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The Future for Jews in Multicultural Europe

Thursday 18 Dec 2008

This was the subject of a panel discussion held in November within the framework of a two-day workshop, which was organized jointly by JPR and the Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society/Ben Gurion University. The discussion featured Dr Dov H Maimon, Fellow, Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, Jerusalem; Professor Dominique Moïsi, Senior Adviser, Institut Français des Relations Internationales, Paris; Dr Joel Peters, Academic Adviser, CSEPS, Ben Gurion University and Göran Rosenberg, columnist and author, Stockholm.

Dr Dov Maimon recalled how, throughout history, Jews had crossed borders and cultures, acting as bridges between different nations. Jews have always wanted to learn from others and for others to learn from them, and to be part of general society.

 

But, he asked, how can you manage a public sphere in which people do not have the same priorities? Some consensus is needed to avoid conflict where people do not agree on the basics. While diversity is a blessing, it makes communication more challenging. It has to be well managed in order to find a balance between chaos and order. He warned that multiculturalism sometimes leads to ghettoes. It is vitally important to find a path for living together, not in separate ghettoes but next to one another. Nor is it enough to have mixed marriages or to go to the same schools (as was common in Sarajevo). A real dialogue is needed in order to work out how to share space with people with different values.

 

Dr Maimon described co-ordination and leadership as the challenges for European Jewry; he particularly stressed the need to involve younger people and women. He also called for a Jewish identity to be found for the twenty-first century―one that is not based on antisemitism.

 

Dominique Moïsi addressed the issue of multicultural Europe from a French perspective. He said that French Jews have a problem with both multiculturalism and Europe, as do French citizens in general. They feel they are too French to be comfortable with multiculturalism, and that France is too dominated by the weight of history to feel at ease with Europe. French Jews do not welcome a more European attitude in France as Europe is seen to be the problem.

 

While French Jews form the largest Jewish community by far in Western Europe (approximately 500,000), France also has the largest community of Muslims (approximately 6 milllion). Indeed, the under-representation of the Muslim community at the highest level poses a deep problem for France.

 

The attitude of French Jews to Europe is strongly influenced by several factors:

 

  • the Shoah: in which a quarter of French Jewry perished.
  • De-colonization: Jews of North African origin now form the largest proportion of French Jews, but they feel their history has been forgotten, as the Shoah does not represent their story.
  • Israel: French Jews continually view events through the prism of what is good for Israel or what is bad for Israel.
  • Suburban violence: this was seen as ‘intifada the French way’, yet it was really caused by social exclusion.

However, French Jews generally feel more reassured today. Whereas General De Gaulle was seen as the starting point of the traditional French Arabist policy, President Sarkozy has now fully reconciled France and Israel for the first time, with the result that French Jews feel represented at the highest level by a pro-Israel government.

 

Nevertheless, Professor Moïsi claimed that French Jews do not feel confident about its present, nor its future. They are convinced that Barack Obama is a potential threat to Israel and to Jews.

 

For Moïsi, the best France for the Jews is a confident France, just as the best America for the Jews is a confident America. The key question should not be: ‘What is good for the Jews?’ but ‘What is good for the country?’

 

Dr Joel Peters said that the relationship between Israel and Europe was a crucial factor in considering the future of European Jewry in a multicultural new Europe. If that relationship is strong then it is easier for European Jewry to flourish. The Israel-Palestine conflict is a barometer of Israel-Europe relations. When there is a sense of commitment to resolving the conflict, the future of European Jewry appears rosy. Indeed, Israel-European relations are probably more positive now than they have ever been and Israel places increasing importance on working with Brussels and NATO.

 

Dr Peters described the EU as a network society, transforming Europe from a set of countries with boundaries to a growing network of interconnectedness, of people and businesses, in which national institutions become less important. The key question for European Jewry is therefore: ‘Where is the network?’  He wanted to know where the Jewish European partners are with whom Israel can work? In their absence, Israel had assumed responsibility for the future development of European Jewry and for dealing with antisemitism within the EU. He warned that without the presence of the European Jewish community, we could not move forward.

 

Göran Rosenberg recalled that historically, Jews had always thrived in nations and empires with multicultural, pluralistic and tolerant environments, while they fared badly in strong ethnic or nationalistic societies. European Jews have always been the emblematic stranger or ‘other’. Therefore, by definition, a society where the stranger is welcome is good for the Jews, although they have not always appreciated this link.

 

The term ‘Multicultural Europe’ is a tautology, he said. Instead, he described Europe as a mosaic of different cultures, which is both its curse and its blessing. Jews are facing a situation in which the nation state is becoming diverse and pluralist. Should we affirm this development or should we be afraid of it? This trend upsets many Jews who prefer a homogeneous nation state and this puts Jews on the ‘wrong side’. If we want to be ‘the other’, the non-conformist in society, we need to work out ways our nation states can be re-ordered to accommodate pluralism. The real challenge is to create a European framework for these multi-diverse nation states. The future of European Jewry is dependant on our ability to shape a multicultural, pluralistic and diverse society.

 

Mr Rosenberg expressed deep concern about the use of fear-mongering, which he saw as a potent agency to increase conflict. He also stated that national values are not fixed but evolve over time, through interaction with other people, but that it was vital for everyone to feel that they can play a part in the interaction process.

 


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