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An Update From Paris: This Jew is Still Here, and She is Not Leaving
I started about a thousand posts for Ricochet today and abandoned them all. There’s just too much to say about the past few days. I was trying to say all of it. But I realized at last that no, that’s not going to happen.
So I’ll just say this part of it. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve heard me say it already, but that’s okay. The point is important enough that it bears repeating.
If you check the Drudge Report right now, you’ll see a screaming headline:
EVERY JEW I KNOW HAS LEFT PARIS
It links to an article in the Daily Mail. The claim was made by Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle.
Mr. Pollard, it is perhaps true that every Jew you know has left Paris. But it is clearly true that you do not know every Jew in Paris.
I have not left. And I will not. And neither will my father. That is at least two of us. And I know many more.
It is true that in the end, the Nazis managed to drive my family out of France. But not before my grandfather killed thousands of them. If these eighth-rate savages think they’ll succeed in getting my family out of France twice, they will discover that I am my grandfather’s granddaughter.
I’ve been told today that “the odds are against me.” By well-meaning people, I’m sure. First, they are not. That’s absurd. What happened was a horror, and it is by no means over, but if these people think they can win against a determined modern nation-state–once it’s woken up–they are even more out of their minds than it seems. Yes, it’s a war–and that was only the opening shot. But they are not the Nazis. They’re just dumb thugs with a taste for blood–and while France may be quite a sane place overall, God help them if they push the Germans so far that they find out what real Nazis are like.
And if you want to talk about odds, I’ll tell you about odds: In my grandfather’s regiment of 1,250 men, only 250 survived. So don’t tell me about the odds: It just makes you sound like a hysteric with no sense of history or proportion.
And while we’re at it: Let’s remember who won that war.
I am Jewish. I am in France. And I am not leaving–not because of a handful of terrorist swine, and not even if there’s an army of them. This family of Jews will not be driven out of Europe twice. And as far as I’m concerned, the response a Jew should have to this outrage is the one we should have had before–when up against a far more fearsome enemy. We may die, but we’ll die fighting, and you’ll be amazed how many of you we take down with us.
So let me speak personally now to anyone who thinks he’ll get me out of here: We will always have Paris. I will always have Paris. As will all the people who belong here. You, however, will die.
I have much more to say. But there is one more thing that strikes me as more important than all the other things on my mind. There are also many terrified Muslims in France right now. And yes, some of them are my friends–and close ones.
They too are the victims of these savages. They are victims in a double sense: Terrorists are as eager to kill them as they are eager to kill anyone in France. One of the cops they killed happened to be as Muslim, as has widely been reported. And they are victims in the second sense in that they this is only country they have. They will be associated forever with those animals–but they are French citizens. They have no Israel to go to. They have nowhere else to go to. So they will stay here too.
Time asked me to write a short piece about the irreplaceable staff of Charlie Hebdo. It is hard to explain all that they meant to France. But this part is important:
In 2012, in an interview with Le Monde, Stéphane Charbonnier, Charlie Hebdo’s director, was asked if he was tempted to tone down the publication’s inclination toward the inflammatory.
“It may sound pompous,” he replied, “but I’d rather die standing than live on my knees.”
It hardly sounds pompous at all. Especially given that this is precisely what he did.
That is what he did, and it is exactly what I feel.
So no, Mr. Drudge, you got this one wrong. I am a Jew. I am in France. I am not leaving. Neither are many terrified Jews in France. Neither are many terrified Muslims. Nor are we even that terrified, to be honest. In fact, I think I’d enjoy killing these kinds of people every bit as much as my grandfather did, and rather relish the thought.
I will stay here with my Jewish friends; I will stay here with my Muslim friends, and I will stay here for all the journalists at Charlie Hebdo–who were what the West is supposed to be and what I hope it will be again. I will stay here for Charb. I will stay here for all of his colleagues. I will stay here for my Grandfather. And I will stay here because too many Jews have been driven out of Europe–and I will not be one of them.
Never again has many meanings: One of them is that.
I will not be driven out. Not even if I have to personally teach the entire French police force which end of the gun to shoot from. If they’d like some advice about that, I’m happy to offer it; if not, I will confine myself to the obvious and say: Get your act together, and quick, because you need to up your game. But I’m sure you will–practice makes perfect–and Vive La France.
