French and Jewish - Nadia Malinovich

This study of Jewish culturalinnovation in early twentieth-century France highlights the complexity andambivalence of Jewish identity and self-definition in the modern world.

Following the Dreyfus affair, FrenchJews increasingly began to question how Jewishness should be defined in asociety where Jews enjoyed full political equality. Writers who had previously notgiven voice to their Jewish origins began to explore biblical themes,traditional Jewish folklore, and issues of identity and assimilation. Aplethora of new journals focusing on Jewish religion, history, and culture cameinto being, as did a multitude of associations-literary societies, youthgroups, religious organizations-that emphasized Jewish distinctiveness

Nadia Malinovich explores this blossoming of Jewish cultural life in France,often described by contemporaries as a Jewish 'renaissance' or 'awakening'.Describing and analysing the emergence of new forms of Jewish associationallife, she shows that the interface between the various groups was as importantas the differences between them: it was the process of debate and dialogue thatinfused new energy into French Jewish identity and culture. She similarlyanalyses the Jewish press and literature to develop a typology of themes,providing a panoramic view of how Jewish identity and culture were discussedand debated among Jews and non-Jews of varying ideological, cultural, andpolitical orientations. Her analysis also provides a vantage point from whichto explore the complex ways in which French national identity was re-negotiatedin the early twentieth century. During this period, French Jews in effectreshaped the category of Frenchness itself, and in so doing created newpossibilities for being both French and Jewish.

This is a stimulating and original book that makes a major contribution to ourunderstanding of modern Jewish history as well as to the history of the Jews inFrance and to the larger discourse about Jewish identities in the modern world.