In 1807 Napoleon Bonaparte had 12 questions for the Jews:
- Is polygamy allowed among the Jews?
- Is divorce recognized by the Jewish law?
- “Can Jews intermarry with Christians?” or “Can a Jewess marry a Christian, and Jew a Christian woman? Or does the law allow for Jews to marry only among themselves?”
- Will the French people be esteemed by the Jews as strangers or as brethren?
- In what relation, according to the Jewish law, would the Jews stand towards the French?
- Do Jews born in France consider it their native country? Are they bound to obey the laws and customs of the land?
- Who elects the rabbis?
- What are the legal powers of the rabbis?
- Is the election and authority of the rabbis founded on law or custom?
- Is there any kind of business in which Jews may not be engaged?
- Is usury to their brethren forbidden by the law?
- Is it permitted or forbidden to practice usury with strangers?
Back in those days French Jews weren’t playing by the same rules as the natives (as you might guess looking at the questions posed in the list above), and Napoleon knew that to avoid destabilisation, they would need to be integrated into French society. He thought that if he asked them nicely to become more French they might be amenable; Thus he set up the Grand Sanhedrin in Paris– A committee of 71 elders who would decide formal Jewish responses to his questions. Jewish representatives came from hither and yon to contribute their views to to what they thought was going to be a debate. In true Semitic fashion, the Sanhedrin’s elders told the attendees to keep quiet and listen to the pronouncements of the elders; The Sanhedrin responded to nine of the twelve questions with: “of course we’re just like the French.” and ignored the other three- See below. They signed off on their declarations to Napoleon’s satisfaction and then the Jews promptly got back to carrying on exactly as before.
Napoleon accepted the Sanhedrin’s responses, though many of their attendees were bitterly disappointed at not being allowed to have debate. Some felt the assembly was a success while others weren’t quite as enthusiastic. There are stories of Jewish families naming their boys after Napoleon as if to acknowledge him as a kind of saviour.
*Answers:
- No
- Only if the State says it is, first.
- Yes, yes and no.
- The French are our brethren.
- The French are our friends and allies.
- Yes and yes.
- No response.
- No response.
- No response.
- No, not at all.
- Totally forbidden.
- As in 11.
Those who felt the Sanhedrin had solved the problems of Jewish integration in Europe were to be sorely disappointed with the noises emanating from Hitler in Germany, 1933; but Hitler was only doing what he was told by… Guess who… Yep got it right first time.
War Expenses
Howsoever Napoleon felt about the Jews, their banking facilities did come in very handy for his military exploits; When it comes to the Semites, things are rarely simple. Little did Napoleon suspect that whilst Jacob Rothschild was backing him in Waterloo, Rothschild’s brother Nathan was backing his enemy, The Duke of Wellington. England hasn’t been the same since.
So, what about Jewish integration in 2024?
It’s not so much Jewish integration that concerns the average French man in 2024, but integration of many different kinds. Once again the Rothschilds are a driving force behind this major change to French civilisation. A new Napoleon is in place to ensure a resounding defeat.
In 2024 we hear wailing from European nations about how they all want to remain “free” but it is time for all of us to grow up and face a simple reality: