s National Assembly passed a law Tuesday banning head scarves and other religious symbols from the classroom, teachers and Jewish groups said that the larger problem of anti-Semitism in French schools remains deeply ingrained and would not be solved simply by banning religious headgear.

Anti-Semitism is so prevalent in some of the housing projects that ring Paris and other major French cities that “it’s become infused into the language,” according to Barbara Lefebvre, a history teacher at a French public school.

“Just about every week I see students in my class - where there are no Jews - insulting each other by saying, ‘Stop it, you Jew.’ Or ‘No, you can’t borrow my pen, it’s not yours, Jew.’ Or if their pen is broken they’ll say: ‘What’s wrong with my pen? It’s a Jew.’

”When you point it out, they say, ‘This is just a way of speaking.’"

[Sierra Mike]

"Definitions of Frenchness?" I thought that was a triad deal: one has to smell bad, like equally smelly cheese, and surrender at the first sign of a potential problem.

SM

[cdw]

How frightening is all I can say. I guess it's so frightening to me because I can't understand it. I just can't seem to understand the hate that seems to follow these people around. And europe...did those people learn nothing? didn't they teach their children and those coming into the country this just is not acceptable? Will not be tolerated?

[ethics]

Looks like the Jews learned from Germans. Joe Gandelman reports that, sick of antisemitism, Jews are leaving France in large numbers. (http://themoderatevoice.typepad.com/blog/2004/06/a_new_dark_mark.html)

[archidante]

Antisemitism in France—like oxygen--being everywhere today. An unusually clear-eyed piece in the International Herald Tribune shows how nightmarish life has become for French Jewish schoolchildren: Anti-Semitism infuses French debate on scarves (http://www.iht.com/articles/129008.html). While the public discussion focuses on France’s vaunted secularism, on women’s rights and the definitions of Frenchness, racism is a silent but powerful undercurrent propelling the debate.


It is an undercurrent that Sarah Aguado, a precocious 13-year-old, knows well. As the only Jew in a school with a large Muslim minority, she was repeatedly insulted and attacked and finally forced to flee.

Classmates called her a “dirty Jew.” One student slapped her and made a racist remark. Another asked whether her family in Israel “owned guns and killed Palestinians.” Sarah stopped eating and had nightmares, her mother said. Five weeks ago, mother and daughter moved to the south of France, where Sarah enrolled in a new school, relieved to exit the “catastrophic” situation.

As France’s National Assembly passed a law Tuesday banning head scarves and other religious symbols from the classroom, teachers and Jewish groups said that the larger problem of anti-Semitism in French schools remains deeply ingrained and would not be solved simply by banning religious headgear.

Anti-Semitism is so prevalent in some of the housing projects that ring Paris and other major French cities that “it’s become infused into the language,” according to Barbara Lefebvre, a history teacher at a French public school.

“Just about every week I see students in my class - where there are no Jews - insulting each other by saying, ‘Stop it, you Jew.’ Or ‘No, you can’t borrow my pen, it’s not yours, Jew.’ Or if their pen is broken they’ll say: ‘What’s wrong with my pen? It’s a Jew.’

”When you point it out, they say, ‘This is just a way of speaking.’"




dhimmi history repeats itself....we need to import more Islamic people to the United States too....to balance out the culture. It's just too darn Judeo/Christian.

[Asaeed]

I would like to make an observation if I may.
The fact that Jewish children are being harassed in school for being part of their faith is a horrendous one. We all know from going to elementary school that kids can be very cruel and often pick on kids in a minority of somekind, wether it be a religion race or disability. Kids who have to endure extreme forms of this naive intolerance are bound to have some degree of social apprehension later in life. I notice that everyone agrees that this whole idea is pretty sick. Yet many people in this forum contribute to similar stigma and dont consider the consequences. In the US today, countless schoolchildren face prejudice and intolerence for being Muslim. The general public is immersed in the assumption that the terrorists in the middle East represent the Islamic faith, and therefore Muslims in America must also be evil and violent. Any educated person understands the difference between an extreme sect (which is illegal in Islam, making terrorists non-Muslim) and the pure form of a religion. Unfortunately people look the other way in the case of Islam. This leads to descrimination against innocent and faultless Muslims all over the country. This is going on now, all around us. Yet nobody seems to mind.

[ethics]

This is much more than about kids.

[Asaeed]

This is much more than about kids.Yes. My apologies for digressing. I just felt like vocalizing my observation, because I would like it to be recognized that all scenarios involving prejudgment lack any kind of justice.
However, returning to the topic,
It is unfortunate that Immams are recieving so much credit from Muslims for their interpretation of Islam. It is a fact that Islam does not allow any form of clergy because every Muslim is supposed to maintain a personal connection with God based on one's own dedication to him. The concept of clergy has risen in Islam for a long time now, and I must say from personal expreience, that most of these preachers are ignorant fools because they defy the very teachings of the religion they attempt to interpret. Instead of spreading the word through love and acceptance, they skew the book to serve their own agenda/benefit.

