Black Judaism in France and the United States: An Example of the Intersection Between Religion and Race/Ethnicity

Abstract

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the action of Black Jewish organizations (the Federation Internationale des Juifs noirs and Am-I-Farafina) in France has made visible the existence of a category of French Jews which had so far been little-known and hardly studied. They are native Jews or converts hailing from African countries, the West Indies, or the USA, and offer a wealth of new elements for observers and scholars of Jewish identity by introducing the question of interethnic relations in this frame. How do they perceive themselves as Black and Jewish, and what is their place in the Jewish community in France? The present study addresses these two questions over the past six years, focusing both on expressions of community membership and commitment, and on the religious and personal experiences of the Black Jews of France.