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Ni Francaise, Ni Juive, Ni Arabe: the Influence of Nineteenth Century French Judaism on the Emergence of Franco- Jewish- Arab Literature

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Ni Francaise, Ni Juive, Ni Arabe: the Influence of Nineteenth Century French Judaism on the Emergence of Franco- Jewish- Arab Literature City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2015 Ni Francaise, Ni Juive, Ni Arabe: The Influence of Nineteenth Century French Judaism on the Emergence of Franco- Jewish- Arab Literature Deborah Rosalind Gruber Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/570 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Ni Française, ni juive ni arabe: The Influence of Nineteenth Century French Judaism on the Emergence of Franco Jewish Arab Literature by Deborah Gruber A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in French in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 i ©2015 DEBORAH GRUBER All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in French in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dr Ammiel Alcalay ……………………… Date Chair of Examining Committee …………………………………………….. Dr Julia Przybos ………………………. …………………………………………….. Date Executive Officer Dr Ammiel Alcalay……………………………………………… Dr Antoinette Blum……………………………………………… Dr Francesca Sautman……………………………………………… Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract Ni française, ni juive, ni arabe : The Influence of Nineteenth Century French Judaism on the Emergence of Franco- Jewish- Arab Literature by Deborah Gruber Advisor Dr. Ammiel Alcalay This study proposes that the influence of nineteenth century French Judaism on the Jewish communities of the Middle East from approximately 1910-1956 has had an indelible influence on the evolution of Franco- Jewish- Arab literature today. From the late nineteenth century, the education of the Jews of the Ottoman Empire was provided by the Paris based Alliance Israélite Universelle, an organization established by French Jews with the purpose of emancipating disadvantaged Jewish communities outside of France. The result was the establishment of Franco-Jewish Arab communities that regarded French education as a means of both social and economic advancement. Although the curriculum of the Alliance stressed both secular and religious elements it promoted a priori, the superiority of nineteenth century French Judaism based on the ideology of universalism that emanated from the French Revolution. Franco – Jewish- Arab literature both of the period and written as a memoir after the period, depicts and records the effects of French Judaism on these communities. It manifests the degree to which French Judaism actively suppressed both the communities’ involvement with Arab nationalist movements and the iv development of the nascent Zionist movement, rendering Franco-Jewish -Arab communities hopelessly mal- positioned to negotiate the changes that ensued in the aftermath of the rise of Arab nationalism during the 1920’s and 1930’s and the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. Ultimately, these factors contributed to the dismantling of these Jewish communities. The first part of this work primarily examines the combined effects of the nineteenth century French Judaism model on the Franco- Jewish Arab communities of the Middle East. The second part of this thesis examines the provenance and classification of Franco- Jewish- Arab literature. It proposes that Franco- Jewish -Arab literature distinguishes itself as a distinct genre, and that regardless of whether it is written in French or Hebrew, it retains credible remnants of universalism based on French Judaism that resist conventional classification and in particular, the notoriously nationalist discourse of Middle Eastern literature. This offers the hypothesis that a new genre of French literature has evolved that does not necessarily have to be written in French, but retains its Francité by cleavage to French cultural ideas and political influence . v Acknowledgments This project has been a long time in the making and consequently there are rather a lot of people to thank for making it possible. First and foremost, thank you to my husband Steve and my family who have ceaselessly supported me even in the darkest hours when I deeply doubted my abilities. In particular I want to thank my eldest daughter Jessica who babysat my youngest child Noa on innumerable occasions and without whom I would never have been able to finish the first part of the program. A big thank you to Dr Alcalay for his inspiration and support, Drs Blum and Sautman for their patience and kind support and Carole Kulowkowski for her kindness and efficiency that has made the whole process so seamless. Finally, as much of my work was done at the Alliance Israélite in Paris, I want to thank both Rose Levine and Gila Cooper ( who has since become a dear friend) for their help in negotiating my way through the archives of the A.I.U.. vi Contents Title page ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ i Abstract-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii-iv Acknowledgments-------------------------------------------------------------------------- v Contents------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vi-xi Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-11 Chapter 1 French Jewish Emancipation: The Dreyfus Affair and its Effects on the Jewish Communities of the Machreq 1. The French emancipatory model : A Model for Jewish Emancipation-----------12-14 2. The Consistory: A for runner of the Alliance Israélite Universelle---------------14-16 3. Les Français –Israélites: Integration versus Assimilation------------------------17-20 4. The “Jewish Other” as an extension of self --------------------------------------------21-23 5. The Re-emergence of Anti- Semitism---------------------------------------------------24 6. The Arts as a Barometer of the Success of Jewish Emancipation and and the Presence of Anti- Semitism------------------------------------------------------24 7. Halévy: Finding the Words---------------------------------------------------------------24-29 8. The Français Israélites of the late Nineteenth Century: Success in the Arts Despite Anti- Semitism-------------------------------------------------------------------31 9. Drumont and his Crusade Against the Jews------------------------------------------33-35. 10.Jewish and Gentile Response to Anti- Semitism---------------------------------36 vii 11. The Dreyfus Affair: A Litmus test of French Justice------------------------------37 12. The Reaction of French Jews to The Dreyfus Affair-------------------------------38-41 13. The Theatre and the Dreyfus Affair-------------------------------------------------24-31 14. The Aftermath of the Dreyfus Affair-------------------------------------------------31-33 15. The Influence of Zionism in the Post- Dreyfus Era-------------------------------33-34 16. The Reaction of the Jews of the Arab World to the Dreyfus Affair-------------34-36 17. Press Reaction in the Arab World to the Dreyfus Affair------------------------ 36-39 18. Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------39-40 Chapter 2 The Jewish Renaissance and its Effects on France and Franco- Jewish -Arab Communities------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41 19.Response to the Dreyfus Affair--------------------------------------------------------42-43 20.The First Wave of the Jewish Renaissance------------------------------------------43-45 21. Andre Spire--------------------------------------------------------------------------------45-49 22.Edmond Fleg-------------------------------------------------------------------------------49-51 23.The Second Wave of the Jewish Renaissance----------------------------------------51-52 24.Jewish Literature as Folkloric Literature---------------------------------------------52-53 25.Jewish Literature as Instructional Literature----------------------------------------53-55 26.The Quest to Reinvent Jewish Identity------------------------------------------------55-58 27. Jewish Arab Literature of the Jewish Renaissance-------------------------------58-59 28. Zionist and Prophetic Literature------------------------------------------------------59-66 29. Non Jewish Support of Zionism--------------------------------------------------------67-68 viii 30. The Influence of the Jewish Press-----------------------------------------------------68-69 31. The Influence of the non Jewish Press-----------------------------------------------69-70 32. Reaction of the Jewish Press Outside the Hexagon--------------------------------70-72 33. The Response of the Jewish Communities of the Arab World to the Jewish Renaissance in the Hexagon-----------------------------------------------------------72-73. 34.The Response of the Arab Jewish Press----------------------------------------------73-74 35. The Response of Arab Jewish Communities to Early Zionism-------------------74-75 36. The Veneration of France by Arab Jewish Writers--------------------------------75 37. Edmond Jabès: A French Writer------------------------------------------------------76-77 38. Naim Kattan: The Arab Nationalist---------------------------------------------------77-79
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