Does ’Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite’ Include Jews?

Jewish History Nerds survey

When we think about the French Revolution, our mind jumps to Marie Antoinette, Les Miserable, “America’s favorite fighting Frenchman.” We don’t generally think “hey, are Jews even people?” But that was the question on Napoleon’s mind as he built the French Empire. In this week’s episode, Yael and Schwab break down all the factors in Napoleon’s decision-making process as he tried to figure out whether Jews could be French citizens. It’s a story about liberte, egalite, fraternite. About Napoleon’s revival of an ancient Jewish court for the first time in 1,300 years. And about what it means to be a Jew in a wider society.

This episode was hosted by Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner. Our education lead is Dr. Henry Abramson. Audio was edited by Rob Pera, and we’re produced by Rivky Stern.

For more on Napoleon and this episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vuujRrD1gBYEmIJny-o2oief34hGpYW9EeMFYqlF2tc/edit?usp=sharing