the regeneration of french jewry - Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs

THE REGENERATION OF FRENCHJEWRY: THE INFLUX ANDINTEGRATION OF NORTH AFRICANJEWS INTO FRANCE, 1955-1965Michael M LaskierThis article grapples with the impact of communal self-liquidation ofNorth African Jewry in general and the Algerian diaspora in particular,during the 1950s and 1960s, based on new, primarysource materials ? theemigration destination being France. The influx and integration of NorthAfrican Jews into France during this period provoked a revolution in theFrench Jewish community, leading to the demographic domination of theNorth African Jewish component of French Jewry, after that communitywas dominated for many years by the Germanic and Eastern Europeancomponents. What were some ofthe causes for emigrationinto France?What challenges were posed by French society for the new arrivals? Whatwere the emigrants' contributions to the geographical expansion ofFrenchJewry, and to Jewish communal life in France? These and other aspectsfeaturedin this studyare parta ofbook manuscript in progress, entitled:The Jews of France and their Social and Political Transformation:1945-1995Jewish Political Studies Review 10:1-2 (Spring 1998)37This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

38 Michael M. LaskierThe BackgroundJews from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria beganto settle in Franceas the Muslim nationaliststrugglefor North African liberation fromFrance gainedmomentum.Firmly rooted in their milieu, the MaghribiJewish communities were not politicallyor economicallysecure andthe French colonial era in North Africa wasdrawingto a close.Beginningin 1955, an exodus of Jewish emigrantsandrefugeescommenced in the direction of Israel and France.By 1962-63, emigration had become large-scale.After Francegranted Algeria independencein the summer of1962, integration of Algerian-Jewish emigrants emergedas the toughest challenge for the French-Jewish communities.Ninety percent ofAlgeria's Jewish population, 120,000 people,fled to France; they hadrealized that their prospectsfor a sound economic future in anindependent MuslimAlgeriawere not good,andthey were Frenchcitizensby virtue of the Cremieux Decree of October 24, 1870. Incontrast, only 10,000 Jews headed for Israel.In a matter of months, beginningin the latter half of 1962, a newgeographyof the French Jewish communitywas created. Communities whichformerly numbered a modest 500 families or less expandedto include more than 4,000 families in 1963. While the overallpopulationof France increased by less than 1.5 percent with theinflux of French and other European repatriates from Algeria, by1965 the French Jewish communities increasedby 40 percent. Thistremendouspopulation growth, with the additional influx of Jewishrefugeesfrom Morocco and Tunisia, transformed FrenchJewry by1970 into the secondlargest Jewish communityin the WesternWorld, with over 550,000 people.What did FrenchJewry do to receive and absorb the Maghribinewcomers? Who financed their resettlement? Where did theysettleand how didtheycoexist with the once predominantlyAshkenazicommunities? After all, by the mid-1960s, after one decade of steadyemigrationto France, the Maghribi Jewish segment emergedas themajorityof the French Jewish population.The effort to assist the newcomers waslargely undertaken bytwo organizations: the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and the Fonds Social Juif Unifie (FSJU). The AJDC, whosemain centers of operationwere in New York, Paris, and Geneva, wascreated in 1914 by American Jews of German origin. Its functions,operating overseas, includedsubsidizing Jewish communal institutions throughoutthe world, financing Jewish emigrationto Israel,Europe,and the United States, and providing assistance, food, andThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 39clothingfor impoverished Jews ? refugees and non-refugeesalike.It was funded largely by the United Jewish Appeal (UJA).The AJDChad operatedin France since 1944, commencingimmediatelyafter the country'sliberation from the Germanoccupationand Vichyrule. For the first year and a half it emphasized meetingemergency requirementsin communitiesseriouslydevastatedbyWorld War II. By 1946, however, although the AJDC still encountered innumerable emergency problems,and contended with a largeinflux of refugees from EasternEurope,it began workingwithleaders of FrenchJewry as well as with local welfare organizationsto make their programs self-sufficient. In fact, the AJDC soughttopromotein the French communitiessophisticated fundraisingtechniquesused in the United States and, simultaneously,to conveyaclear message: AJDC operationsin France would not continue indefinitely.The combined efforts of the AJDC in France and localJewryresulted in the establishment, in 1949, of the FSJU. Modeled to someextent on America's UJA, the FSJU's two major objectiveswere: tocollect, on behalf of local Jewish agencies,funds for maintaininganddevelopingactivities as well as to seek other means of financing thisend; and, as a central distributing body,to allocate the funds toaffiliated agencies.In March 1960, Baron Guy de Rothschild, president of the FSJU,acknowledgedAmericanJewry's and the AJDC's contribution toward the developmentof this organization:...basing ourselves moreparticularlyon the American experience which is morecomplete,older and financiallybetter supported, we thought that it would be wise to establish a uniqueassociationcomprisingif possibleall social and cultural institutions which were not exclusively religious institutions, with aview to coordinating them in a collective and unified effort.We understood what America had known for a longtimealreadyand wassharingwith us. We understood that it was notpossible to gather significant amounts of money without doing itin a logicaland organizedmanner....We understood that what nosingle one of the federated agenciescould do on its own, wewould be able to achieveby constitutinga federation of thereasonagencies....The[our] tenth anniversaryis an expressionofreal achievement, is that we had set ourselves the task of becoming the Jewish communityof France ? on the social as planewellas on the culturalplane ? and we succeeded.1This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

40 Michael M. LaskierThe FSJU gradually adopted modern fundraising techniques,includingbenefit dinners, personal solicitations, massappealsthroughletters and other printed materials, and publicity throughL'Arche, the organization's monthly journal. Yet, notwithstandingthe gradual expansionof the FSjU to the benefit of local communalagenciesas well as refugees,in 1961 and 1962 French Jewry continued to depend considerablyon the AJDC. In 1962, France remainedthe largest European operationof the AJDC. It had the largestbudgetand it assisted the largest Jewish communityin?Europe240,000 Jews in 1961 and 1962.Indeed, the AJDC and FSJU were confronted by a serious challenge in France. Alreadyin 1944 and 1945 the French Jewish communities, consistingof over 200,000 Jews, were the onlyones outsideIsrael to be inundatedby consecutive waves of immigrants.TheFrenchgovernment'sliberal policyof keepingthegates open torefugees meant that the Jewish communities in France became havens for those who had fled their homelands for Western Europe.Hundreds of thousands of refugeesweregranted temporary asylum, pending permanent resettlement elsewhere. However, tens ofthousandspreferredto make France their permanent home. Neithertemporarynorasylumresettlement could have been undertaken hadthe French governments of the fourth and fifth republicsnot assisted. Notonly had drastic changesoccurred in French-Jewishgeographyanddemography, but significantsocioeconomic andcultural transformations createdproblemswhich remained unresolved for many years.The Arrival of North African Jews in France, 1955-1965Althoughmore than two-thirds of Morocco's and half of Tunisia'sJewry emigrated to Israel via Europe through the initiative of theJewish Agency, many others settled in France and Canada.AlgerianJewry, on the other hand, settled after 1962 mostlyin France, withonly 10 percent havingchosen Israel as their new permanent home.2Duringthe summer of 1955, when Tunisia wasgranted internalautonomy by the French as a decisive step toward full independenceand in the wake of Morocco'sstruggle for independence, Jews leftfor France.They soughtrelief and assistance from French Jewishagencies subsidizedby the AJDC and FSJU. Amongthese agencieswere the Comite Juif d'Action Sociale et de Reconstruction(COJASOR), the Comite de Bienfaisance Israelite de Paris (CBIP),known since 1963 as the Comite d'Action Sociale Israelite de ParisThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jexvs into France 41(CASIP), and the Service Social de Jeunes (SSJ), which attended torefugee youths.The data availablefor 1955 is sketchyat this stage of our research.Nevertheless, this information is indicative of the socioeconomicchallengeswhich confronted the subsequent Maghribinewcomers.Take, for instance, the fifty-nine newlyarrived families, 196 persons,whichapproachedthe CBIP betweenJulyand October 1955. Thesefamilies received cash relief benefits from the CBIPalthough theyappearedto be employableand to have sufficient funds for livingexpenses. They had liquidatedtheir assets in Morocco, Tunisia andAlgeriain order to pay their passage to France, and the overwhelming majority had relatives in Paris whoprovided initiallivingaccommodations. Moreover, the French labor market in 1955 wasstable, many of these peoplewho were skilledprofessionalsmanagedto secureemploymentwith relative ease.3Of these 196 persons 60 percentwere Tunisians, 30 percentwereAlgerians,and 10 percentwere Moroccans.4 It is unclear whether theTunisian element included in its ranks several Jews who were Frenchcitizens eventhoughmost of them were doubtless Tunisian nationals. Byvirtue of the 1923 FrenchCitizenship Law, one-fourth ofTunisia'sJewry obtained French citizenship duringthe French Protectorate era. Those whoenjoyedthis privilegealso became beneficiaries of substantial French governmental assistance, the type ofassistance French Jewish organizationsor relatives could not alwaysprovide. Algerian Jews, French citizens, also becamerecipients ofsuch aid. The Moroccan element, however, wascompletely dependent on relatives and Jewish relief agencies,for theyweresubjectsof Morocco's Sherifian Sultan. The French officials in Moroccorefrained throughoutthe colonial era from granting citizenshiptothe Jews.Whereas these fifty-ninefamilies fared well and became integratedinto Frenchsociety,this was the exception rather than therule. Alreadyin 1955 the real problem facingnewcomers was housing. The initial conditions under which theylived with relativeswere extremely difficult, with eight to ten people per room; in onecase, seventeenwerepeopleconfined to one room. When theirrelatives could no longerhost them, the North African newcomerswereforced to rent hotel rooms for 10,000 to 12,000 Francs per monthfor one room. This meant that a disproportionate partof their budgetwas used for rent butlivingconditions remained crowded. Theovercrowdingresulted in a rapiddeterioration in familyrelationa rareships, phenomenonin their countries of origin,as well ashealthproblems. Furthermore, most hotels would not accept smallThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

