France

DISCOVER THE RICH HISTORY OF FRENCH JEWRY!

The country’s Jewish presence dates back to the Roman period when Jews were sent to France after the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. A Jewish community was active in Paris as early as the 6th century. Though the First Crusade largely left French Jews untouched, the Second Crusade began a long period of persecution in which Catholic clergy railed against Jews and forced them to pay a special tax. The Jews were often expelled from France at this time, only to be readmitted a few years later. Throughout this period of persecution, France produced some of the brightest luminaries of Jewish learning including the famed biblical commentator Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, usually referred to as Rashi. Jews were finally granted citizenship during the French Revolution.

Anti-Semitism increased throughout the 19th century, culminating in the trial of Alfred Dreyfus, a French army captain who was falsely convicted of a crime because he was Jewish and whose story inspired Theodor Herzl’s Zionist activities. During WWII, France was controlled by the Germans and a pro-Nazi Vichy government which carried out Nazi directives. The first deportations of French Jews began in 1942 and, by war’s end, about a quarter of all French Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

Thousands of Jews flocked to France in the wake of the war, including thousands of North African Jews. Today, the Jewish population of France currently numbers at nearly half a million, making it the world’s third-largest Jewish community after New York and Israel. The French Jewish community is served by synagogues, community organizations, schools, and dozens of kosher restaurants.

Tours are available in English, Spanish, Hebrew, German, French, Russian, and Dutch.

Specialty and custom tours available on request; including, Louvre Tours, Gourmet Tour, Neighborhood, and private car.

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