July 6, 2026 | Tablet Magazine
Stand Up
Twenty years ago, American Jews taught me an invaluable lesson about survival. Now it’s my duty to repay the favor.
July 6, 2026 | Tablet Magazine
Stand Up
Twenty years ago, American Jews taught me an invaluable lesson about survival. Now it’s my duty to repay the favor.
Excerpt
It was the early 2000s. French Jews were already grieving, though much of the country preferred not to notice. Synagogues were attacked. Jewish children were beaten on their way to school. Anti-Zionism was once again doing what it has so often done in Europe: serving as a respectable disguise for something older, meaner, and perfectly recognizable to most Jews.
France, as usual, had an explanation ready. The attackers were alienated youth. The violence was social, economic—not ideological. The Jews were overreacting. They always were.
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen is senior envoy for Europe at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).