'We dream in French'
January 13, 2015
The synagogue in the Rue Pavee in the Marais quarter of Paris, where many Jews live, was crowded on Monday. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve had come to assure the Jews of the government's support after the attacks on a Jewish supermarket and the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" last week.
He tried to instill a sense of hope in the deeply concerned Jewish community. After a French Cabinet meeting, Cazeneuve announced that all 717 Jewish synagogues in France would be protected by 4,700 soldiers and police officers until further notice.
"Fear is present for me as a Jew because I cannot wear my kippa whenever and wherever I like in the year 2015," David Boukobza told DW after meeting the interior minister at the synagogue. "I am inhibited in my freedom to practice my religion."
"We are a special target"
Ever since the attack on a Jewish school in the southern French city of Toulouse in 2012, Boukobza has been wearing his religious cap hidden under a hat. A French Islamist killed four people in the Toulouse attack.
For years, the number of anti-Semitic assaults has been rising in France, according to statistics by the European Jewish Congress. Since the beginning of the millennium, the number has increased sevenfold. The most recent attack in Paris is the sad culmination of this development.
"We Jews know that we are a special target," Boukobza said. "The government can't prevent such attacks if they're planned by single perpetrators, or 'lone wolves.' They can't really protect us."
The highest representative of Jews in France has a similar opinion. Roger Cukierman, head of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, participated in the memorial March of Millions on Sunday and summarized the current situation in one phrase: "We are in a situation and that situation is war."
Jewish associations in France have been asking for better state protection and a stronger fight against anti-Semitism for a long time.
"Jew is an insult"
Cukierman warned of heightened tensions back in December 2014, after three youths had assaulted a Jewish couple, abused them and demanded money.
"The word Jew is an insult in schools all over the republic," Cukierman said in a TV interview in December 2014. "This is very bad."
He also said that most of the five million Muslims living in France were peaceful, but that there were excesses. French sociologists have singled out a kind of popular militant Islam, which particularly young men are interested in.
It's no coincidence that most of the radicalized youth that travel from Europe to Syria to join the terrorist group "Islamic State" come from France. In the Marais quarter, synagogue worshipper, Jonathan Bibas, was angry because in his opinion, the French state has turned a blind eye for too long. "The intelligence agencies haven't done their job," Bibas said to DW. "The US and Israel provided information concerning the terrorists, but France didn't follow up. The government has to do more so the Jewish community can feel safe."
Emigration is growing
There are roughly half a million Jews living in France. In 2014 alone, 7,000 of them emigrated to Israel.
In 2013, this number was only half as big, according to statistics from the Jewish Agency of Israel.
This year, Israel expects 10,000 immigrants from France. But not all of them are leaving the country because of anti-Semitism - the economic crisis plays a role as well.
Only a few Jews are openly saying that they want to leave their country after the hostage-taking in the kosher supermarket that left four hostages dead. But some are thinking about it, at least according to David Boukobza. "I love Paris, my country and these streets." He points to the streets in the Marais quarter in a sweeping motion. "This is my life, but in the back of my mind is the thought that I might have to leave some day."
Israel is openly inviting French Jews
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly called on all French Jews to emigrate to Israel while visiting the Great Synagogue in Paris after the memorial march on Sunday. "Jews who want to come to Israel will we welcomed with open arms and great warmth - they won't come to a foreign country," Netanyahu said to great cheers in the crowded synagogue.
On Monday he visited the site of one of the attacks, the kosher supermarket, and relayed the same message again. Haim Corsia, France's highest rabbi, doesn't really like Netanyahu's suggestion. "We have participated in building this country and we will continue to build it," the Chief Rabbi said. "We dream in French, we think in French. I want to say to the Jews in France that we can live happily here as well."
Those who leave give up
The French government wants to curtail the debate on staying or going. New anti-terror laws are on their way. France without Jews wouldn't be the France that people knew and wanted, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said as a reply to the Netanyahu's offer.
Valls and French President François Hollande have purposefully condemned any kind of anti-Semitism over the last days and announced concrete measures. Maybe this could re-build damaged trust, Jewish representatives hope.
Jonathan Bibas, at the synagogue in Marais, doesn't believe that most Jews will emigrate. "You can live here pretty well, of course," he told DW. "Leaving wouldn't be in the interest of France."
At the protest march against Islamic terror in Paris on Sunday, many Jews held up signs saying "I am Jewish in France" or "I am Charlie, Jew and police officer." Many said that leaving now would mean tthat he terrorists had won.
When Netanyahu stepped up to the podium in the Great Synagogue, the French Jews showed their patriotism. They started singing the "Marseillaise," the French national anthem, spontaneously. Netanyahu smiled and seemed a little lost.
The bodies of the Jewish hostages who died won't stay in France. Their families want them to be buried in Jerusalem and not in France, Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem said.