THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
70 Friday, November 2, 1919
Jewish Communities of France Fight Assimilation, Intermarriage
By BEN G. FRANK
(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)
LYON, France — At the
junction of the turbulent
Rhone River and the tran-
quil Saone is one of the most
famous crossroads of West-
ern Europe: Lyon, the third
largest city of France; a
leader in book publishing,
banking, the world's silk
capital and also the gas-
tronomic capital of France.
And if you walk between
the two rivers in the quiet
pedestrian walkway section
surrounded by attractive
shops you will meet Jews
who openly and proudly
wear the Star of David.
For there are about
35,000 Jews living in this
city which is busy and bustl-
ing and with its diversified
economy which includes
scientific and technical re-
search as well as metal and
aerospace industry.
Unlike other cities in
France where young
Jews head for Paris, this
community is proud of its
accomplishments, its op-
portunities and is even
now welcoming Jews
from Iran as it did nearly
20 years ago Jews from
Morocco, Algiers and
Tunisia.
There are now more than
700,000 Jews in France and
about half live in and
around Paris. Much has
been written about the
Parisian Jews. But what
about the other half spread
throughout France which is
the third largest Jewish
community outside of Israel
and the fourth largest in the
world?
A visit to three cities in
France — Lyon, Marseilles
and Nice — shows Jewish
organizations no longer
busily engaged in bringing
in and absorbing immig-
rants from North Africa.
Today in these three cities,
Jewish communities are
well established with
synagogues, institutions,
community centers, day
schools, senior citizens
homes, kosher restaurants
and active organizations —
at least two or three for
every member of the com-
munity.
are house calls
a thing of
the past??
OF COURSE NOT!
Let
The Jewish News
visit your home or
that of a friend or
relative each week.
MINEMONIIM
To: The Jewish News
17515 W. 9 Mile Rd., Suite 865
Southfield, Mich. 48075
I
Please send a year's gift subscription to:
I
1
1
NAME
ADDRESS
STATE
CITY
ZIP
OCCASION:
FROM:
[I] $15 enclosed
11- 1M111•1111111101•1 11 1116 MENIMMOMMINOMPINOMOI Mm•INISINgo
• wo
1
11
Like their brothers and
sisters in Paris, Jews are
also settled into Lyon, Mar-
seilles and Nice and many of
them, as well as their sons
and daughters, are profes-
sionals, affluent and active
in Jewish causes, especially
Israel.
The dangers the Jews
face in these three cities
are no longer adjusting,
but fighting assimilation
and intermarriage in a
country which assimi-
lates Jews faster than
any other.
Lyon, for example, which
is 319 miles from Paris,
makes a good stopover en
route to the Alps or the
Riviera. The Jewish com-
munity of Lyon is proud to
relate how Jews came with
the Romans who settled
here and even today, exca-
vations in the old
cemeteries often turn up
tombstones ' with Hebrew
writing. In "Old Lyon,"
there were Jewish streets in
Roman times, and one such
street today is called Rue
Juiverie.
Many of Lyon's Jews
came before World War I
from Turkey and other
Mediterranean countries.
Ashkenazim arrived before
and after World War II and
one of the most interesting
Jewish sites is the main
Ashkenazic synagogue at
13 Quai Tilsit, dedicated in
1864.
Jews in Lyon have estab-
lished more than a dozen
synagogues, numerous so-
cial halls and clubs. Like
many cities in France, one
finds numerous organiza-
tions, at least 35 in Lyon,
from Bnai Brith to WIZO to
Young Leadership of the
United Jewish Appeal, to
Zionist youth groups, to a
day school of Ozer Hatorah.
Seventy percent of the
Jewish community in
Lyon is Sephardic. These
Jews from North Africa
at first were engaged in
the export-import busi-
ness. Later they ex-
panded their establish-
ments to become owners
of factories and commer-
cial enterprises, though
their children often be-
came professionals, doc-
tors, teachers, lawyers,
engineers. Information
on this community can be
obtained at the FSJU
(Fonds Social Juif Unifie
similar to a federation or
welfare fund in the U.S.),
at 146 Grand Rue de la
Guillottiere, in Lyon.
One finds a difference in
Marseilles. Here is a
smaller Ashkenazic com-
munity, for Marseilles is a
city of Sephardic Jews, vib-
rant, exciting people who
brought with them their de-
votion to Judaism which
was ingrained over hun-
dreds of years of living in
the mellahs and casbahs of
North Africa.
There are 70,000 Jews in
Marseilles which is the
third largest Jewish com-
munity in Western Europe.
