Tracing Jewish Paris, from Herzl to the Holocaust

Paris is often viewed through its landmarks – the Louvre, grand boulevards, cafés and palaces – but for a group visiting the city recently, the focus was on the Jewish history running through them.

A three-day educational trip organised by the London School of Jewish Studies explored how France shaped Jewish life, modern Zionism and Holocaust memory through visits to synagogues, museums, memorial sites and Jewish communal centres across the capital.

Led by former LSJS chief executive Joanne Greenaway, LSJS Head of Lifelong Learning Michael Rainsbury and Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum, Dean of LSJS, the programme examined Jewish Paris from the medieval period to the present day, combining historical tours with discussions about antisemitism, identity and contemporary French Jewish life.

One of the key visits centred on the Grand Synagogue of Paris, known as La Victoire, one of Europe’s largest synagogues and a symbol of French Jewish integration following emancipation in the 19th century.

Built in the 1860s, the synagogue reflected a period when French Jews increasingly saw themselves as fully part of wider French society. Participants heard how the building’s scale and architecture mirrored the confidence of the community at the time.

Rabbi Moshe Sebbag, the synagogue’s chief rabbi, described La Victoire as having “a very important place in the history of France”.

Speaking to the group inside the synagogue, he explained how Jewish communal life in France was shaped by the Consistoire system established under Napoleon, which organised religious and communal leadership across the country.

“As long as there are Jews in France, they deserve to have a nice place to live, to study, and to be proud of their Judaism,” he said.

Rabbi Sebbag stressed that the synagogue was intended to welcome Jews from across the community, not only the strictly observant.

“We are trying to bring life into the synagogue,” he said.

Participants also heard how the synagogue became tied to major moments in Jewish history, particularly the Dreyfus Affair and the emergence of political Zionism.

The group learned how Theodor Herzl lived in Paris as a journalist during the public humiliation of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army officer falsely accused of treason. Witnessing antisemitic crowds during the affair helped shape Herzl’s belief that Jews needed their own state.

Participants were shown memorials dedicated to Jewish soldiers from Paris killed in the First World War, alongside memorials to resistance fighters and Jews deported during the Holocaust.

The programme later moved to the Louvre, where Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum guided participants through Jewish themes hidden inside some of the museum’s best-known collections.

Inside the museum, participants moved through galleries spanning ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Renaissance Europe while examining how Jewish history intersected with many of the artefacts and stories on display.

Rabbi Dr Zarum guided the group through exhibits including the Code of Hammurabi, Assyrian reliefs connected to kings mentioned in Tanakh, and Egyptian artefacts associated with the story of Exodus and the Israelites in Egypt.

One section explored references to Joseph in Egypt through statues and inscriptions connected to ancient Egyptian officials and dynasties. Another examined the Merneptah Stele, often cited as one of the earliest archaeological references to Israel.

Participants also discussed the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, produced in Alexandria, and its significance in Jewish intellectual history.

In the Renaissance galleries, Rabbi Dr Zarum highlighted works inspired by biblical narratives, including paintings depicting Moses and scenes from Exodus, while also examining how Jewish themes appeared within wider European artistic traditions.

The group spent time in rooms displaying artworks looted by the Nazis during the occupation of France.

Participants learned how around 100,000 objects were stolen in France between 1940 and 1945, many from Jewish families, with thousands later recovered after the war. Exhibits explained the continuing efforts to identify rightful heirs and return stolen works to descendants of Holocaust victims.

Rabbi Dr Zarum said: “By studying the arts, the artefacts, the ancient world, we understand more about who we are.”

Sandra Rose, one of the participants, said physically visiting Jewish historical sites across Paris made the history feel far more immediate and relevant.

“There are young people who don’t always realise how connected our story is to everything around us,” she said.

The trip also included visits focused on Holocaust remembrance and contemporary Jewish life in France.

At the Shoah Memorial, participants viewed the walls engraved with the names of the 76,000 Jews deported from France during the Holocaust.

Among those reflecting on the visit was Holocaust educator Dov Forman’s paternal grandmother, Barbara Forman, who said one of the most striking parts of the trip had been learning how Holocaust records were preserved in France before Yad Vashem was established.

Speaking about Isaac Schneersohn, who documented the names of deported Jews during and after the war, she said: “He had the foresight to keep the records. That was amazing.”

Forman also said she had not previously realised that a lower percentage of French Jews were murdered during the Holocaust compared with some other occupied countries.

Standing in front of the memorial wall listing deported Jews from France, she reflected: “You realise every name is a whole family, a whole world.”

“You cannot understand it properly until you stand there,” she added.

Participants also visited the Centre Européen du Judaïsme, one of the major centres of modern Jewish communal life in Paris.

Speaking to the group, Jérôme Touboul, director of the Centre Européen du Judaïsme, discussed the centre’s role in contemporary French Jewish life and the importance of maintaining visible Jewish communal spaces in France.

“The objective of this centre was to teach the community, to make Judaism discoverable to other people, and to develop French Jewish culture,” he said.

Touboul explained that the centre had been created partly in response to demographic changes within Paris’ Jewish population and wider concerns about antisemitism.

Participants also heard from Sophie Goldbloom, a young Jewish educator based in Paris, who is director of Ze Kollel and programme coordinator for Paideia, the European Institute for Jewish Studies. She discussed contemporary Jewish life in France and the importance of creating spaces for younger Jews to engage with Jewish learning, identity and community across Europe.

She said there had been a “revival of Jewish identity” among some younger French Jews since 7 October, with more people attending Jewish spaces and communal events for the first time.

At the same time, she said there had also been “increased polarisation around Israel-Palestine”, particularly among younger people.

Goldbloom also described “a real renaissance of Jewish life” in parts of Paris in recent years, including new learning circles, Shabbat gatherings and grassroots Jewish initiatives.

“There’s a lot of positive,” she said, alongside “a real and scary rise of violent acts against Jews since 7 October.”

Goldbloom also said she noticed more Israelis relocating to Paris since 7 October, alongside continued movement between France and Israel among parts of the Jewish community.

France remains home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, estimated at between 440,000 and 500,000 people. Around 3,300 French Jews made Aliyah in 2025 according to Israeli government figures – a 45 percent increase on the previous year and one of the highest totals since the wave of aliyah that followed the 2015 Paris terror attacks.

Michael Rainsbury said the trip aimed to place France firmly within the wider Jewish historical story.

“We can’t get a full picture of Jewish history without learning about France – and better still, visiting it,” he said.

“France was the cradle of medieval Jewish scholarship, the French Revolution completely transformed modern Jewish life, and Paris was the backdrop to so much of the Zionist story.”

He added: “When we visited museums, sites and even cafes of historical Jewish importance, we brought these stories to life and immersed ourselves in the successes, tragedies and dilemmas of the past, reflecting on how they affect our future.”

Joanne Greenaway said conversations with Jewish leaders and educators in Paris helped connect the city’s history with the realities of Jewish life today.

“We had the opportunity to meet local leaders and gain an insight into the challenges and dynamics of French Jewish community life today,” she said.

“It really added another level to our understanding of Jewish Paris, moving from history to current reality.”