[ethics]

Well, I don't disagree with you. I think that many Muslims are good, peace loving people. It's unfortunate that the hate-mongers are coveting and getting the spot light.

But I digresss.

[Asaeed]

By the way, my last post was in reference to the article about mass migration of Jews out of Europe.

[ethics]

Asaeed, the problem I have with many posters stating, or excusing (not saying you are) anti-semitism is that they try to divert you away from the problem by either equating their own victimhood and or attempt to explain the unexplainable.

I am not going to sit here and lie to you that Muslims are not discriminated against. But I am not going to compare France and America as far as how "hate crimes" (stupid law but that's for another thread) are being treated. Here, average Americans, a large majority of them do not sit idly by while some innocents are hurt, no matter what gender, race, religion they are.

For the Nazi Hunter to offer official stance on France urging Jews to get out, is beyond what goes on here and there in the US. I am not saying that a crime on a Jew is more worthy than a crime on the Muslim, but the differences are in the numbers and how the official government is caring for this.

[Neo]

Having lived and worked in France it is my opinion that the French in general but especially the Parisians are equal opportunity discriminators in that they consider anyone not "pure" French or Parisian as inferior. As a society the French and Parisians are the most arrogant folks you will ever encounter.

Their saving grace is they also have a lot of positive attributes and if they like you as an individual or agree with you they are good to be around. If not though, there is no waffling on the relationship or their attitude.

[Asaeed]

Asaeed, the problem I have with many posters stating, or excusing (not saying you are) anti-semitism is that they try to divert you away from the problem by either equating their own victimhood and or attempt to explain the unexplainable.

I am not going to sit here and lie to you that Muslims are not discriminated against. But I am not going to compare France and America as far as how "hate crimes" (stupid law but that's for another thread) are being treated. Here, average Americans, a large majority of them do not sit idly by while some innocents are hurt, no matter what gender, race, religion they are.

For the Nazi Hunter to offer official stance on France urging Jews to get out, is beyond what goes on here and there in the US. I am not saying that a crime on a Jew is more worthy than a crime on the Muslim, but the differences are in the numbers and how the official government is caring for this.
Leon,
Agreed. You make an excellent point.

[Ugly]

Yet many people in this forum contribute to similar stigma and dont consider the consequences. Hopefully it is answered with citations and not name calling when one asks for some examples from GA please? If there is but one thing that appears true here at GA, it is such generalizations, stereotypes to be precise, are routinely challenged. Merely saying something exists does not make it so.

[ShinyTop]

I asked the dual citizenship French/Canadian about the reports of new anti semitism in France. His response was it must be inaccurate, the French have always behaved well towards Jews, why they were even the first to allow them to vote. And he saw nothing funny about that answer. Oh, well.

[ethics]

Should have uttered one word, "Vichy".

[joseftu]

You took the word right out of my mouth, Leon.

I would have also said "Dreyfus."

[ShinyTop]

I was a guest at my son's wedding and was not going to take a chance of putting a damper on the day to make a point. The people observing rolled their eyes so I think the point was made as much as necessary. I did get the impression he was used to attacking America without anybody giving him another viewpoint. The others at the reception and parties gave no hint of an anti American agenda.

[ethics]

I was a guest at my son's wedding and was not going to take a chance of putting a damper on the day to make a point.
I understand.

[ravital]

You took the word right out of my mouth, Leon.

I would have also said "Dreyfus."
I was beginning to wonder if anyone remembered that one.

But let's be fair, for one thing, it's pretty old, and for another, France may happily take credit in the Dreyfus "affaire" being the inspiration that a Viennese news correspondent covering the case, needed in order to come up with the then incongruous idea of a state for Jews.

[joseftu]

A pretty hefty stretch for France to take credit! I'd hate to see Germany use a similar argument! ;)

[ravital]

Growing up Jewish, even in a fairly secular home that celebrates only the major Holidays, means you spend your childhood learning all the lamentations and jeremiads of your history, as repeated every year on Seder night (Passover, I don't want to take for granted that everyone knows what I mean) - "That in every generation someone arises to destroy us." Now this is a very, very wide brush so please don't anyone get offended, but it does instill a martyrdom complex of sorts, as though a history of persecution defined all of Judaism. At least it did through the 19th century and probably the first half of the 20th, and I'm sure in some places it still does - notable exceptions would be Jews living in America and Israel.