Most of them are North Af-
rican Jews from Marrakesh,
Casablanca, Algiers, Oran
and Tunis. In 1956, there
J
;
were only 15,000 and it was
the newcomers who have set
up nearly 20 synagogues,
day and vocational schools,
youth centers and a kosher
restaurant.
Marseilles is, of course,
an historic city for Jews.
After World War II much of
what the British called il-
legal traffic of Jews to their
future Jewish homeland
flowed from Marseilles,
whose famous street is the
Canebiere which winds
down to the Vieux Port (old
port).
Although Marseilles is
becoming more indus-
trialized, Jews here seem
to indicate that a big
problem is that many of
the young people move to
Paris which always has
attracted thousands be-
cause of its central posi-
tion in the galaxy of
French provinces. The
young Jews who want to
work in Jewish organiza-
tional life usually have to
relocate to Paris which
is the headquarters of
Jewish groups and - com-
mittees.
A two-hour train ride
from Marseilles brings one
to Nice, where there are
30,000 French Jews. Many
Algerian Jews chose Prove-
nce section and the Riviera
because the sun-drenched
climate, the red tiled roofs
and their brilliant gardens
reminded them of their
former North African
homes which they left in the
early • 1960s when the
French departed.
When Algeria became in-
dependent in 1962, it was
natural for these Algerian
Jews who were French citi-
zens, French educated and
French speaking to resettle
on the mainland. As citi-
zens, Jews from Algeria
could immediately join the
civil service as postal em-
ployees, customs officials
and civil servants.
In Nice, the capital of the
Riviera, many Jews engage
in wholesale and retail
trade, in clothing, and in the
tourist industry. Many
Algerian Jews in Nice have
set up exquisite boutiques
and shops and •become de-
signers and sellers to the
Aliya Predicted
TEL AVIV (ZINS) —
Akiva Levinsky, treasurer
of the Jewish Agency, be-
lieves 120,000 Jews will
emigrate to Israel during
the next three years.
He said more than
100,000 Jews are now
"stateless," including
50,000 Russians and 25,000
Iranians.
Since 1948, 1,650,000
persons have emigrated to
Israel.
Military Balance
JERUSALEM (ZINS) —
The Center for Strategic
Studies at Tel Aviv Univer-
sity believes that there will
be no significant shift in the
Middle East balance of mili-
tary power before 1982:
The center stressed in a
report Israel's air superior-
ity and the loss of Egypt's
forces to the Arab side.
•
.• •
fashion capitals of Paris and
New York.
Nice, too, has its many
synagogues, its 'institu-
tions, community cen-
ters, as does nearby Can-
nes and other spots along
the Riviera. Most of the
hotels in the area have
notices of where one can
find Jewish prayer serv-
ices.
The Nice area is a ca A
of art and is proud of one of
its most illustrious citizens,
Marc Chagall, who is
Jewish. Many of his re-
nowned works are located in
the beautiful hill-top sec-
tion of Nice in the National
Museum, the Bible Message
of Marc Chagall on the
Avenue du Docteur
Menard.
Jews in Nice, as well as
Marseilles, Lyon and even
Paris are looking for direc-
tion and eager for a chal-
lenge. One idea comes from
Avi Primor, an Israeli, who
for a number of years was
second in command at the
Israel Embassy in Paris.
Primor plans to create a
new infrastructure with the
help of a core of 200 young,
idealistic French Jews. The
200 had organized the
highly successful demon-
stration, "12 Hours for Is-
rael," in Paris some three
years ago. About 100,000
French Jews turned out for
support of the Jewish state
on that day. The group dis-
banded shortly afterward
and Primor said that he met
with them and they are
ready to volunteer and set
up centers of Zionist action
all over the Paris suburbs
and the provincial towns
that will become a new pro-
Israel infrastructure.
It is, of course, early to tell
if it will succeed. But any-
thing which will increase
the participation in na-
tional and Jewish life in
France will help make this a
stronger Jewish commu-
nity.
Stamp Honors
Rogers, Cantor
SILVER SPRING, Md. —
Bnai Brith Philatelic Serv-
ice will offer a special first-
day cover with the com-
memorative stamp honor-
ing Will Rogers to, be issued
on Sunday • in Rogers'
hometown of Claremore,
Okla.
The cachet honors . Ae
Cantor (1892-1964), great
American Jewish
entertainer of stage,
movies, radio and television
And a personal friend of Ro-
gers.
Jewish Director
for Young GOP
WASHINGTON — The
College Republican Na-
tional Committee an-
nounced the appointment of
Yacov Feingenbaum as
Jewish College Republican
Coordinator. Feigenbaum,
18, is active on various
committees for Bnei Akiva
(a religious Zionist youth
group), and is a recent
graduate of the Hebrew
Academy of Cleveland.