42 Michael M. Laskierchildren and in numerous instances the families placedthem withthe French Assistance Publique.5In May 1956, plans were drawn in the French Jewish communityto absorb the growinginflux of North African Jews. An emergencymeetingwas convened by Jacob Kaplan,the Chief Rabbi of France,held at Guyde Rothschild's office, and attendedby representativesof the AJDC, FSJU and other major organizations.It wasagreed thatin lightof the deteriorating conditions of the North African Jewish?populations especiallyin Algeria where a bloody civil war againstFrench rule victimized the Jews as it did the Muslims and Europeansettlers ? a coordinating office for resettlement research would beestablished in Paris. The FSJU took the responsibilityfor findingacapableindividual to head the office. Under the aegisof the CentralConsistory,the leading Jewish communal andreligious organization, a studyof housingandemployment opportunitiesin theprovincialcommunities was to be preparedfor families that wereabout to departfrom North Africa. Once the data on these issueswerecompiled,it would be forwarded to the coordinatingofficewhich, in turn, wouldrelayit to the North African communities forthose anxious to reach France.6It washopedthat the coordinatingoffice would also serve as aninformation and guide bureau for newcomers and wouldhelp createa reception committee at the port of Marseilles, one of the main portswhere the North Africans arrived. Alreadythe leaders of FrenchJewry, like the French government, encouragedthe resettlement ofemigrants andrefugeesinto the provinces rather than in Paris,hopingto avoid over-concentration in the capital where the housingshortage was particularlyacute. Moresignificantly, however, theJewish leadershipin France aspiredto strengthenthe small communities in the provinces.7Present at the meetingwasEugene Weill, secretary-generalof theAlliance Israelite Universelle. He maintained that as the number ofNorth African Jewish newcomers would increase, the major challenge would be integratingthe Moroccans and Tunisians, most ofwhom were not French citizens. On the other hand, Algerian Jews,French citizens for the mostpart, would become more integratedand could be eligiblefor substantial Frenchgovernmental assistance. Weillpredicted accuratelythat the largest group of NorthAfrican Jews would not come from Tunisia and Morocco, but fromAlgeria. This, he attributed to the growingtrend of Moroccans andTunisianssettlingin Israel.8We found no further evidencepertainingto the coordinatingoffice and its goal of facilitatingthe absorptionof North Africansinto their new geography.What seems certain is that the economicThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jem into France 43and political fortunes of North AfricanJewry, especially those inTunisia, took a serious turn for the worse in 1961 and 1962. The antiFrench manifestations of Tunisia's president Habib Bourguiba, andthe continuingcrisis in Algeria,resulted in a flood of refugeestoFrance. This influx overwhelmed FrenchJewry and brought aboutdemographic changesin their midst.Althoughthe Jewish communities in Tunisia wererelatively welloff underBourguibafrom the years 1956 to 1961, immediatelyfollowing independence, and their freedom of movement was respected,this situationchanged radicallyin the summer of 1961 inconnection with the Bizerte crisis. In July, Bourguiba demanded thatFrench President Charles de Gaulle evacuate France's bases atBizerte, bases whichrepresentedthe last vestigespast. Tunisia's insistence over Bizertedevelopedof the colonialinto full-scalefighting and resulted in a massacre of Tunisian civilians, a militarydefeat for Tunisia, but no evacuation until de Gaulle's decision(which would probablyhave been made in any event) more than twoyears later.For the Jews, the Bizerte crisis precipitated emigration.In 1960,only 1,800 left for Israel and France, but from the end of July untilmid-September 1961, 3,500 arrived in France. Thisfigure does notinclude 500 to 600 in transit at Marseilles on their way to Israel. TheMossad, Israel's secret service apparatus,in collaboration withFrench military personnelon active dutyon Tunisian soil, evacuatednumerous Jews from trouble spots and transportedthem out of thecountry. Of the 3,500 who arrived in France, 2,000 held Frenchpassports while the remainder were Tunisian nationals. The latterwerecategorizedas refugees partlybecauseBourguiba prohibitedexport of possessionsandcapital. Jews with French passports,accordingto AJDC sources in Tunisia, were able to registertheirproperty with the French consuls and thus draw up an inventory.Insome casesthey openedbank accounts abroad or had families inFrance to whomthey could turn for assistance. Jews of Tunisiannationality,on the other hand, had no consul to whomthey couldturn and were unable to take money with them upon departure.9Actually,the French nationals who left Tunisia or were evacuated ? Jews and non-Jews alike ? also enjoyedcertain privilegesinFrance. The French government organized complete receptionservices that included emergency housing,financial aid, and employment assistance. Once employmenthad beenprocured,loans forindependentbusinesses and assistance for government housingweregranted.The French governmentestablished a Secretariat deRapatriesto organizethe integration process of French repatriates.10This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

44 Michael M. LaskierTunisian Jews of French nationality, then, did not pose particularproblemsfor the local French-Jewish communities. With respect tothe 1,500 Jews of Tunisian nationality who had reached FrancebySeptember 1961, and subsequent newcomers, it was an entirelydifferent matter. Government services were not available for refuof Tunisiannationality,nor did the Service Social d'Aide auxgeesEmigrants (SSAE) appear to possess the financial resources for them.A serious problemthus emerged:whereas Jews of Tunisian nationality had the right to work and did not have a language barrier, asdid mostimmigrants from EasternEurope, theynonetheless wereexcluded from governmental welfare, medical and similar assistance. Consequently,the supportof the FSJU's and AJDC's subsidized aid organizationsbecamenecessary.11According to information provided by the FSJU, its personnelhad a modest booth at the port of Marseilles for the Tunisianrefugees. On September 1,1961, a jointventure of the Committee ofNorth African Jews in France and FSJU createdreception bureaus(bureaux d'accueil) in Marseilles and Paris. In later years the bureauxwere instrumental in assistingthe large-scale absorptionof AlgerianJews. Eventually,the bureaux assisted the refugeesin five areas:reception, housing, relief (cash assistance, care for the aged, childcare), religious/educational/cultural endeavors, and employment.The French governmentalconnection here wasindispensablein onlyone major aspect: the authorities grantedthe Tunisian (and Moroccan) refugeesthe "right of asylum,"a moralprotection rather thanan effective administrativeprivilege. Some Tunisians arrived withvisitors' visas granted bythe French consulate in Tunis. The visaswere valid for three months and weresubsequentlyconverted toresidencepermits.12The activities of the bureaux d'accueil in Marseilles and Paris weresimilar, althoughthe greatest responsibilityrested on the bureau inMarseilles. About 85 percent of the Algerian newcomers, as well asthe Moroccan and Tunisianrefugees, entered France via Marseilles.Beginningin 1962, the reception of newcomers extended into provincial towns such as Lyon, Toulouse, and Strasbourg, wheretheywere guided by representatives of the FSJU in cooperation with localveteran communities.13Supplementing the role of the bureaux in 1961 and 1962 was theaforementioned CBIP/CASIP cash relief agency, subsidized by theFSJU and AJDC. Its role was of immeasurableimportanceto Tunisian Jews in Parisfollowingthe Bizerte crisis. For example,inAugust 1961, 106 Tunisian-Jewish families ? 405?werepeopleassistedby this agency. Added to the sharpincrease of new Tunisianrefugees,the number of Moroccan and Algeriannewcomers had alsoThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 45increased. Whereas at the beginningof 1961 the CBIP/CASIP received an average of ten Algerianfamilies per month. In August,CBIP/CASIP figures showed twenty-one Jewish families ? 105persons ? who appliedfor cash relief14 (see Table 1). During 1962,the CBIP/CASIP received in Paris nearly 2,700 Algerian-JewishTable 1NORTH AFRICAN JEWS REGISTERED WITH CBIP:AUGUST 1,1961 - NOVEMBER 30,1961Month From Tunisia From Morocco From AlgeriaCases People Cases People Cases PeopleAugust1084052110540 188September1544982216327 141October201585205660 240November153612166470 280Total616 2,100 78 288 197 849Source: E. Odenwald-Kremsdorf to Dr. Sidney Nelson, Paris, December 9,1961, Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 382B.families whorepresented 12,000 people, 1,000 Tunisian familiesconsisting of 4,000 people, and 180 Moroccan families, totalling 600people.15The benefits grantedto North African Jews as earlyas 1961included medical and '/medico-social,, programs. WhileAlgerianJews were French citizens and thus eligiblefor the French socialsecurity system benefits that covered medical expenses, the Tunisians and Moroccans were aidedbythe French-Jewish medicalOrganisation aux Secours des Enfants (OSE) and the Tiomkinedispensaries.These agenciesnot only providedthe necessarytreatments but covered the expenses for drugsand appliances,dentalcare and eyeglasses. AdditionallyTunisian and Moroccan refugeeswho desired to attend French universities wereineligiblefor theFrench governmental scholarshipsoffered to Jewish and non-JewishFrench nationals from Algeria.To ensure that theybenefited fromThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

