Jewish populations have called France home since the early Middle Ages. But throughout the centuries, France’s Jews have experienced many periods of persecution, expulsions, and various forms of anti-Semitism.  Today, the Israeli government has sent a clear message to France’s Jewish population that they are most welcome in Israel, and more and more French citizens are making aliyah. Do France’s Jews belong in Israel or France?  What is a Jew’s place in the Diaspora?

Article, lesson plan and source sheet included.

GRADES: 7-10, 50 minutes

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Should French Jews make aliyah or remain in France? Why?

LESSON AT A GLANCE  The recent terror attack in a Parisian kosher supermarket and the rising anti-Semitism throughout the country raise the question of whether France’s Jews belong in Israel. This, in turn, leads to the bigger question: What is a Jew’s place in the Diaspora? In this lesson, students grapple with their identities as Americans vs. Jews, study Jewish texts about Diaspora living vs. ingathering of exiles, and RSVP to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s aliyah invitation.

OBJECTIVES

·         Students will consider their American versus Jewish identities.

·         Students will study Jewish texts about the Diaspora and the ingathering of exiles.

·         Students will explain their position on the future of French Jewry.