France is still reeling from a week of violence in Paris in early January that left 17 people dead, including four Jewish men shot and killed at the Hyper Cacher kosher grocery on a Friday afternoon before Shabbat. An enormous rally that included heads of state from around the world took place the Sunday afterwards, and a show of support against terror and anti-Semitism rippled throughout the country. Chabad rabbis, students and volunteers weaved through the crowd of more than 1.5 million people at the Paris rally, wrapping tefillin and bolstering the spirits of Jews who were there.
One month later, attacks occurred in Copenhagen, with a shooting at an arts event dealing with the freedom of speech and religion, which left a civilian dead, and another shooting the next day outside the city’s Great Synagogue, where a Jewish security man was killed while guarding approximately 80 people attending a bat mitzvah celebration.
Europe is grappling with significant issues regarding the security and future of its Jewish population, but nowhere is that more telling than in France, where eyes are turned to see what its leaders are doing and how Jewry there is faring. Chabad Rabbi Chaim Shneur Nisenbaum, of the Complexe Scolaire Beth Haya Moushka School in Paris and spokesperson for Beth Loubavitch in Paris, responds to some of the most pressing concerns.
Q: Did the attack on the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris come as a huge surprise? Particularly after the March 2012 shootings that targeted Jewish civilians in Toulouse and a spike in attacks against Jews last summer during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, how high was the level of concern regarding the safety of French Jewry?
A: After the attacks of last summer, we knew that it was only the beginning. Over the years, as we saw growing anti-Semitism from certain immigrant populations, we tried to make the authorities aware of this new danger. But unfortunately, it was to no avail. The leaders of the community, observant or not, were fully aware of it. We just hoped to be wrong. Still, a Jew was not afraid in his day-to-day life in Paris, and nobody thought it was possible [that deadly terrorist attacks on the streets of Paris] could happen.
Concerning the French community as a whole, everybody was shocked by the attack at Hyper Cacher. Yet the strong public response—the demonstrations, the signs of support, etc.—came more as a result of the attack on the Charlie Hebdo publication than the attack at Hyper Cacher because of the symbolic importance of fighting for the freedom of speech.
All this emotion, however, moved everyone to the consciousness of a growing anti-Semitism among the second and third generations of Muslim immigrants from North Africa. This public awareness is new because this group was always considered the victims of global society, and as such, weren’t expected to harm other communities. Right now, leaders of Islam in France are condemning those acts, which is really important as their voices were not so loud in the past.
It must also be said that French President François Hollande and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls took what happened much more seriously than their predecessors. Nevertheless, it is clear—and all the more so after the attacks in Denmark—that the problem is not uniquely French, but European. And maybe it can be found in all other countries in the world, even in the United States, that this new danger is here. It’s a danger that comes with every person seduced by jihadist ideas and who feels that the murderers are, in fact, heroes of their cause.
Q: How can French leadership ameliorate the situation? Is it a matter of law and order, protection and security, education and communication? Why is anti-Semitism seemingly so strong in France right now, stronger even than in many other European nations?
A: There is a strong will by the French government to fight this new anti-Semitism. They have made very clear statements and adopted strong measures besides the efforts in security matters. The action has to be in several fields at the same time. Of course, police and justice officials have to be very active, but in the long term, only education can effect change. Schools have to teach that we are all members of the same French nation and that nothing can divide us, even if we don’t think or live the same way. That’s the position of the French government.
Anti-Semitism isn’t any stronger in France than it is, for instance, in Belgium or England. There have been a number of surveys about this issue. European security agencies and departments know that the risk of an attack is very high everywhere, and that England could be next. Remember that before these recent attacks in France and Denmark, there was the case in Belgium [four people, including an Israeli couple, were killed in a May 2014 attack inside the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels]. This is connected with the presence of large Islamic communities in those places as well, as in France.
Q: How do you reassure Jewish families for the long-term? What words of comfort do you offer—what prayers, what advice? And more than that, how do you keep people from leaving the country, as they have been doing for quite some time now?
A: We quote the words of the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] in similar situations—that with Torah, prayer and charity, we can overcome all of these negative events, and that we must be confident in G‑d and be proud of our Judaism.
As for Jews leaving, the aliyah from France has been growing in large measure for a few years. Last year, some 7,000 Jews emigrated from France to Israel, and after these recent events, we think about 10,000 to 15,000 more will leave. These numbers do not include Jews who are moving to countries other than Israel for the same reasons (mainly England, the United States, Canada and Australia). For all of them, we don’t know how to help [with their decision].
The point is that the Jews who are leaving for security reasons—fearing for their future and their children’s future—sometimes put themselves in material and spiritual difficulty. Materially speaking, they are moving to countries they don’t really know, the languages of which they don’t speak and without any precise idea of how to earn a living. Many of them will come back to France having lost everything, first here and then there, along with their hopes. Spiritually speaking, French Jews are used to the way they are accompanied in their lives by certain institutions, in particular, Chabad Loubavitch. Living among non-Jews, they may feel the privilege and obligation to behave as Jews (sending their children to Jewish schools, going to shul, etc.). But in Israel, things in that regard are not so simple, and I personally know several people in that situation who came back because they saw problems over time.
Q: For the Jews who remain in France, do they feel safe? Are they comfortable wearing kipahs and continuing to shop in kosher stores? Are people looking over their shoulders? Is anything changing besides a need for more security?
A: Some Jews have stopped wearing kipahs while in the streets, but it’s definitely a small minority. People still buy food in kosher stores, but we have observed fewer people going out to kosher restaurants, which is a real French habit [going out to eat].
The community leaders keep repeating, at every juncture, that we have to live freely as Jews and not change aspects of our way of life because of the current situation. People go to work, use the Métro, and walk in the streets of Paris and other cities without feeling in danger. For the moment, everything is quiet, and there are French soldiers everywhere. Nevertheless, we have to see what the reactions will be following the attacks in Denmark.
On the positive side, Jews seem to be more united and more aware of the need of G‑dly support. We saw it for the big meetings that Loubavitch recently organized. For example, in Paris, the Siyum HaRambam (the celebration of the annual completion of the study of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah) was planned in a big hall one month after its actual conclusion, which was right after the Hyper Cacher attack. Obviously, we didn’t want to cancel it in spite of various warnings from the police and the hall owners. And, in fact, the attendance was much larger than in the previous years. The same was true for the Beis Loubavitch gala dinner in mid-February—around 2,000 people participated, and contributions were more generous than ever before.
Q: What can others, especially world Jewry, do in response to the current tense situation? How can those outside the country support French Jewry and/or help?
A: When we see the concern of other Jews around the word, this strengthens our unity, and is important in and of itself. If everybody adds in good deeds—wherever he or she is—that will be of a great general help. Let’s hope for good news.
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