I will not be leaving.
Published in General
Please be thankful that there are many
An Update From Paris: This Jew is Still Here, and She is Not Leaving
C
Claire Berlinski
January 10, 2015
29 COMMENTS 21FOLLOW
I started about a thousand posts for Ricochet today and abandoned them all. There’s just too much to say about the past few days. I was trying to say all of it. But I realized at last that no, that’s not going to happen.
So I’ll just say this part of it. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve heard me say it already, but that’s okay. The point is important enough that it bears repeating.
If you check the Drudge Report right now, you’ll see a screaming headline:
EVERY JEW I KNOW HAS LEFT PARIS
It links to an article in the Daily Mail. The claim was made by Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle.
Mr. Pollard, it is perhaps true that every Jew you know has left Paris. But it is clearly true that you do not know every Jew in Paris.
I have not left. And I will not. And neither will my father. That is at least two of us. And I know many more.
It is true that in the end, the Nazis managed to drive my family out of France. But not before my grandfather killed thousands of them. If these eighth-rate savages think they’ll succeed in getting my family out of France twice, they will discover that I am my grandfather’s granddaughter.
I’ve been told today that “the odds are against me.” By well-meaning people, I’m sure. First, they are not. That’s absurd. What happened was a horror, and it is by no means over, but if these people think they can win against a determined modern nation-state–once it’s woken up–they are even more out of their minds than it seems. Yes, it’s a war–and that was only the opening shot. But they are not the Nazis. They’re just dumb thugs with a taste for blood–and while France may be quite a sane place overall, God help them if they push the Germans so far that they find out what real Nazis are like.
And if you want to talk about odds, I’ll tell you about odds: In my grandfather’s regiment of 1,250 men, only 250 survived. So don’t tell me about the odds: It just makes you sound like a hysteric with no sense of history or proportion.
And while we’re at it: Let’s remember who won that war.
I am Jewish. I am in France. And I am not leaving–not because of a handful of terrorist swine, and not even if there’s an army of them. This family of Jews will not be driven out of Europe twice. And as far as I’m concerned, the response a Jew should have to this outrage is the one we should have had before–when up against a far more fearsome enemy. We may die, but we’ll die fighting, and you’ll be amazed how many of you we take down with us.
So let me speak personally now to anyone who thinks he’ll get me out of here: We will always have Paris. I will always have Paris. As will all the people who belong here. You, however, will die.
I have much more to say. But there is one more thing that strikes me as more important than all the other things on my mind. There are also many terrified Muslims in France right now. And yes, some of them are my friends–and close ones.
They too are the victims of these savages. They are victims in a double sense: Terrorists are as eager to kill them as they are eager to kill anyone in France. One of the cops they killed happened to be as Muslim, as has widely been reported. And they are victims in the second sense in that they this is only country they have. They will be associated forever with those animals–but they are French citizens. They have no Israel to go to. They have nowhere else to go to. So they will stay here too.
Time asked me to write a short piece about the irreplaceable staff of Charlie Hebdo. It is hard to explain all that they meant to France. But this part is important:
That is what he did, and it is exactly what I feel.
So no, Mr. Drudge, you got this one wrong. I am a Jew. I am in France. I am not leaving. Neither are many terrified Jews in France. Neither are many terrified Muslims. Nor are we even that terrified, to be honest. In fact, I think I’d enjoy killing these kinds of people every bit as much as my grandfather did, and rather relish the thought.
I will stay here with my Jewish friends; I will stay here with my Muslim friends, and I will stay here for all the journalists at Charlie Hebdo–who were what the West is supposed to be and what I hope it will be again. I will stay here for Charb. I will stay here for all of his colleagues. I will stay here for my Grandfather. And I will stay here because too many Jews have been driven out of Europe–and I will not be one of them.
Never again has many meanings: One of them is that.
I will not be driven out. Not even if I have to personally teach the entire French police force which end of the gun to shoot from. If they’d like some advice about that, I’m happy to offer it; if not, I will confine myself to the obvious and say: Get your act together, and quick, because you need to up your game. But I’m sure you will–practice makes perfect–and Vive La France.
I will not be leaving.
0
Sorry, I hit a bad key.
Be thankful that there are many of us out here who will help defend you folks with no chest.
