Navon, Emmanuel. “France, Israel, and the Jews: The End of an Era?” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs (early view; online first).
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23739770.2015.1042277
Excerpt
The tragic events that shook France in January 2015 (the mass shooting in Paris of Charlie Hebdo journalists and of shoppers at a kosher supermarket) raised questions about the safety of French Jews and revived the age-old controversy about public statements by Israeli leaders calling upon French Jews to immigrate to Israel. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Jews are not safe in France and that Israel is their true home, he stirred the ire of French officials. Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France retorted, “Without its Jews, France would no longer be France, and the Republic would be considered a failure.” Was this just another controversy about Israel’s right (or lack thereof) to speak in the name of French Jews, or do the tragic January 2015 events mark the end of an era in the history of French Jews? One cannot address this questions without understanding the history of French Jewry and of the relations between France and Israel.