46 Michael M. Laskierhigher education in their newsurroundings,FrenchJewry createdscholarshipfunds for them.16In Paris, the Foyer Amical, a French Jewish AJDC-affiliatedorganization, operateda kosher canteen for refugeeswhich had acapacity of 200 persons per seating. Whereas early in 1961 thiscanteen served 600 mealsdaily,in Septemberof that year it madeover 900 mealsdailyfor persons who could not otherwise obtaincomplete kosher meals. This expansionwaspartly attributed to theinflux of Romanian-Jewish refugees,but it wasprofoundlyinfluenced also b the Tunisian-Jewish exodus duringand following theBizerte crisis.17Wealreadyremarked that the AJDC and FSJU were the most vitalorganizations promotingand subsidizing the resettlement of NorthAfricans and other Jews in France. Yet, howpreciselydidtheyoperate financially?Whichauxiliary agencies outside France supported them?There were three main sources of fundingin favor of the NorthAfrican and other newcomers. The PoolBudget which the FSJUshared with the AJDC, had a budget in 1963 of more than 7,500,000New Francs (NF henceforth), of which the AJDC invested 3,500,000NF and the FSJU contributed the balance. This source allocatedfunds to the diverseagencies which dealt with cash relief, canteens,child care, medical and medico-social programs (e.g., OSE), vacation camps, day schools, and youth centers.18 educational and cultural projects (schools as well as religious and secular centers) weresupported by the Jewish Claims conference (an international organization created in 1952, which used Germanpost-World War IIindemnification funds to subsidize institutions in Israel and theDiaspora)as a supplementto the Pool Budget.19The Common Fund was created by the AJDC/FSJU during theearly 1960s. The AJDC participated with the FSJU in conjunctionwith variousEuropean Jewish communities, the French government, and the Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) to advancefunds for the North Africans. In 1963 the Common Fund budget wasset at 10,000,000 NF, but available funds amounted to only 7,500,000NF. The AJDC invested 2,000,000 NF, the FSJU an additional 2,000,000NF, and the European Jewish communities and the French government provideda combined 1,300,000 NF. There was also a carryoverfrom 1962 of approximately 2,2000,000 NF, making a total of 7,500,000NF. However, it wasagreedthat the AJDC would hold a reserve of2,000,000 NF and the FSJU a reserve of 500,000 NF in case actualexpenditures would exceed these 7,500,00 NF.20The Common Fund provided financial allocations for the reception bureaus in Paris and Marseilles which, in October 1963, forThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into Trance 47instance, received 100 people dailyfrom North Africa. In December1963, the Common Fund assisted a total of 1,379 North Africans inFrance; in January1964 the number reached 1,481, and in February1964, 1,517.21As noted, the bureausprovideda widevarietyof services andemergedas the backbone of activity, including support for housingand job placement.In 1962 and 1963 the bureau'shousing departmentshelped800 families, representingover 3,500 persons. Theyprovidedinterest-free loans for housing (rent or purchase),although outright grants were also given.From November 1962 toMarch 1963, 630 housing loans based on the Common Fund weregranted, amountingto 1,900,000 NF, benefiting 3,170 persons.22between March and October 1963, an additional 170 housing loanswere disbursed, benefitinganother 330 North Africans.23Another notable contribution of the Common Fund was the workof CBIP/CASIP which, between January and August 1964, providedcash relief to 2,100 Tunisian Jews as comparedwith 2,005 duringtheentire year of 1963 (see Table 2).24Third, the Special Programs assistance fund, an exclusive initiative of the AJDC, providedassistance to Egyptianand East European Jewish refugees who arrived in France beginningin the mid1950s, escaping instability and persecution.25 Accordingto Dr. SidneyNelson, the director for AJDC operationsin France, in 1963 there wasstill a group of Egyptian Jews in France classified as "integrationcases." Since the Sinai/Suez War of 1956, 6,000 families, or over23,000 Jews, had been received by the AJDC-sponsored COJASORagency.26 From January 1 to March 31,1964, a monthly average of 871refugeesfrom Egyptand EasternEuropewere assisted in Francewith AJDC funds, compared to a monthly average of 1,278 duringthe first quarter and 998 duringthe fourth quarter of 1963. Thus, theSpecial Programsfund was not meant for the Moroccans, Tunisians,and Algerians.For the supporting agenciesit was the least burdensome fund of the three, for it was decreasing following the departureof East Europeanand Egyptiantransients to other lands or theirsettlementin France.27This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

48 Michael M. LaskierMonthTable 21964 MONTHLY CASH RELIEF LOAD:TUNISIANS (CASIP)Number of Beneficiaries AmountFamilies People NFJanuary18871944,356February19273339,436March16062432,262April18869439,743May20374137,474June20876741,714July19571236,406August15769939,013September21582544,646October3471,493104,818November3151,31886,684December3171,30896,988Source: Budgetand Finance Department, AJC, toCharles H. Jordan Regarding DevelopmentinTunisian Caseload in France, Arch.AJDC/Jerusalem, 382B.The Pains of Absorption and Integration into the NewGeography ? Emphasis on Algerian Jewry: 1962-1965In the latter half of 1962 there was an overall temporary slowdown in the arrival and registration of Tunisian and MoroccanJewish refugeesand emigrants,whereas the number of Jews comingfrom Algeriaincreased. AsearlyasJanuary-February1962 thenumber of Algerian Jews who turned to the FSJU in Marseillesexceeded that of their Tunisian and Moroccan coreligionists (seeTable 3).This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 49Table 3FSJU/MARSEILLES - SOCIAL SERVICE INTAKERefugeesfrom RefugeesfromRefugeesfromAlgeriaTunisiaMoroccoMonth Cases People Cases People Cases PeopleJan. 1962 37 175 18 55 42 10Feb. 1962 24 119 9 42 6 40Total 61 294 27 97 16 82Source: E. Odenwald-Kremsdorf to Dr. Sidney Nelson, Paris,March 2,1961, Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 5A.As French citizens, the Algerian Jews who left their war-torncountry were classified as "repatriates"like the Europeancitizens ofAlgeria,and not as refugees,the classification of most of theirMoroccan and Tunisian counterparts. This administrative measure(statut de rapatrte), distinguishing Algerianfrom Moroccan andTunisian Jews, was retroactive to March 1, 1962. Accordingto theFrench administration dealing with the repatriates (the Secretariatd'Etat aux Rapatri6s),between January and March 1962 an averageof 300 families from Algeriaarrived in Marseilles; it was estimatedthat at least one-third were Jewish families.28Whereas during the first half of 1962 Algerian Jews and nonJewish Europeansarrived in steadily increasing yet moderate numbers, the pact of departurefrom Algeria beginning around June andJuly1962 in the aftermath of Algeriannationalindependencewasenormous.Fleeingfrom politicaland economic uncertainties andthe influence of the revolutionary National Liberation Front (FLN),tens of thousands of Algeria's Jews headed for France. More thantheir Tunisian, Moroccan and Egyptian brethren, the newAlgeriancomers often spokeFrenchfluently. Just as the French governmentwas unpreparedin 1962 for absorbing 800,000 Algerian Europeans(French nationals), French-Jewish organizations,the FSJU included,apparently did not foresee the arrival of 120,000 Algerian Jews from1962 to 1965. Prepared for 25,000 to 30,000 repatriates, they wereoverwhelmed.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

