Program for Jewish Civilization

This conference seeks to uncover the intricate and transformative interactions between France’s decidedly universalist and secularist policy of cultural homogenization and the demands and practices of its various communities. To do so, our scholars will compare Jewish and Muslim trajectories of integration from the French Revolution to the present. The Jews, who had long been dismissed as inassimilable aliens, are now celebrated as paragons of “republican loyalism” and models of cultural and social integration. Supporters of the status quo believe that North-African Muslim immigrants, who have succeeded the Jews as France’s new “others,” should emulate Jewish populations in French society. Indeed, the French government, in an attempt to rally the heterogeneous Muslim population to French republican ideology, has been trying to transfer the French-Jewish model of communal organization to its Muslim minorities.

By comparing Jews’ and Muslims’ paths of integration in France and the public discourses and policies surrounding their assimilation, the conference aims to highlight these minority groups as relevant case studies for understanding the transformation of French ideology and politics of identity. We also hope to create a dialogue about the redefinition of Jewish and Muslim identities, cultures, and memories in the “new” Europe.

The prospective participants represent some of the world’s most accomplished scholars in the fields of history, public policy, sociology and European studies. In addition, the conference provides an opportunity for collaboration between the Program for Jewish Civilization, the BMW Center for German and European Studies, the Department of French at Georgetown University, and the Embsassy of France in Washington, D.C.

Click hereto RSVP for Day 1 (see schedule below)

Click here to RSVP for Day 2 (see schedule below)

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Wednesday March 17th

11:30 – 12:00 Lunch and Opening Remarks
Jacques Berlinerblau, Director, Program for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University
Andrew Sobanet, Chair, Department of French, Georgetown University
James O’Donnell, Georgetown University Provost

12:00 – 1:45 State Policies in the New Europe: Multiculturalism, Integration, and Religious Freedom
Moderator: Jason Isaacson (American Jewish Committee)
Ahmet Kuru (San Diego State University): “Assertive Secularism, Islamophobia, and State Policies toward Muslims: The French Exceptionalism in Europe”
Valérie Amiraux (Université de Montréal): “From Social Problem to Legal Issue: the Governance of Islam in European Contexts”
Daniel Sabbagh (CERI, Paris): “Wrestling with Diversity: The French Way”

1:45 – 2:00 Coffee Break

2:00 - 3:00 Special Remarks by His Excellency Pierre Vimont, French Ambassador to the United States
Introduction: Carol Lancaster, Interim Dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown
What Does it Mean to be French?

Thursday March 18th

9:00 - 10:45 Rethinking Jewish-Muslim Relations in France
Moderator: Kenneth Weinstein (Hudson Institute)
William Safran (University of Colorado): “Jews and Muslims in France: A Historical and Situational Comparison”
Ethan Katz (University of Cincinnati): “Jews and Muslims at the Margins of French Nationhood: Two Liminal Groups and Their Relations”
Shmuel Trigano (Nanterre, Paris X): “Why Compare Jews and Muslims in France?”
* Bagels and coffee provided

10:45 – 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-12:45 Integration Challenges: a Two Way Street?
Moderator: TBA
Justin Vaïsse (Brookings Institution): “Successes and Failures in Integrating Muslims”
Melanie Adrian (Harvard University): “Risking Religious Freedom in Europe: The Case of French Muslims”
Christian Joppke (AUP, Paris): “The European Headscarf Battles”

12.45–1:15 Lunch Break

1:15–2:30 Public Interview with French Philosopher Alain Finkielkraut (École Polytechnique)
Interviewed by Sarah Fainberg (Georgetown University)
“Judeophobia and Francophobia: Two Sides of the Same Coin”

2:30 – 4:00 The Arab-Israeli Conflict in France: the Second Intifada, the Gaza War and Iran
Moderator: Robert Lieber (Georgetown University)
Maud Mandel (Brown University): “Is Fraternité Possible? Muslims, Jews, and the Palestinian Question in France”
Frédéric Encel (Sciences Po, Paris): “Sarkozy and the Middle East: a New Strategic Orientation?”
Michel Gurfinkiel (Valeurs Actuelles, Paris): TBD

4:30–6:00 Reception and Special Address by His Excellency Daniel Shek, Israeli Ambassador to France
Introduction: Gabriel Scheinmann (Georgetown University)
“Israel and France – Back to an Old Bond of Friendship”