The Shaping of Jewish Identity in Nineteenth–Century France by Jay R. Berkovitz

Author:Jay R. Berkovitz [Berkovitz, Jay R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Modern, 19th Century, Political Science, World, European, Social Science, Jewish Studies
ISBN: 9780814344071
Google: qpdwDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Published: 2018-02-05T05:23:42+00:00

According to Bloch, excessively violent discipline further aggravated the situation by choking the development of the child’s intellectual faculties and by repressing the growth of his most elevated feelings.67 The quality of instruction was limited by the teacher’s lack of certification and shortterm contract, usually six months at a time. Classes were generally held in the home of the teacher, who collected his students’ weekly tuition payment in lieu of a regular salary. Consequently there was little, if any, room for children of the poor.68

Although the views of public officials and régénérateurs on the establishment of modern Jewish schools appear to have been virtually identical, their respective goals were really quite far apart. As a sharp critic of Jewish tradition, Cottard undoubtedly regarded the promotion of public Jewish education as a transitional stage that would prepare the Jews for entrance into “la grande famille française.”69 Few French public officials, including Cottard, could have supported, or anticipated, the continued proliferation of separate Jewish schools, as this would have violated their grand plan for social integration. Among the régénérateurs a vastly different philosophy underlay their initiatives. It is quite significant that the Archives israélites, which only began to appear in 1840, expressed unqualified support for the establishment of separate Jewish schools. One might have expected that after some fifty years of enfranchisement, support among the régénérateurs for separate Jewish education would have eroded. This, however, was not the case. The régénérateur movement stubbornly rejected the claim that separate education would impede the ultimate goal of successful integration in French society. Not surprisingly, therefore, the Archives israélites took issue with the decision of the Nancy Consistory in 1843 to close its Jewish school and have the students attend the city’s public school where special courses in Jewish religion were offered.70 The journal explained that the resurgence of Catholic influence in the public schools and the accompanying possiblity of renewed missionary activity posed a genuine danger for Jewish students throughout France. In the case of Nancy, the seat of notorious Jew-baiter M. Forbin-Fanson, the decision to close the city’s Jewish school was, according to the Archives israélites, especially ill-advised.71

The real issue, however, was ideological. In response to a Lyonnais opponent of separate Jewish education, the journal, after citing the example of the Protestants, put it this way: “Why should we not have our own schools and an organ to discuss our religious interests? If you want to take the word fusion in an absolute sense, close your synagogues, your cemetaries, and your benevolent societies. The israélite is part of the French people; but for that which concerns religion, he has his own special interests.”72 From this statement it is clear that the régénérateurs were careful to set limits on the scope of fusion. In their view, there was no contradiction in being both Jewish and French, though the relationship between the two identities demanded special attention. For this reason the régénérateurs insisted that the separate schools must provide a complete curriculum of religious and secular studies.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.