50 Michael M. LaskierAs Claude Kelman, vice-presidentof the FSJU, revealed, FrenchJewry was confronted by the Algerianinflux when the renewal of theJewish community was alreadyin motion, after years of exposure toFrench cultural assimilation. The principalfactors in this renewalwere the establishment of the State of Israel and the need of devotedJews to identify with her, the augmentationof the French-Jewishcommunities by successive waves of immigrationfrom Eastern andCentralEurope, and the clear indication that troubled and disenchanted Jewish wereyouthsreturningto Judaism in search ofanswers. The impact of the Algerian repatriates interrupted but didnot halt the process of ideological, intellectual, and structural rebuilding begun by the French communities after the traumaticexperience during World War II under Vichy and the Germanoccupation.29Kelman further disclosed that one advantage enjoyed by thenewcomers, unlike previous emigrants,was their linguisticassimilation into French culture. This situation relieved FrenchJewry of amajor educationalobligation.Yet there were other problemstocontend with, over and beyond the pace of immigration.In the firstplace, any action on behalf of the Algerian repatriates,as well as theMoroccans and Tunisians, had to account for their primaryneed togive their lives an underlying religiousstructure: placesof worship,rabbis, kosher food, and rabbinic schools known as Talmudei Torah.The dispersionof the repatriates throughout France, albeit a prudentmeasure, made the cumbersome tasks of providing personnelandmaterial facilities for this purposemore difficult.30Secondly,the reorientation of the youthswas moreproblematic.Conditions in Algeria,Kelman maintained, were harsh duringtheperiodof the revolution, between 1954 and 1962. Jewish youthsarrivingfrom this milieu in France, affected by Algerianterror andFrench counterterror, were sometimespoliticallyextreme. In Francethey could become easy prey to extremist political philosophies.Therefore, it was incumbent upon FrenchJewry to provide themwith communal cultural facilities and effective Jewish schools.31Kelman sought to dispel the widespread notion in French societythat the public authorities accepted the entire responsibility for thesocial welfareproblems confrontingthe North African Jews. Although governmental agencies affordedlarge-scale assistance, itwas largely bestowed upon the Algerian Jewish repatriates. Therefugeesfrom Morocco received no state aid given their non-Frenchcitizenshipstatus and many of them couldonlyturn to the localJewish communities. At the same time, however, becausesegmentsof?Algerian Jewrylike the Moroccans and Tunisians?were religiously oriented, certain socialresponsibilitiesin the newgeoThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 51graphical surroundings usually undertakenby the state devolvedupon the FSJU and AJDC. Particularly noteworthy in this contextwas the case of children in Jewish youth homes, as well as theplacementin homes for the aged abandonedelderly persons who in1962-65 were still in Algeriaor scattered in hostels across France.32Similarly, Julian Samuel, the executive director of the FSJU,acknowledgedthat the assistanceprovided by the French government wasgenerous. The authorities did care for the Algerian repatriates and offered them basicopportunities for integration. TheFSJU, he observed, had no intention of duplicating in any wayFrenchgovernmental efforts for repatriates who were French citizens, as as longit was made available (author's emphasis).The role ofFrench and international Jewish organizationsin this respectwas toassist the Jews in obtainingthe various allowances and case bonusesto whichthey were entitled from the authorities. The repatriatesneeded Jewish organizational intercession in dealingwith the Frenchgovernment'sbureaucratic red tape.33It does appear, nonetheless,that Jewish organizations like CBIP/CASIP did duplicate or supplement French governmental cash assistance.Moreover, Samuel did not overlook the potential shortcomingsof publicassistance. Indeed, he raised the possibilityin 1962 that theauthorities might eventuallydiscontinue their subsidies for all repatriates. While many Algerian Jews couldby then integrate intoFrenchsociety, there was no guarantee that assistance to a core ofneedy people would be forthcoming. He then informed the representatives of the FSJU and AJDC:...our communitycannot fail to take care of heads of families overfifty years of age who may have been small tradesmen and whoare unable to re-establish themselves in France or find remunerative employment.We must also look after the problemsofwomen who have the responsibilityfor children, and for thoseaged persons who may not wish to enter public institutions orwho may preferto remainindependentas longas possible. Theseare the social welfare problems which will be the responsibilityof our communities whatever the system and the policiesof thegovernmentalauthoritiesin the next few months.34Even more concerned about the preservationof the Jewish cultural heritagethan Kelman, SamueTbelieved that it wasimpossible,dangerous,"and even criminal" not to conserve the socio-religiousstructures and the traditions of all the North African Jews at a timewhenthey were affected by this "brutal transfer." French Jewry,in hisopinion,had to be extremelycautious not to harm the ethicalsystemThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

52 Michael M. Laskierfrom which these structures had grown. Genuine social and economicintegrationhad to be based on a two-fold allianceconsistingof preservingthe newcomers' religious identity while, simultaneously, providing physical,economic and materialintegration.35Kelman's and Samuel's assertions were translated into action.Between June and October 1962, 150 elderly repatriateswere placedin Jewish institutional homes, most of them in the Rothschild Hospice of Paris. An additional thirty were placed temporarilyin nonJewish homes, for existingfacilities in 1962 were far from sufficientto meet the new needs. In October 1962,250 elderly repatriates wereawaitingvacancies in existing Jewish homes or facilities underconstruction. Among them were a number of religiouslyobservantindividuals, temporarilysheltered in government institutions wherekosher food and other religiousfacilities were unavailable. About 50percent of the 250 elderlywere infirm-disabled or semi-disabled,most of them blind.36To accommodate the educational needs of repatriates' children,existingschools had to be expanded.The three major Jewish dayschools in Paris were filled to their capacityof 1,000 people.TheYavn6 school, with a previousenrollment of 250-300, was completelyremodeled to accommodate 400 children. The cost of theproject was covered by the Jewish Claims Conference and the FSJU.The Ecole Mai'monide was renovated in 1963 to add five moreclasses, a gymnasium,and newboardingfacilitiesimperativetoincrease the capacityof the school by120 pupils, including twentyfive additional boarding students. The Ecole Lucien de Hirschadded a new buildingand renovated the old one to absorb additionalcosts.37pupils.The Claims Conference covered 50 percent of allThough as late as 1961 the Jewish day school network wasprimarilycentered in Paris and Strasbourg, by1962 Otsar ha-Torah?an organization founded in the 1940s by AmericanSephardimtodisseminate Jewish religiouseducation in France and the Mediterranean basin countries ? openedschools in Lyon.38Whereas in 1951only 8 percent of Marseilles Jewish children frequented some formof religious schooling, by 1965 the ratio tripled.39 In Paris, the CentralConsistoryalso created dayschools and supplementaryeducationalinstitutions, while the Alliance Israelite Universelle, active in educating North Africans and Middle Eastern Jews in their countries oforigin since 1862, expandedits work in France; in 1963 and 1964 itopened schools in Nice and an excellent institution at the Parissuburb of Pavillion-sous-Bois?which was still operating effectivelyin 1990. Moreover, the Yeshiva in Aix-les-Bains added a new wingand built a kitchen and dining room.40This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 53The proliferationof educational facilities waslargely underwritten by Claims Conference grants funnelled to the FSJU and theCentral Consistory. The Claims Conference also subsidized a publication program for textbooks, reading material for children, adolescents, and adults. A completeeducational programwas initiatedwith lectures, meetings, publications by various local organizations,and correspondencecourses in isolated communities. Funds wereallocated to improve Jewish libraries as well as to providenew onesin communities where none existed before the Algerianinflux. Thisfinancial assistance also enabled French universities to commencelectureshipsin Hebrew languageand literature, provide Hebrewteachers for government Lycees, and open eveningYeshivot.41In the very small provincialcommunities where the repatriatesresettled, the correspondencecourses would not suffice. In 1962 and1963, the FSJU and the Claims Conference established the FondsaTemporaire,fund to salaryrabbis and teachers. The purposewasto strengthencommunal life in the newlycreated or regeneratedJewish areas.geographicalAmongthe beneficiaries of the fund werethe communities of Avignon, Belfort, Le Havre, Montpellier, Nimes,Reims, Perpignan, Aix-en-Provence, and Valence.42It was Claims Conference fundingthat permittedthe construction of Jewish community centers, an innovation heretofore unknown in Europe.Devised along the American model, these buildings went up throughoutFrance in the 1960s and 1970s. With theirattractive premises and broadrangingsocial and cultural programs,they became important magnetsfor younger North African Jews,whotraditionally regardedthemselves as a separate communityrather than as members of a "cult/'43The youths among the were repatriatesbeneficiaries of FrenchJewish summer camps and vacation colonies. Prior to 1962, enrollment in these facilities amounted to approximately 6,000 youths.Duringthe politicalcrisis which engulfed Algeriafrom the summerof 1962, these facilities accommodated an additional 3,000 repatriates, necessitatingthe creation of temporarycolonies. Assistingyouth activity was the French Jewish youth movement network,called the Department Educatif de la Jeunesse Juive (DEJJ). A network of DEJJ youth clubs was extended from Paris to the south ofFrance ? to Valence, Lyon, Grenoble, Nice, Marseilles, Nimes,Montpellier, Avignon, Toulouse, and Perigueux.The programexpanded to accommodate 5,000 youth repatriates in 1963 from 3,000in 1962, a developmentthat promptedFrenchJewryto train additional personnel and build suitable premises to contend with thelarge-scaleinflux of youths.44This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