Indeed, growing up Israeli, you learn at a young enough age to flip a bird at the rest of the world, and value your life enough to defend it. You might expect even a short history of successful survival, a "never again" attitude prevalent in every facet of your culture and every moment of your day, to lead to a repudiation of this martyrdom complex, but it doesn't. One actually reinforces the other. I never quite understood it, but when I was finally able to think even semi-intelligently for myself, I realized that not everyone who legitmately points at your frayed shoelaces is an antisemite, as my peers would dismiss him. When the Settlement movement showed up in Israel, I could read the writing on the wall. By the time the first intifada came around in late 1987, I had developed a deep contempt for this mentality. We are successful survivors, we don't take anything lying down, we have proved that much over and over, so what are we afraid of? Are we so fragile that we have to spin every condemnation of our excesses as antisemitism? Isn't at least part of being a Jew and an Israeli about the intestinal fortitude to see our mistakes?

All this was to explain that I humbly believe I am capable of telling a legitimate criticism from sheer hatred, and that I'm as careful as humanly possible about tossing the antisemitism accusation at anyone, even those who have proven themselves as such.

I should also say that I've lived in France in my early teens (I was a "diplomat brat"), I've been called a "Sale Juif" around the schoolyard, I've learned ot deal with that special breed of bullies, but I didn't understand much back then. Since then, with the memory of WWII still fresh in European memories, most Europeans have develped their own brand of PC towards Jews, or at least their governments have. Whatever their definition of crime motivated by antisemitism or "hate-crime" is, it is rigorously prosecuted, especially in Germany and France, for reasons you'd expect. For a while, even the French word for Jew or Jewish - "Juif" - was taboo, the PC term was "Israelite" (complete nonsense, the Israelites disappeared off the face of the earth thousands of years ago, Jews originate from the kingdom of Judea). On the level of political discourse however, Israel is, as it should be, fair game - and that's been a perfect proxy for the exact same sentiments since 1967, a legitimate outlet for masked anti-semitism.

Probably a good half (and I'm being generous) of what you might read on the pages of "Le Monde" on any day of the week, if it pertains to Israel, is legitimate criticism of policy. The rest is the new kind of anti-semitism: Phiol-semitism.

They love the Jew. As long as he's willing to depend on non-Jewish benevolence for his survival. They take immense pride in anything that demonstrates their repudiation of antisemitism - the Greeks in Salonika and the Turks in Istanbul who embraced the Jews expelled from Spain, the few French and many Dutch who risked their lives to hide Jews from the Nazis - they revel in that history - and why not, at least part of that reputation is well deserved. Just as long as the Jew doesn't have the unmitigated gall to insist on the right of every human being to stand on his feet and defend himself.

In the end, the choice for me is simple: The antisemite can harm me, or kill me, but he can't deceive, confuse, surprise or disappoint me, I know exactly what he's about, I can appreciate his honesty, no surprises. The philosemite is a pretender, trying to repudiate past sins, by committing another one - lie to me about finding safety under his wing. No thanks.

If anyone here remembers the Entebbe story - the Air-France plane hijacked to Uganda, and the rescue operation that followed - 28 years ago yesterday, June 30 1976, was the day that the hijackers released all the non-Jewish passengers as well as the crew. That's when Air-France Captain Michel Bacos announced to the terrorists that all passengers, without exception, were his responsibility, and refused to leave them behind, inspiring his entire crew to take this incredible risk with him, apparently without him saying a word to them, let alone ordering them. The same Captain Michel Bacos was reprimanded by his "superiors" when he got home, and temporarily suspended from duty. That's a Frenchman I'd be proud to shake hands with. And given that Air-France was at the time government-operated (nationalized in 1946), the contrast between his action and the action taken against him, provides a perfect - though only partial - demonstration of what's wrong with Europe: it's not the people, it's the leadership.

[joseftu]

Great post, Rav. I did not know the story of the Air France pilot (especially not the reprimand when he got home) and it's an interesting one indeed. It shows that we can't paint even the French with too broad a brush.

Just one small point--I can't really speak for Israel or Israelis, but I would say that here:
Now this is a very, very wide brush so please don't anyone get offended, but it does instill a martyrdom complex of sorts, as though a history of persecution defined all of Judaism. At least it did through the 19th century and probably the first half of the 20th, and I'm sure in some places it still does - notable exceptions would be Jews living in America and Israel. America is an exception only relatively--not absolutely. And I speak from all too unhappy, and all too personal, experience.

[ethics]

Fantastic post!

[ravital]

America is an exception only relatively--not absolutely. And I speak from all too unhappy, and all too personal, experience.
I was making an educated guess based on my 25 years in America but you're right, I didn't grow up here and I only have second-hand knowledge of Jewish life in America, so thanks for the correction.