Claire, I was going to tell you to be careful, but since that’s out of the question…
1) take a deep breath and let half of it out
2) aim for the center of mass
3) squeeze, don’t pull
Claire,
Regards,
Jim
Claire, you are a lovable fool.
I used to live in the UK, and I uprooted my family and left for the very same reason that many French Jews have done.
I am willing to fight and die for the things that are important to me. But an England in which even the natives are not willing to fight is not a nation that is worth laying down my life for.
I am astonished and saddened that you feel that France – FRANCE – is the Holy Land, the place which you are prepared to die saving from those who want you dead. Even when most French natives say they would definitely consider leaving the country if they had a decent offer.
This is not about the odds. It is about deciding where to draw the line. And there is precious little about socialist, no-2nd Amendment-France these days that makes me think it is the smart or right place to lay down a marker.
I thought it was madness for you to live in Turkey. France is on the very same trajectory. And unlike the United States, you do not get to stand alongside millions of like-minded patriots who are willing to fight to protect the ideals of a great nation.
Please, reconsider.
You certainly did. Apparently you didn’t read my comment thoroughly nor have you read anything I have written. Never, ever tell me I have “no chest.” That is an ignorant interpretation about me both anatomically and philosophically.
At the risk of inviting a CoC … shut your mouth.
I only wish more Americans could be seen voicing Clarie’s resolution to simply kill enemies.
Thucydides:The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage.
Remember Warsaw!
Thank you, Peter. I am not sure what to say about what I know is intended as a compliment–that to say such a thing is courageous. It isn’t. It’s just the obvious thing to say, isn’t it? It unnerves me that so many people are responding to my saying this by telling me I’m “courageous.” It suggests something very frightening about the level to which we’ve sunk–surely we have not become a civilization in which the normal response to such a thing is to say, “Get me out of here, I’m so afraid of these jihadi thugs that I’ll abandon my home and run without even putting up a fight?” I mean–that is not normal, is it? Even if the evidence pointed to it being sensible (it doesn’t) I would still have thought the universal and natural human instinct is to feel and say exactly what I’ve said: I’m going nowhere and I’ll kill you with pleasure. Not out of courage, but just because it is natural to be angry when your home and your life are threatened. That’s just how humans work, isn’t it?
And it is perfectly reasonable to think they have zero chance–I mean, zero–in the big scheme of things. They’re up against a nation that is, in fact, a proper modern nation state. One known, among other things as very serious manufacturer of military grade weapons. (Where this–untrue–idea that French cops are unarmed came from is the subject for an another post, but it’s interesting that people think that and shows how easily very inaccurate things enter popular discourse even though they are … very inaccurate.) I’ll just note that this is the homeland of EADS, Dassault Aviation, the Thales Group, and GIAT Industries–if you’re unfamiliar with those names, look them up, you’ll see what they make–and it also has a significant independent nuclear deterrent. It’s just not going to be overtaken by a bunch of jihadi fanatics. Terrorism happens. Everywhere, unfortunately. But it’s not like the Nazis are crossing the Ardennes, here. So … all compliments for my prose accepted with shy, blushing pride, but compliments for my bravery accepted with some bewilderment and unease about what on earth it means if “normal” is what “courage” looks like these days.
My grandfather’s war stories were terrific, and one of you must one day remind me to share them with you. He was the only person I’ve ever heard of who not only survived a battle like but remembered it as quite a good time–especially because of the great meal they had afterward. That meal was always evoked with special nostalgia. It involved an entire roast pig, apparently. (And yes, my grandfather was obviously Jewish–but also obviously hungry. When you’re done killing a few thousand Nazis, I suppose you figure God is just in no position to get hung up on the details.)
I hate to pull the “Trust me, I know what I’m doing card” here, but I’d rather just respond quickly than not at all, so this will involve some of that.
After ten years in Turkey, I came back to France. And France is a bit different from the US, but basically: It is the West. Believe me, the West is a real thing. And this is a real, Western country, for all its faults–which all of them have.
The West and its values are where I draw the line. And enough Americans died to free this country from the Nazis–have you ever visited the graveyards of Normandy?–that I’m not going to treat their sacrifice lightly, even if it does seem to be the fashion these days to say, “Well, we lost a lot of men, but what does it matter what happens to the place afterwards, so long as we say we respect the troops.”