54 Michael M. LaskierIn the 1970s and 1980s the North Africans were moresolidlyintegrated within the French economy,as Howard M. Sachar notesin hisanalysisof the repatriates' occupationalstructure. Theirsuccess was visible in Belleville, once the heart of the Paris Jewishghetto, in which few North African Jews lived by 1980 but wherethey still operated thriving businesses:In addition to hundreds of retail shops, workshops,and warehouses, there have also sprung up manyscores of little restaurants, bakeries, and butcher shops,all flashingneon Stars ofDavid. The names are classically Maghrib Jewish ? Zeitoun,Zeinati, Benhaim, Romani?and the proprietorsarelargelyTunisians. Parisians of all backgroundscome for the couscous,arissa, addas, and other spicy Maghrib dishes.45This assessment is accurate in regardto the Algerian repatriatesfor the post-1965 period, just as, as as earlythe late 1950s, Moroccanand Tunisian Jewish refugees adjusted successfully to the Frenchlabor markets in clothing, manufacturing, plumbing,mechanics andelectricity.46 Unfortunately,from 1962 to 1965, this certainlywas notthe case for many of the Algerian repatriates.Like the hundreds of thousands of Algerian Europeanswhodotted the French labor market in search of suitable employment,their Jewish counterpartssoon discovered that, in numerous cases,their level of training and qualificationswasconsiderably differentfrom and inferior to the French level. Of the 120,000 Jewish newcomers, approximately 35,000 were employableries:47in the followingcategoless than 5 percentin the liberal professions, includinglawyers and physicians;35 percent petty merchants, shopkeepers, and artisans;20 percent lower-level administrative functionarieshavingserved the French colonial administration in Algeriaat theministries of finance, national education, post office/telegraph/telecommunications;the rest: salariedemployeeswith ill-definedqualifications,consideredby French societyas completely "inadaptes"toeconomic life.Interestingly,the employable repatriates often included in theirranks individuals whose salaries wereconsiderablybetter in Algeriathan the salaries offered in France. As French citizens, the repatriates were offered professional retraining by governmental agencies.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 55For instance, the newcomers who had worked as clerks and administrative functionaries had neither a knowledge of finance nor didtheyknow how to type.48 Accordingto an AJDC official, a man whowas the manager of a chain of foodstores in Algeriacould not getajob in Valence as the manager of a single food store. The storeownerwould say he was too old to be broughtinto the system, suggestingthat he purchasea tabac ? a combinationcigarette-candy-refreshmentsshop ? instead. Another man, formerly employedas a chiefaccountant in Algeria,did not as an qualifyassistant accountant inParis. Those classified as?representants agentsof French businessfirms in Algeriaor commercial intermediaries?wereautomaticallydisadvantaged,for there was no such professionin France.49The unqualifiedor underqualifiedheads of families who earnedmonthly salaries in Algeria between 400-600 NF could only hope forlaborer jobs,at an average rate (even in Paris and Marseilles) of 260NF per month. Many repatriates initially refused to accepta lowerstandard of living.In Toulouse, for example,mostrepatriateswereunemployedat the beginningof 1963. Based on the informationforwardedby the Jewish Agency representativeon the scene, theheads of families spent their daysin cafes waiting for their government allocations and gambling. They preferredthis lifestyleovergoingto anothercity to seek employment.He described them as"spoiled/7reluctant to acceptinferior jobs,and unwillingto copewith the hardships.Onerepatriatein Toulouseaccepteda jobofferin Nantes in the north of France. He was a shoemaker (cordonnier) inoneAlgeria,of the main manualoccupations among Algerian Jews.Uponarrival in Nantes, he discovered that paymentwas at piecework rates, a systemhe never encountered in Algeria.After twodays he deserted his job and returned to Toulouse, where he continued to receive government allocations.50Nevertheless, repatriates who specializedin specifically "Jewish" activities, such as kosher meat butchers and cuisine, found inmajorcenters such as Paris and Marseilles a large Jewish and nonJewish North African clientele.51Beginningin 1963, most of the repatriatesdemonstrated realisticattitudes by accepting modest jobsas workers in the textile, clothing,and other industries before startingto ascend the ladder of socialmobility.This was not usuallythe case, however, withfamily headsbetween the ages of fifty and sixty-five: those not old enough to getretirement pensionbenefits but because of their agewere unable tofind work.52Algerian repatriates, Jews and non-Jews, were entitled to government assistance for housing.Because of their FrenchcitizenshipThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

56 Michael M. Laskierstatus, the authoritieshelpedthem settle in provisional housingfacilities until theyfound suitable accommodations.From the outset the saw governmentto it that the majorityof theJews did not migrate onlyto the Paris area. Faced with a tidal waveof one nearlymillionEuropeansand Jews from Algeria,the ministryof absorptionwas determined not to allow the continuedoverconcentration in the capital. Rather, by offering housing elsewhere in France, it induced the repatriatesto dispersemore widelythroughoutthe provinces.This is why barely30 percent of theAlgerian Jews settled in Paris.53Whereas Frenchgovernmentalassistance for housing provedadvantageousfor numerousourrepatriates,archival sources revealthat many families were turned down after their dossiers wereexamined and it was disclosed that their financial resources were toolimited to guarantee paymentsof the rent.The FSJU sought to partially remedy this anomaly by creating theService-Logementdu Bureau d'Accueil in order to guidethe newcomers in their search for housing.The Service analyzedwith eachfamily which turned to it the diverse legal, financial, or technicalaspects of obtaining housing.One of its duties was to convinceclients not to purchasean apartment which cost 40,000 NF when thefamily had only 3,000 NF in savingsand earned 500 NF per month.Accordingto Henri Slama, working for the FSJU:J'ai sous les yeux le detail d'une operationtraitee parun rapatri?quiavait achetS un logementde 15m2, une pieceet cuisine pour33,000 francs sont 2,500 Francs comptant,ses seules economies.II devait continuer k payer plusde 1,000 Francs par trimestredont 690 Francs d'int6r?t et 350 Francs comme amortissement ducapital. Vu son faible salarie, il ne pourra pas continuerlongtempsa honorer ses echeances et sera expulse,il auraperdudansl'operationles quelquesmilliers de francs accord?s par deMinistere des Rapatrtes.54The FSJU confirmed the fact that the public authorities diddisqualify many repatriateswho wanted to rent apartments. It alsonoted that otherwererepatriatesquiteoften expelledfrom theirapartments becausetheycould not afford the rent. To assist them,the FSJU's Common Fund (which included a special housing fundprogram) providedinterest-free loans and even grantsto Algerianrepatriatesand both Moroccan and Tunisianrefugees.The localbureau d'accueil administered the dossiers of the Parisregion whilelocal social workers attended to those dossiers in the provincesandsmall cities. The loans distribution was decidedby a commissionThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 57consisting of members from the CBIP/CASIP, SSJ, FSJU, AJDC andthe Association des Originaires d'Alg6rie.The loans ranged mainlyfrom 4,000 NF to 7,000 NF.55The demographicevolution of the repatriateswas a major challenge for both French Jewry and the government. Our data not onlyreveals the geographicalredistribution of the Jewish newcomersinto former Jewish communities that ceased to exist, or wereverysmall, but providesinformation on the geographicalredistributionof the non-Jewish Algerian Europeanasrepatriateswell. Accordingto Pierre Kaufmann, a leading representativeof the FSJU, the redistribution process from June and July 1962 to the end of April 1963was as follows:5625-30 percent of the Jewish repatriatesin the Parisregion, ascomparedwith 17 percent of non-Jews;25-30 percentof the Jewish repatriatesin southeastern Franceas comparedwith 37 percentof non-Jews;10-15 percentof the Jewish repatriatesin southwestern Franceas comparedwith 18 percentof non-Jews;10-12 percentof the Jewish repatriatesin Lyonand Grenoblein equal numbers to their non-Jewish counterparts; and10-15 percentof the Jewish repatriatesin otherregionsascomparedwith 17 percentof non-Jews.The major complaintof the Jewish repatriateswas not economicbut cultural, due to their inabilityto live as Jews in a non-Jewishenvironment.Theyfound it difficult to maintain their traditions insmall towns and hamlets of rural France to which so many of themwere directed. Most of the isolated areas had no more than a handfulof Jewish families to begin with; some had none. Hence, whereasnon-Jewish repatriateshad had little difficultyin settlingin ruralareas ? with few problems relatingto community living, houses ofworship, availabilityof or clergymen, religiouseducation?manyJewish wererepatriatesstill searchingas late as 1964 and 1965 forfacilities that would enable them to maintain their Jewish identity.In a French-Jewish communityof 100 families that had a synagogue and a rabbi, Jewish life centered around observances of theahigh holidays,communal passover Seder, and some preparationforBar Mitzvahs. Kashrut existedonlyin cases. exceptional Generally,the inhabitants of these small communities, mainly traders, artisansand manufacturers, were reluctant to be conspicuously Jewish. Mostrepatriates voiced indignation at the extent to which the Jews inFrance had assimilated; the French Jews, on the other hand, wereThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

