Paper short abstract:

My participation deals about the experience of the revolutionary changes in the Arabic spring in the daily life of the Jewish Diaspora from North Africa in France. The social situation of this minority is in the centre of my observations. Case study is the Jewish Tunisian Diaspora in France.

Paper long abstract:

The Jews of North Africa have a particular history, due to their social placing in the colonial system, as well as their identification with the Israeli state. In the neocolonial period the former Jews of North Africa are globally situated in opposition to the Arabic world. Nevertheless the Jews of North Africa have a notably relation to their home countries, especially heretofore the Jews from Tunisian.

An overlook will be given about the social situation of this community before and after the revolution. We will determine what has changed in the daily and ritual life of the social actors. Did the political and social changes influence their regard of themselves, their identification with their cultural memory? What happened to their rapport with their former homeland? Antecedent the Jews from France were regularly doing a pilgrimage to Djerba in Tunisia, we will thus determine, if this transnational transgression is still possible, and how are the circumstances for this travel nowadays. Otherwise did the rapport with the ancestor home country change? Are holiday visits, like it was the former tradition of Tunisian Jews from France, are still possible in the same condition? Especially did the relations to Muslims from Tunisia change? Can social actors observe an increase or decrease of anti-Semitism?

In sum my communication will analyze how the ensembles of the Diaspora Tunisian Jews in France are placed and are participating in the undergone changes by their former country and society.