76 | NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 
J
N

NAPOLEON, THE MOVIE, 
NAPOLEON AND THE 
JEWS & MORE 

Napoleon, a big budget film 
about Napoleon Bonaparte 
(1769-1861), opened in the-
aters on Nov. 22. Advance 
publicity says it is “primari-
ly” about his rise to power 
and his relationship with 
Josephine, his first wife.
I imagine the “bookends” 
of his life will be covered 
quickly. The first “bookend,” 
I assume, is his youth on 
the island of Corsica. The 
Bonaparte family were of 
Italian nobility ancestry and 
were vehemently opposed 
to the King of France’s 
takeover (1769) of Corsica. 
So, it’s no surprise that 
Napoleon was an early 
supporter of the French 
Revolution (1789).
The other bookend: the 
end of Napoleon’s marriage 
to Josephine (1810) in favor 
of a wife who could give 
him an heir as well as the 
military losses (1812 and on) 
that ended with Napoleon’s 
permanent exile (1815) from 
France.
Before 1812, Napoleon 
was a phenomenon. He 
trained at a French mili-
tary school and was only 
15 when he became an 
artillery officer. In 1793, he 
placed cannons on a hill 
and blasted British ships 
out of a major French har-
bor. This clever tactic put 
him on the map — but he 
became really “big” when, 
with his cannons, he put 
down a major royalist coun-
terrevolution in Paris in 
1795.
The same year, he began 
seeing Josephine, a widow 
who was six years older 
than Napoleon. In 1796, he 

was named the head of 
the new “Army of Italy.” I’ll 
return, below, to the Army 
of Italy and Napoleon, 
because it is important, to 
this day, to Jewish history.
From 1796 to 1812, 
Napoleon’s career had few 
setbacks. France did lose 
important naval battles. 
But, on land, Napoleon’s 
brilliant tactics defeated 
all his enemies: Britian, 
Austria, Prussia, Russia and 
others. By 1810, he con-
trolled, directly or indirectly, 
most of Europe. In 1799, 
he became the de facto 
dictator of France. In 1803, 
he crowned himself as 
Emperor of the French and 
he crowned Josephine as 
his Empress.
Joaquin Phoenix, 49, 
plays Napoleon. Over the 
years, Phoenix has estab-
lished himself as one of the 
leading actors of his gen-
eration. He has earned five 
Oscar nominations, winning 
once (The Joker).
Joaquin’s mother was 
Jewish. His father was not. 
When he was a child, his 
parents were members of 
a Christian cult. He’s been 
secular as an adult and, 
a few years ago, Joaquin 
described himself as a sec-
ular Jew.
Now, for the Jewish 
angle: Two major principles 
of the French revolution 
were that all men were 

equal and that all religions 
were to be tolerated. In 
1796, Austria, a monarchy 
at war with the new French 
republic, controlled much of 
northern Italy. There were 
also some smallish Italian 
states. The Pope controlled 
a big slice of central Italy.
Napoleon and his Army 
of Italy defeated them 
all, including the Pope. 
He tore down the walled 
ghettoes Italian Jews had 
lived in for centuries, and 
he made Jews legally 
equal to Christians. Prior 
to Napoleon, Jews had to 
live in crowded, often fetid 
walled-in neighborhoods 
(ghettoes). Jews had to 
return to the ghetto at 
night, and they were barred 
from working in most jobs.
Napoleon tore down 
ghetto walls in every place 
he later conquered, and 
he made Jews equals. He 

emancipated Jews across 
Europe and, while eman-
cipation often didn’t out-
last Napoleon’s downfall, 
it never ended in France 
itself.
Scholars say Napoleon 
said some “unkind” remarks 
about Jews in private. 
But, overall, he was a 
friend of the Jews. Go to 
YouTube and search these 
words: Napoleon and the 
Jews. There are several 
videos on this topic. But 
one stands out: Napoleon 
and the Sanhedrin. It’s a 
30-minute gem that weaves 
together Napoleon and the 
Jews with the “big picture” 
about European emanci-
pation. It’s simply terrific — 
folksy and scholarly.
J.T. Palace, a Michigan 
author and a JN reader, 
has written a thriller novel 
titled Risky Business. It 
follows Jason Kirby, a by- 
the-book accountant who 
gets his dream job at an 
auto parts manufacturing 
company. Kirby does some 
forensic accounting, and he 
gradually ferrets out big-
time corruption, with for-
eign ties, that could destroy 
his company. Kirby’s 
research puts a target on 
his back.
Palace worked in auto-
motive manufacturing and 
finance, and government 
for about 40 years. Risky 
Business is based on some 
actual experiences and 
events, fictionalized events 
and fictional events related 
to his work experiences. 
(Available on Amazon).
In my Nov. 9 column, 
I wrote that the Israeli 
series Bros would premiere 
on Netflix on Nov. 9. That 
date was in many good 
media sources. Bros is 
currently not streaming on 
Netflix, and I am trying to 
find out why. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

IMBD

Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon

WIKIPEDIA

Emperor Napoleon I, painting 
by Jacque-Louis David