58 Michael M. Laskierequally indignantat the repatriates'insistence on kashrut and theirexuberance at religious services.57Because of different ritual practices,it was inevitable that theAshkenazim and Algerian Jews would be drawn into a conflict. InReims (northeastern France), wherereligiousservices were conducted in accordance with Alsatian rites, Algerianfamilies wouldneither come to the synagoguenor sent their children to the localTalmud Torah. In Tours (northwestern France), on the other hand,where the repatriatesconducted Sabbath services accordingto theAlgerian rites, it was the indigenous Jew who expresseddissatisfaction. Since two separateservices wererarely possible,each groupsometimes modified its services to accommodate the other.58In my research on North AfricanJewry duringthe periodwhichprecededthe emigrationtrend to France, I found that similar communal tensions were then part of the demographicand geographicredistribution process. In Morocco, for instance, Jews belongedtothree categories: Sephardimfrom northern Morocco (descendants ofthe megorashimfrom Spain);Berberized Jews from rural Moroccoand the Atlas and Rif mountains; and Judeo-Arab Jews whospokeJudeo-Arabic. After 1850 there was a gradualbut steady migrationof Jewish families from the interior and the south of Morocco to thecoastal towns of Tangier, Mogador,Casablanca and Rabat. Jewsmoved to theseimportantcoastal and port towns to take partincommerce, encouraged by the emerging Europeaneconomic presence, or simplyto seek refugeand relief among the local Jewishcommunities. There Muslim tribal tensions did not interfere witheconomictransactions.These migrationscoincided with the penetrationof French Jewry'sAlliance Israelite Universelle schools into Morocco. And, as migration clustered Jews of diverse backgroundinto different communities, the Alliance schools unified elements otherwise indifferent orhostile to each other. UnlikeFrench-speakingNorth African Jews inFrance during the 1950s and 1960s, Jews in Morocco migrating fromdifferentparts of that countryto Casablanca or Tangierfoundlinguistic barriers; and like the conflict between French Jews andNorth Africanrepatriates/refugeesin Franceduringthe 1960s, thetensions in Morocco were over diverse customs of the variousmigrants. These clashes in nineteenth-century Morocco, as in Franceof the 1960s, constituted an obvious obstacle to the integrationprocess.In Morocco, the Judeo-Spanish elements looked down on theJudeo-Arab and Judeo-Berber Jews, insistingon their own culturalsuperiority. As late as 1906, it was discovered in Casablanca that theAIU schools were frequented by only thirty-four children ofThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 59Casablancan parents (from the veteran community),while seventyfive weremigrant youthsfrom northern Morocco, twenty-threefrom the Atlas mountains (Judeo-Arabs and Judeo-Berbers), twentysix from Marrakesh, forty-four from other parts of the interior, andeighteen from unspecified places.This led to an important development:by sitting togetherin the same classroom, children of diversecultural backgrounds developed the habit of speaking French (thelanguage of instruction), and this united them and helped eliminatecommunication barriers, thus contributingto the reconstruction ofthe Casablancacommunity.59In the short run, however, the difficulties of integrationwere farfrom over in the case of Casablanca. The biggest obstacle involvedthe Jews from the north, whospoke Judeo-Spanish and/or Spanish,and the Judeo-Arabs from the interior. In 1902, the principalof theboys'schools remarked that the schools wererequiredto aemployrabbi-teacher versed in Judeo-Spanishfor youthsfrom the north,and another who was versed in Judeo-Arabic. Consideringthatteaching Hebrew and biblical studies often requiredtranslations oftexts, the parentshad insisted that this be done in the languageoftheir tradition. The AIU in Casablancacomplied.60Time, then, was a decisive factor in the Moroccan and Frenchcases. Communal integrationwas inevitable. In the later case of theAlgerian repatriatesand other North Africans in France the integration process not onlytook place,but gradually Judeo-Arabic replacedYiddish as the French Jewish communities' second language.The only placesin France where little or no conflict existed weretiny communities of twenty to fifty families ? and for a goodreason.Before the arrival of the repatriates they had little Jewish communitylife. Orleans, Le Havre, and Amiens had synagogues but theywereonly open for the high holidays.In other communities where therewere nosynagogues, temporary facilities were rented. With thearrival of North African Jews, Jewish life in these tiny communitieswas revitalized.were noSynagogueslonger closed, religiousservices were conducted every week, and rabbis wereappointedinOrleans and Le Mans for the first time in many years. There waskosher meat in Caen and Le Havre, while in Amiens the communitiesfor the first time in several decades organized,TalmudTorah.62and financed, aCultural and ritual conflicts aside, the repatriateswere welcomed moreenthusiasticallythan the Jewish refugeesfrom EasternEurope who fled the pogroms from the 1880s until World War I.Because the repatriateswere French-speakingand in many instanceswestern oriented, "civilized" French Jewry did not have the condescendingattitude toward them as toward the "inferior" and "barbaric"This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

60 Michael M. InsiderEastern European Jews. Why? Just as Israeli leaders today regardtheSoviet Jewish emigrationinto their countryas a source of strength,French Jewish leaders considered the Algerianinflux as a source ofcommunal demographic expansion.As one leader noted in 1963:Twenty years after the Nazi Holocaust, the Jewish communityofFrance has been givena tremendousopportunityfor growth bythe arrival in their midst of Jews from North Africa. The integration of this new and vital force poses formidable, but no bymeansinsolubleproblems.It is our dutyto givethem all the helpwe can,especiallythe means to live as Jews.62 (See Table 4 on the Jewishpopulation expansionbetween 1957 and 1963).ConclusionAs Sacharexplains,it would be wrong to classifyNorth AfricanJews as uniformlytraditional and religious.63The evidence indicatesthat since World War I Algerian Jewryin their native cities of Algiersand Oran wereincreasinglyacculturated to Frenchlifestylesandsecular ideas, whereas those of Constantine, Tlemcen and the southwere far more traditional. At the same time, regardless of howmodernized Algerian (and Tunisian) Jews were, they adhered toJewish religiousmoreprinciplesthan the indigenousFrench Jews.The latter's Jewish identity was more political; they were united bythe Holocaust of whichthey were victims, Vichy'santi-Semitic laws,and the Germanoccupationfrom 1940 to 1944.64Furthermore, if the North Africanrepatriatesandrefugeessearched for a more intense religiouslife in their new surroundings,it waspartly because, uprooted from the Maghribi milieu, theyturned to Jewish religious traditions and identityas the best valuesto embrace at a time of crisis.anEventually, increasingnumber of Algerianand Tunisian Jewsattended French secular schools in their new land. Amongthemwere those who drifted from Jewish traditionaltogether. Still, wefind that even within these segments, Jewish identitywas not lost.They embraced the veteran communities' approachof political Jewish awareness andidentity, but with greater vigor, demonstratinginterest in Jewish political developmentsand solidaritywith Israel.Among the Moroccans, on the other hand, we find that they werequite eager to combine political and religious Jewish identity bysupporting Israel and other Jewish causes while preserving theirreligiouslife. Some of France's best educators in religious schools areMoroccan.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jem into FranceTable 4THE JEWISH GEOGRAPHY OF FRANCEPopulationr.Feb. Feb.19630ty_1957Agen 250 480Aix-en-Provence 265 1,200Albi* 0 160Aix-les-Bains 160 77Amiens 440 140Angers* 0 180Anncecy* 0 260Ancerre* 0 80Avignon 700 1,200Bayonne 420 600Beauvais* 0 320Belfort 350 1,300Besanson 600420Beziers 280 160Blois 0 250Bordaux 3,500 6,400Bourges0 89Brest* 0 100Cannes 880 455Carpentras55 140Castres 70 160Caen 125 320Chalons sur Marnes 80 100Chalons sur Soane* 140 0Chambery 0 150Chateauroux 150 30Cherbourg 0 40Clermont Ferrand 800 265Colmar* 0 800Compiegne* 0 104This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Michael M. LaskierTable 4 (con't)THE JEWISH GEOGRAPHY OF FRANCECreil* 0 320Populationr.Feb. Feb.19630ty_1957Dijon 490 720Evreux* 0 350Grenoble 1,190 2,800La Rochelle* 0 260Le Havre 265 520Le Mans 80 360Lille 2,275 3,200Limoges 350 560Luneville 250 360Macon 0 200Lyon 6,300 25,000Marseilles 12,000 50,000Meaux* 0 350Metz 2,800 3,220Montauban 105 320Montargis*0 60Montpellier 525 2,300Mulhouse 1,800 1,920Nancy 2,625 3.320Nantes 100 320Orleans 80 600Pomiers* 0 60Nice 2,100 6,400Nimes 350 1,040Paris (Seine) 175,000 300,000Pau 320 600Perigueux 480210Perfignan 350 1,300Poitiers* 0 200This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 63Table 4 (con't)THE JEWISH GEOGRAPHY OF FRANCEPopulationFeb. Feb.City_19571963Reims + 200Rennes 0 160Roanne 400 520Rouen 600 800Saint Etienne 350 800Sedan 180 240Strasbourg 10,000 14,000Tarbes* 0 240Thionville 480 520Toulon 525 1,280Toulouse 3,500 14,000Tours 350 600Troyes 245 460Valence 105 600Valenciennes 200 240Versailles 315 800Vichy 350 540*Total_235,027Completelynew community.+ No figuresavailable.461,023Source: Arch. AJDC/New York, 309, February1963.It would be convenient to compare the influx of North AfricanJews to France in the 1950s and 1960s with the current Soviet Jewishexodus to Israel. However, the comparisonmust be treated cautiously. True, there are certain similarities. Both types of newcomershad to be professionallyretrained or neededsupplementaryeducation in their existing professionsin order to adaptto the moreprogressiveeconomic and social systems. A Soviet Jewish engineeror was physiciannot as as qualifiedhis Israeli counterpart, just asThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

