French and Jewish - 9781906764258

French and JewishCulture and the Politics of Identity in Early-Twentieth Century France\nAuthor(s): Nadia Malinovich\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Liverpool University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization\nISBN-13: 9781906764258, 978-1906764258\nSynopsis\nThis study of Jewish cultural innovation in early twentieth-century France highlights the complexity and ambivalence of Jewish identity and self-definition in the modern world. Following the Dreyfus affair, French Jews increasingly began to question how Jewishness should be defined in a society where Jews enjoyed full political equality. Writers who had previously not given voice to their Jewish origins began to explore biblical themes, traditional Jewish folklore, and issues of identity and assimilation. A plethora of new journals focusing on Jewish religion, history, and culture came into being, as did a multitude of associations-literary societies, youth groups, religious organizations-that .