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See Audi Sylvania for complete details. Offer expires 8/31/16. 2018590 Magna Society Audi Sylvania there. The congregation had 50 or so in attendance, a small yet intimate group. I found myself repeatedly distracted by the imposing black marble murals along the synagogue walls commemorating Vichy Jews slain during the war. After the service, I was invited upstairs for Kiddush and conversa- tion by the rabbi, a Sephardic Jew of Moroccan descent named Daniel El-Haddad. At one point, with the image of that AF sticker still fresh in my mind, I asked if he ever feels threatened to go out dressed very obviously as a Jew or frightened about any reprisal for his beliefs. “I have never had a problem with who I am,” he said without hesitation. “I have always kept my kippah on my head since my childhood. Everyone knows that I am Jewish, and a lot of people respect me for that.” In spite of this, he still warned that we must all remain vigilant of nationalist extremism. He is right, which is why I decided to speak with a member of AF directly to understand this extremism more intimately. Separate The Cultures Waiting outside a quaint patisserie while sipping a cappuccino, I was surprised when a young man approached the table and asked, “Allo, êtes-vous Ian? Je m’appelle Amaury.” We spoke for a little under an hour, covering everything from him explain- ing AF’s raison d’etre to the ongoing refugee crisis, liberalism and French identity. During the course of our interview, I interrupted Amaury to ask him if it was at all possible for a non-native to become French. “C’est impossible.” When I followed up later by asking what defines a Frenchman, he gave a coy response. “That’s an unpopular question, a complicated question… It’s not just that someone is white, is Catholic, but some- one who believes in French values. But Republican values, they’re not French because they’re not good.” The motto of such Republican val- ues is and has always been: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” These were the same values that granted French Jews full citizenship under Napoleon Bonaparte. To Amaury, this slogan undermines his belief that it would be best if all cultures were segregated, believing that each one has a respective homeland to go to. I refrained from bringing up Israel as an example of how difficult this idea becomes in practice. Still, if we lend credence to Amaury’s argument, especially after the recent assassination of a French priest by Islamic extremists, would that 3-year- old mentioned earlier be so wrong to believe Muslims are incompatible with French society? He is only 3; he doesn’t know any better. We do. We know where this route leads when our base instincts categorize what is foreign as hostile. We who have lived through centuries of persecution should know better than anyone how quickly such demonization descends into bar- baric madness. I am reminded of a passage in Exodus, a mitzvah, which reads: “And you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” It is imperative, now more than ever, that we take stock of our own his- tory and heed the lessons therein. If we refuse to see how the hatred once spewed at us is now being thrown against another, we will fail that 3-year- old. We will fail him if we ignore our his- tory in favor of the immediate sense of safety we feel today. Two paths stand in front of that child, one of hate and one of understanding. Which one will we lead him down? @ Ian Wendrow, 21, is from West Bloomfield. He is an International Relations graduate from Michigan State University where he will begin a master’s in journalism this fall. Strength. As a Laker, you’re in with the smallest big university in the country. We’re large enough to have the impact of a major university, and small enough to respond nimbly to you. That’s the Laker Effect. And we can’t wait for you to become part of it. gvsu.edu 2074380 50 August 25 • 2016 A national military policeman stands guard near a pub- lic gathering for the Eurocup match between France and Ireland. Public security was increased significantly in the wake of recent terror attacks in Paris and elsewhere.