64 Michael M. Laskierthe chief accountants among the Algerian repatriatescould notmeasureup to French accountants. In both cases aid and subsidiesweregrantedto ease the pains of absorption, althoughthe housingshortagein Israel is as bad, if not worse, than in France of the 1960s.Similarities aside, Soviet Jews who came to Israel in 1989 and1990 were often completelyremoved from their Jewish traditions.They needed Jewish cultural guidancewhereas North African Jewsin France helpedto revitalize Jewish life in small provincialcommunities. Moreover, it remains to be seen whether SovietemigrationtoIsrael will continue, providing the demographic strength needed bythe Jewish state. Should the trends continue, Soviet Jews may settlein Israel's Galileeregion, where the majorityof the present population is Arab, or elsewhere where Israelis are reluctant to live or settlein insignificant numbers. Thus, while the North Africansexpandedand changedthe Jewish geographyin France, former Soviet Jewsmay contribute to similar developmentsin Israeli society.Thirdly, refugeesand displaced persons in a new environment,whether transient or seeking permanent resettlement, have difficulty coping with emotional stress or failure. For example, manyimmigrantsto other lands were unable to adaptto their new landand committed suicide. In Francecomparativelyfew cases of suicideamong the North Africans werereported by the governmentorJewish organizations. But as Gerard Israel, a prominent FrenchJewish leader of Algerian background, noted, the few cases ofsuicide among the Algerianswere also attributed to the inabilitytoadapt:It is rare that suicide is provoked by hunger or by slum living. Itis hopelessness,the inabilityto adapt socially, [or] professionalfailure that leads the desperateones to give up on life. Theseveral cases of suicide among the repatriates recorded to thisday do not seem to have other origins exceptthe belief in theimpossibilityto find a respectable and comfortableplaceinFrenchsociety.65One final point should be raised. The main gap in our study atthis stage of writingis the lack of informationconcerning Frenchgovernmental supportafter 1964 and 1965 for Algerian repatriates.The same appliesto the extent of Jewish organizational assistancefor repatriates and refugeesalike.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 65Notes1. "A Special Reporton the FundraisingActivities of the FSJU (1949),"Archives of the AJDC (Arch. AJDC henceforth), New York, 359.2. On North African and Egyptian Jewish emigrationto Israel, seeMichael M. Laskier, The Alliance Israelite Universelle and the JewishCommunities of Morocco: 1862-1962 (Albany:State University of NewYork Press, 1983), pp. 212-211; idem., "Political and OrganizationalAspects of Immigration to Israel from Morocco: 1949-1956," Zionism:Studies in the History ofthe Zionist Movement and the Jewish Communityin Palestine XII (1987):333-367; idem., "Jewish Emigration from Morocco to Israel: Government Policies and the Position of InternationalJewish Organizations, 1949-1956," Middle Eastern Studies 25, no. 3(July 1989):487-528; idem., "Political and Social Developmentsin theJewish Communities of Morocco: Twenty Years Since Independence(1956-1976)," Middle Eastern Studies 26, no. 4 (October 1990):330-375;idem., "Zionism and the Jewish Communities of Morocco: 1956-1962,"Studies in Zionism 6, no. 1 (Spring 1985):119-139; idem., "The Instability of Moroccan Jewryand the Moroccan Press in the First DecadeAfter Independence," Jewish History 1, no. 1 (Spring 1986):39-54;idem., "From Hafsia to Bizerte: Tunisia's NationalistStruggle andTunisianJewry, 1952-1961," Mediterranean Historical Review 2, no. 2(December 1987):188-222; idem., "Egyptian Jewryunder the NasserRegime (1956-1970)" [Hebrew], Y. Chetrit, ed., Miggedem UmiyyamIII: Tradition and Modernity Among North African and Oriental Jewry(Haifa: Haifa University Press, 1990), pp. 213-252; idem., "From Warto War: The Jews of Egyptfrom 1948 to 1970," Studies in Zionism 7, no.1 (Spring 1986):111-147.3. Auren Kahn, AJDC director for France, to Charles H. Jordan, Paris, 14November 1955, Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 5A/43.095.4. Ibid.5. Ibid. The FSJU's children's home admission committee refused admission for children for economic reasons alone. Thus, the NorthAfrican children wereineligiblefor placementin FSJU-supportedhomes. Furthermore, the homes of the FSJU agencieswere full in 1954and 1955, and onlya few children were admitted.6. Auren Kahn to Charles H. Jordan, Paris, 17 May 1956, Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 5A.7. Ibid.8. Ibid.9. Michael M. Laskier, "From Hafsia to Bizerte: Tunisia's NationalistStruggleand TunisianJewry, 1952-1961," Mediterranean HistoricalReview 2, no. 2 (December 1987):212-213.10.Reporton TunisianRefugeesin France, 21 September 1961, Arch.AJDC /Jerusalem, 382B.11. Dr. Sidney Nelson, AJDC director for France, to Charles H. Jordan,Paris, 25 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York, 309.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

66 Michael M. Laskier12. Ibid.13. Ibid.14. E. Odenwald-Kremsdorf to Dr. Sidney Nelson, Paris, 4 December1961, Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 382B.15. Nelson to Jordan, 25 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York.16. Ibid.17. E. Odenwald-Kremsdorf to Dr. Sidney Nelson, Paris, 19 October1961, Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 382B.18.Proceedingsof AJDC Country Directors Conference, Geneva, Switzerland, 30-31 October 1963, p. 24.19. Nelson to Jordan, 25 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York. Even priorto the largeinflux of Algerian Jews and other North Africans intoFrance, between 1957 and 1962, the Claims Conference and the FSJUspent the equivalentof $2,500,000 on cultural, religious and educational programs. See Rabbi Hugo Grynto the AJDC, Paris, 24 July1962, Arch. AJDC/New York, 315.20.21.Proceedings of AJDC Country Directors Conference, 30-31 October1963, pp. 23-24."RefugeesYork, 327.in France," Report from 27 May1964, Arch. AJDC/New22. Nelson to Jordan, 25 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York.23.24.Proceedings1963, p. 24.of AJDC Country Directors Conference,30-31 OctoberBudget and Finance Department, AJDC, to Charles H. Jordan, Regarding Developmentsin Tunisian Caseload in France, January 1965,Arch. AJDC /Jerusalem, 382B. About half of the Tunisians who turnedto CBIP/CASIP for assistance and cash relief had been assisted bytheUnited HIAS Service (UHS), the international Jewish immigrationsociety, in the payment of their passage to France. About 75 percentof the UHS-assistedrefugees turned to the French communal agencieswithin the first months of their arrival in France.25. On Egyptian refugees,see Michael M. Laskier, "Egyptian JewryUnder the NasserRegime:From the Sinai War to 1970," Jewish SocialStudies (forthcoming).26."Refugeesin France," 27 May 1964, Arch. AJDC/New York. This isthe breakdown on monthly average of assisted refugees from Egyptand Eastern Europe:1st 1st 4thQuarter Quarter Quarter1964_1963_1963Eastern Europe589 685 931Egypt 282 313 347Total: 871 1,278 998This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 6727. Ibid.28. E. Odenwald-Kremsdorf to Dr. Sidney Nelson, Paris, 2 March 1962,Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem, 5A.29. Claude Kelman at the Second PlenarySession of the SeventeenthAnnual AJDC Overseas Conference in Geneva, 4-6 November 1962, p.42.30. Ibid.31. Ibid.32. Ibid.33. Ibid., p. 49.34. Ibid.35. Ibid.36. Nelson to Jordan, 25 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York.37. Ibid.38. Ibid.39. Howard M. Sachar, Diaspora: An Inquiry Into the Contemporary JewishWorld (New York: PerennialLibrary, 1985), p. 121. Partly resultingfrom the Algerian influx, the populationin Marseilles, only 10,000strong in 1951-52, soared to 50,000 in the 1960s and to 85,000 duringthe 1970s.40. Rabbi Hugo Grynto AJDC, 24 July 1962, Arch. AJDC/New York, 315.41. Ibid.42. Ibid.43. Sachar, Diaspora, pp. 121-122. Between June 1962 and April1963 suchcenters wereconstructed in southeastern and southwesternbeinglocations such as Valence, Perigueux, Avignon, Toulouse, Grenoble,and Cannes; in the western communities of Rochelle and Angers; andin the north at Blois, Evreux, Tours, Orleans, Meaux, and Caen.44. Nelson to Jordan, 25 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York.45. Sachar, Diaspora, p. 122.46. Ibid.47. S. Castro, Paris, FSJU MeetingArch. AJDC/New York, 327.48. Ibid.49.50. Ibid.of General Assembly, 28 April 1963,Irving Dickman, Report on Algerian Jews in France, Geneva, 5 April1963, Arch. AJDC/New York, 327.51. Castro, 28 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York.52. Dickman, 5 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York.53. Sachar, Diaspora, p. 120.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

68 Michael M. Laskier54. H. Slama, Speech at FSJU Meeting,York, 327.28 April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New55."Refugeesin France," 27 May 1964, Arch. AJDC/New York.56. Pierre Kaufmann, speechat FSJU Meeting,28 April 1963, Arch.AJDC/New York, 327.57."Refugeesin France," 27 May 1964, Arch. AJDC/New York.58. Ibid.59. Michael M. Laskier, The Alliance Israelite Universelle and the JewishCommunities of Morocco: 1862-1962 (Albany:State Universityof NewYork Press, 1983), pp. 124-126.60. Ibid., p. 126.61.Report on Algerian Jews in France, 10 September 1964, Arch. AJDC/New York, 327.62. Ibid.63. Sachar, Diaspora, p. 121.64. Julian Samuel, speech at FSJU's 14th General Assembly Meeting,April 1963, Arch. AJDC/New York, 327.65. Gerard Israel, "Elementspourno. 7-8 (July 1963), p. 50.un portrait-robot durapatrie," L'Arche,28APPENDIX 1Bureau Europeen du Rabbi M.M. Schneersohn de Lubawitz pourL'Aide aux Refugies770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn,New York, U.S.A.Fonde de Pouvoir pour l'Europe:Grand Rabbin B. GorodetzkiBureau Central: 80, Rue Saint-Antoine,Paris? (IV) Tel.: TUR. 87-12Synagogue& Talmud-Torah November 22, 196234, Rue du Goulet (Esc. 2)Aubervilliers (Seine)YechivahTomchei-Tmimim2, Av. du Petit-Chateau, Brunoy (S.-&-O.)TeT.: 922-86-26Seminaire Beth-Rivkah3, Av. Raymond-Poincare,T61: N? 101Yerres(S.-&-O.)This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jews into France 69MEMORANDUM ON THE SITUATION OFRELIGIOUS-CULTURAL WORK IN FRANCEIN BEHALF OF JEWISH REFUGEES FROM ALGERIAKing Salomon says: "Nesayim, Veruach, Vegeshem Oyin" (Clouds,winds, but no rain ? Proverbs 25/14).Since about ten months, and especially during the last few months,Jewish public opinion, community leaders as well as Jewish organizationsin the Western world have been preoccupiedwith the problemof NorthAfrican Jewish refugees and particularly of the over 100,000 Jewish refugees from Algeria who recentlyarrived in France.What are the problems?These peoplehad been settled for many centuries in the largerorsmaller cities of Algeria. Economically, the great majority of them belongedto the so-called middle class, althoughsome of them were countedamong the rich and even among the very rich, and others among the pooror the very poor. Their spirituallife was based on Toranic laws andprecepts;some of them were very orthodox, others a little less orthodox,but all observed the Sabbath, Kashrut, "Taharat-Hamishpacha" (Mikvah),"Chinuch" and general Jewish traditions.Unfortunately,the blow has come and these peoplehad to flee thecountry in which they had been settled for so many centuries and leavebehind everything theyhad to become displaced persons. Their situationis tragicand the problems theyare facingcannot be solved bytheir ownmeans, they have to be helpedto do so byothers who are in a morefortunate situation. From the economicpointof viewthey are mainlyhelped by the French Government. However, their spiritualneeds mustbecome the responsibility of the Jewish communities all over the world andnot onlyof the Jewish communityin France. This latter community is toosmall to be able to solve the cultural-religious problemsof the over 100,000Jewish refugees from Algeria. Jewish public opinionall over the worldmust be alerted and mobilized, and great efforts invested in favor of ourrefugee brethren from Algeria.However, before the big job of cultural-religious absorptioncan beundertaken, there are certain needs which cannot wait. We realize thatschools, Talmudei-Torah, Synagogues, Mikvot, Kosher butchers cannotgrow overnight in the many places of France where the Algerian refugeesare dispersed.This will take time and perhapsa lot of time. But, on theother hand, one cannot sit down and wait until all the necessary institutions be created (as is now the case). If we see a wounded man webleeding,do not tell him that we cannot do anythingfor him until the physicianandthe proper medicaments will arrive ? we must give him first aid, put abandagearound his wound, wash it and tryto stop the blood so that he cansurvive until the physicianwill be able to givehim the proper medicaltreatment and he can recover again. The same appliesto the religiousandcultural life of a Jew.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

