It is necessary to start with a precision of language. In France, we call ourselves Judeo-Spanish and not Sephardic, because in our country after the Second World War there was a massive arrival of Jews from North Africa. Today, they are known as Sephardic, and do share common ritual religious practices with the Sepharadim of the former Ottoman Empire. However, their culture, and especially the language, are very different from those of the Judeo-Spanish Sepharadim, with the exception of a minority of Moroccan Jews who spoke Haketia, a variety of Judeo-Spanish languages in northern Morocco.
Most of the Judeo-Spanish people in France are from the former Ottoman Empire: Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and the former Yugoslavia. The first arrivals in France date from the end of the 19th century. Many families gathered in the 11° arrondissement (11th District) of Paris and a whole system of mutual aid was set up. Grocery stores with oriental products were created as well as restaurants like Le Bosphore, which initially served as a place for religious services. Like certain areas of the Lower East Side of New York, you would hear Judeo-Spanish spoken in the street among friends, family, and community members.
By 1913, the community was strong enough to buy an old cinema, but because of the war, the first Judeo-Spanish synagogue wasn’t fully built and inaugurated until 1919 at 7 rue Popincourt. The Judeo-Spanish people used to call it El Syete.
Prior to World War II, the Judeo-Spanish community became a vibrant Jewish community in Paris. Judeo-Spanish Jews in Paris created new systems to create vibrant activity like the magazine Sephardic Judaism and the creation of the first association UISF (Union des Israélites Séfarades de France). Later on, a second main synagogue on Rue Saint-Lazare was inaugurated in the 1930s. There was also a Sephardic youth club that was the source of many weddings.
On the eve of World War II, the Judeo-Spanish community was estimated at about 35,000. In the Memorial of the Judeo-Spanish people deported from France, 5,300 deportees have been listed and only 300 who have returned. The Judeo-Spanish people joined forces en masse to defend France and many of them joined the Partisan resistance, especially in the rescue of the children. After the War, a number of Judeo-Spanish Parisian Jews left France for the United States or Mexico, while others left for British Palestine. In the 1950s, a few additional waves of Judeo-Spanish Jews from Greece and Turkey resettled in Paris and joined the existing community.
In 1962, after the independence of Algeria from France, a major number of Jews arrived from Algeria. The Judeo-Spanish people left the synagogue on rue Saint-Lazare and settled in the new synagogue on rue de la Roquette, which later replaced the small synagogue on rue Popincourt.
Today, the Judeo-Spanish being too few, there are seldom marriages between Judeo-Spanish people.
This work of memory and transmission is the work of various France-based associations such as Aki Estamos, Al Syete, JEAA (Judeo-Spanish In Auschwitz), Muestros Dezaparesidos and Vidas Largas. Courses, workshops, conferences are given, films are projected. One of the most popular means of transmission are concerts of Judeo-Spanish traditional songs.
To help those who attend courses, Muestros Dezaparesidos published a French/Judeo-Spanish vocabulary that complements the immense work done by Joseph Nehama with his dictionary of Judeo-Spanish. We are also hosting new conferences in Paris on Judeo-Spanish, and special Shabbats at the Don Isaac Abravanel Synagogue. It is our hope that as we increase our collaborations with La Ermandad Sefaradi - the Sephardic Brotherhood, we will be able to help further revival Judeo-Spanish and Sephardic culture in Paris. So make sure to come and visit us in Paris the next time you’re in the city of lights - Al Vermos (see you later)!
Alain De Toledo, président de Muestros Dezaparesidos
Michel Azaria, vice-président de Muestros Dezaparesidos (michel.azaria@muestros-dezaparesidos.org)
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