(By the way: That last comment was not directed at you. It is not what you said and not how I took it. I think you can figure out to whom it was directed. And I reckon you agree with me.)
Exactly. Just taking care of business.
OK, this is a very serious and thoughtful comment and deserves and equally serious reply, but if I don’t get to work on a piece I promised to the editors of some newspaper somewhere (I am beginning to forget which at this point) I may miss their deadline. My quick response is that I disagree with you when you say there is only one meaning that matters in “never again.” And I promise that at some point when things are a bit calmer, we’ll discuss this at the length and in the way it deserves. (Which is probably at a length exceeding Gibbon on the Decline and Fall, but at least I’ll manage more than a quick paragraph.) However, I don’t one bit disagree with the meaning you find most important–not at all, and not for a nanosecond. I only disagree that it is the only meaning relevant to Jews.
Gotta agree with you, iWc. I listened to the BBC radio throughout the night, and they interviewed someone with cred about British security. He flat-out said there’s no way the British Government could follow all the British citizens that are flagged as dangerous. (My immediate thought was: Then why not arm the citizenry?)
If French security is in the same position as its British counterpart, expect more attacks with absolutely no defense for the citizenry that the terrorists seek out.
While I admire Claire’s resolve, here’s another view of French Jews leaving, from the BBC Newshour, at 44:00, where there’s an interview with Dr. Shimon Samuels of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Claire, let me try this a different way.
In times of crisis, majorities make no difference. The only thing that matters are the people willing to risk their lives for their cause. Which is how the Bolsheviks, and the Nazis, and countless others who never won 50% of the vote ended up in charge. And why, in every UK voting district with 20% muslims, the candidates on the ballot for every major party are all muslims. The radicals are not the caboose: they are the locomotive.
French politicians are like the vast majority of politicians everywhere: they will invariably act in their self interest. Which means that as radical Muslims flex their muscles, their power over the government will continue to grow.
So if you choose to stay and fight, you will not be fighting “mere” terrorist scum. You will be fighting the French government as well, as they seek to disarm and defang you and all who think like you. And they have some practice: 90%+ of French Jews were wiped out in the Holocaust, almost entirely because of the complicit efforts of the French.
Of course, when we left for the US from the UK, we went through this same calculation. Is the US really that much better?
I hope so. It is clear that vast swaths of the American heartland are both armed and willing to use those arms in defense of liberty. It is also why I advocate secession for certain Red States: the Blue States are as incapable of fighting for what is right and good, as most of Europe today.
France has neither the tradition of sustained citizen resistance against the government, nor natives who have shown the willingness to stand up against the tide. Most importantly, it lacks civilizational confidence. There is no cogent philosophy of what it means to Be French that persuades would-be jihadists that there is something in France beyond a society in its narcissistic-hedonistic death throes. And so they go for the Strong Horse, and will continue to do so.
CB:
Claire, I don’t want to lecture into a combat zone, but let me just be blunt. Your stance, while admirable, is nonsensical.
You think that a modern nation-state will wake up — this is not in evidence. In three months, the burning question will not be “Which tent’s the baby in?”, but “Charlie who?”
They could well prevail against a modern nation-state, even an awakened one. The hand of statelessness both gives and takes. This is not even a cellular organization, but a constellation, a night sky full of constellations. Sometimes we perceive connections between them; sometimes connections exist. It doesn’t matter. Ideology and a headline are sufficient to complete what used to need a conspiracy.
This was not the opening shot. This is a war that goes back in my memory to 1983 in Lebanon (I was not there, just that I remember this), and in some ways back to the 1940s and a different awakening, that of Said Qutb. It’s not exactly Huntington, but it certainly isn’t Fukuyama. It’s Lawrence Wright.
Nazis had no shortage of dumb thugs, and these guys are as sophisticated an enemy as we have faced. They eschew a current state because they seek a grander prize — a superstate with current states as vassals. They seek a kingdom on earth dedicated to their moon-god, and they are well on the way. Scoffing at them as inferior to Nazis is like calling them the Junior Varsity. Your victory rant, bless your fighting heart, relies upon an unlikely set of events revolving around modern liberal democracies taking this threat seriously. Yet what does Hollande have to say? He cautions us against a backlash.
Finally, you imply obliquely that modern Nazis are the final proof against this menace. Obviously, you do not mean this in the most lurid sense, but even then, I disagree. Nazis, historical or modern, have nothing on these guys. At their satanic worst, the Nazis never broadcast their atrocities as recruitment / encouragement videos. These guys don’t need battleships and an infrastructure of railroads and heavy water facilities. They will simply co-opt ours.
This is as bad as it gets. There is no capital we can invade, no surrender we can receive, no nation to rebuild.
Get out of France.
I’ve got to rush–the rally at which the many Jews left in France as well as the many Muslims and all of the rest of France is going to starts soon*–but while you deserve a longer response, and will get one, really: The only reason the Nazis didn’t do that was for lack of technology. Not lack of savagery.
*I’ve been laughing with my Turkish friends about the “serious security measures” we’ve been assured are in place. No, not quite yet. But serious enough to convince me that they’ll get there. It speaks well for France that they don’t yet know how to do “police state” as well as Turkey. But sadly or happily, I do think they’ll figure it out.
A Police State is not the solution, unless one is willing to go full-Sisi – and that is still not an experiment with a clearly positive answer.
Western Civilization is in a marketing war for the passions and affections of young men.
But one side is basically a no-show. The Bad Guys are taking the field more or less by default. Charlie Hebdo was a massive victory for the Bad Guys, on a recruiting basis alone.
What is France selling? What is so amazing about French Civilization that it will be able to excite and attract would-be jihadists? Can you get young Algerian-French people to be willing to risk their lives for France as they are sometimes willing to do for Islam?
The question answers itself.
France is better off for people like you. I hope it proves itself worthy of you.
I think the main reason your initial post took me by surprise is because I have always thought of you as an American. Is France the home you have chosen or was it the home of your heart all along? If the latter, is that because of your family’s history there or because of your own?
ET and Tom ~ I can’t imagine someone here suggesting not owning a firearm when one isn’t comfortable doing so is somehow irresponsible. I would think the opposite is true. What we value in this country is that we can decide for ourselves, not that either option is mandatory. That decision is based on a myriad of factors and is not an indictment on one’s own courage.
I have to echo the thoughts of some of the posters here — you might be willing to stay and fight (though how that is actually done, I don’t know), but I see nothing to indicate that France will do anything to protect her Jews. Where are the “Je Suis Juif” (“I Am Jewish”) signs?
May God bless you ma’am, and your courage. I enjoyed your article; I found the statement that prompted it hard to believe, and it’s good to know that many Jews will stand their ground and not be driven out. Ever again.
Thank you Claire.
I’ve read both your posts on this topic, and listened to the recent Ricochet podcast. Your insight into what is going on over there is welcomed.
Be safe, very safe. Be well. Keep up the good work, and the better fight.
France and Argentina have been at the top of the “Why do Jews live thgere?” list for decades. (That’s a side from Germany and Austria which are a special category.) But that lists is growing and now includes Turkey, Sweden (SWEDEN!!??) and others are in line.
Meantime friends of mine are crowing about their successes in rebuilding synagogues in eastern Europe where no Jew ever prays anymore.
Where are the “Je Suis Juif” (“I Am Jewish”) signs?
I saw–literally–thousands of them today. Literally. Perhaps tens of thousands.
I have to say–I just don’t know how some of these rumors start. That there are no “Je Suis Juif” signs, or that French cops are unarmed … where are people hearing these things? I’m just baffled repeatedly by the way these things enter popular imagination, and genuinely curious: where did you hear this? How does this kind of rumor get started?
As for indications that the French will do something to protect the Jews–was the President of France’s statement that he will protect every Jewish synagogue, school or grocery with the military insufficient?
(I should add, by the way, that he damned well better not: I have had my fill of living under martial law. The police will be just fine.)
Claire,
Better the frying pan than the fire. Hold tight and “knock on wood”.
Regards,
Jim
Obama rep did march today. Look closely. (Standing in front of Sarkozy)
EJ,
Ich bin ein teleprompter.
Regards,
Jim
Abu Mazen and Davutoglu march in the front rank (per the photo[s]).
That tells you all you need know about how this will all end up.
(And in the short run, it amounts to Hollande, Merkel, Tusk, et alii telling the millions of marchers that they essentially wasted their Sunday.)
On a different but not altogether unrelated note — it’s worth bearing in mind this Cynthia Ozick observation:
“Universalism is the particularism of the Jews.”