70 Michael M. LaskierTalmudei-Torah, Synagogues, Mikvot, Kashrut are vital institutions,but one cannot, for instance, tell a refugeenot to eat until he can findKosher meat. On the other hand, there is the?danger accordingto theTalmud as well as accordingto what we see in practicallife ? of "AvarNeshina Naase* Lo Ke'Heter," if someone gets used to non-observance ofreligious precepts, they no longer seem to him necessary. It is thereforeimperative that immediate first aid should be organizedand givenin sucha way that when the time comes and the necessary institutions are created,there will still be people requiring such institutions, as theywere used toin their homes for many generations.What are the suggestions?1. A fund should be allocated to have Rabbis and other appropriatepeoplevisit the placeswhere there are refugeesto givethem moral,spiritual and practical guidancein all religious problems.For instance, Iknow of many facts where families beganto eat non-Kosher (first only thesmall children and then also the adults) because theybelieved that in orderto buyKosher meat they would have to go very far out of their way to lookfor it, while in reality Kosher meat could be purchasedat a relativelysmalldistance from their place.When our peopletold them that theycould buyKosher meat so near, theywere truly surprisedand shocked and immediately returned to Kashrut.In another instance, people were wrongly informed that the price ofentering a Mikvah was N.F. 20 per person, which they could, of course, notafford to pay and had to resignfrom goingto Mikvah. However, when theylater found out that the highest pricewas only N.F. 3, and that, if necessary,they could use the Mikvah free of charge, they were greatly surprised andbeganto attend regularlythe Mikvah. Other people did not send theirchildren to Talmud-Torah becausetheydid not know that in a nearbyplace, which could be reached by bus in half an hour, there was a TalmudTorah functioning.All this shows that if the refugeescould be visited and guided byappropriate people,the above-mentioned instances could easily have beenavoided, and one must not forgetthat there are thousands of such instancesoccurring now. In addition, such visits of Rabbis and appropriate peoplewouldstrengthen the morale of the refugees in general,since it is a knownfact that refugees and migrantsin a new country do requiremoral support.2. To start immediately organizingon a reduced scale every institutionapossible:small a Synagogue,small Talmud-Torah, to send a Shochet tovisit several?placeseach place knowingin advance on what day theShochet will arrive ? to appointa Rabbi for several placesto give themguidance,to organizean itinerant Kosher butcher shopwhich will distribute Kosher meat in several places,etc. In general,to start doing somethingpractical, and later on the work itself will show what is necessary and whatis possibleto be done further.3. It is very important that the fund distributing organizations shouldgive more consideration to and encourage the peoplewho do and are ableto do somethingin this field. Moreover, theyshould even look for suchpeople, especially among the religious section, and entrust to them theThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The Influx and Integration of North African Jezvs into France 71work in full confidence, give them the financial possibilityand authorityto do a fine job. This does not mean that there should be no financial controlover them, but theyshould not be treated like domestics, since this kind oftreatmentcangivenopositiveresults.In view of the above it is clear that the financial means for such workhas to be providedat once and not, as I know of cases, months pass by aftera Talmud-Torah or another institution has been organized,but no fundsare received because of the red tape of the organizations which aresupposedto providethe funds, or, in another instance, where a Director ofsuch a fund providing organization declares that a Yeshivah of 20-30students should better be closed down. Such a procedureand attitude ofso-to-say responsible people can only give the results as quoted after KingSalomon ? "Clouds, wind but no rain."I want to hopethat the large majorityof Jewish leaders do not belongto this category, but are truly interested in the development of Jewishcultural life and particularlywhen this is connected with such tragicevents, when our brethren suffer and when the future of the Jewish youthin the Western World in generalis exposedto the dangerof completeilliteracy with regard to Jewish culture and of assimilation, not to speakalreadyof the situation of the Jews in Eastern Europe.I am thereforeconfident that my present appealwill not be a "Kol Korei Bamidbar" andthat all trulyinterested Jewish communityleaders and the responsiblepeopleof the fund distributing organizationswill give very serious consideration to this memorandum and see to it that somethingconcreteshould finallyand immediatelybe done.Grand Rabbi B. GorodetzkiDirector-General for EuropeIsrael and North Africa[Source: Arch. AJDC/Jerusalem,382B.]APPENDIX 2HOW THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF STRASBOURGWELCOMED JEWS FROM ALGERIA ? JUNE 1963The cityof Strasbourgon the Rhine, 10,000 strong in 1962, met theinflux of Algerian refugeesin the summer of 1962 with generosity andwarmth. As earlyas January 1962, the community organizeda welcomingcommittee to receive the repatriates.An emergency campaignraised$45,000 while the communityalso to appealedthe FSJU which, in partnership with the AJDC, established a Common Fund to aid North African Jewsin France. In 1963, Strasbourg'sleaders contended with the challenge ofThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

72 Michael M. Insidersolvingthe complex problemscreated bythe overnightinflux of 2,000newcomers into a communityof 10,000. Some?problems housing,employment,relief ? this is what Strasbourgfaced in common with otherFrench Jewish communities which absorbed newcomers in far greaternumbers. But two unique aspects existed in Strasbourg:the absorptionof400-500 Jews from the villagesin southern Algeria,and the case forhundreds of children still separated from their parents.When asked byan AJDC representative why the Jews of Strasbourgmade such exceptional efforts on behalf of their Algerian counterparts,acommunity leader responded:"Because all of us in Strasbourgknow whatit means to be refugees."He explainedthat in 1940, before France wasoccupied by the Germans, everyone in a strip of land twelve miles widealong the German border, including the Jews of Strasbourg,was evacuatedby the governmentas a protectivemeasure. Nevertheless, many of themultimatelymet their death at the hands of the Germans.Made up of men in their forties and fifties, the WelcomingCommitteewasstrongly supported by the new president of the Jewish community, anamed Rene*lawyerWeill, a survivor of Auschwitz.was someStrasbourgwhat better off than most French Jewish communities.Prosperousandtraditionally religious,this community long supporteda comprehensivegroup of Jewish institutions. It prideditself on the fact that nowhere elsein France could a Jew live such a rich and intense Jewish life. This was onefactor which promptedso many Algerian Jews to settle there.*As the structure of the Strasbourg communityhad been substantiallyexpandedto meet the needs of the newcomers, existingfacilities werebadly overcrowded. The Welcome Committee created two new youthcenters for unaccompanied children; a social worker was added to the staffof the local Assistance Sociale Juive; new teachers and administrativepersonnel were found for the Hebrew school, whose enrollment hadjumped from 300 to 450; a new synagogue-centerwas constructed in anarea where there was a highconcentration of North African Jews so theywould have a placeto meet and worship.Two specialclasses were createdto helpthe Algerian Jewish youth to catch up educationallyto their Frenchcontemporaries,subsidizedby the local government.As elsewhere in France, finding employmentand housing for therepatriates and refugees had not been easy. Of the 2,000 newcomers toStrasbourg,it was estimated that approximately15 percentwere well-todo or affluent; 20-25 percenthad moderate means; the remainder werepoor.*The Jews who settled in Strasbourg originated from religiouscommunities in southern Algeria.Source: Strasbourg:How One Community Welcomed Jewish Refugees,by Lois Hacett, June 6, Arch. AJDC/New York, #327.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.52.70 on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:27:10 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions