Maria Teresa Muratore analyzes Roger Peyrefitte’s Les Juifs

Maria Teresa Muratore discusses Roger Peyrefitte’s novel Les Juifs. Muratore examines a specific passage from page 14 of the work, analyzing how identity, geography, and nationalism shape the post-World War II Jewish experience through a scene set in a Paris restaurant on New Year’s Day in 1963.

• Historical Context: The scene features a Hungarian traveler and Sobibor concentration camp survivor discussing identity with other guests in Paris.
• Core Argument: The commentary explores the distinction between being Jewish and being Israeli, while addressing contemporary geopolitical tensions.

The 1963 Paris Restaurant Scene and the Sobibor Survivor

The passage highlighted by Muratore recounts an interaction involving an unheralded Hungarian traveler who has lived in England since 1946 and survived the Sobibor concentration camp. Gathered with other Jewish patrons of diverse backgrounds—including an American and an Algerian—at a Paris restaurant, the traveler answers a question from the restaurant owner’s son about traveling to Israel.

The traveler responds that he would sail, fly, or walk to Israel as soon as he can afford the journey. When the Algerian participant asks why he continues to live in England, the traveler delivers a defining response recorded in the text: Parce qu’Israël, monsieur, c’est tout endroit où est un juif. Israël est ici ce soir, comme il était dans les camps de concentration.

He adds further nuance to his perspective, stating, Mais je veux que l’Etat d’Israël reste pour moi un objet perpétuel de désir, tel que le Messie. Du jour que j’habiterais en Israël, je ne serais plus un juif mais un Israélien.

Muratore Distinguishes Israelis from Global Jews

Muratore interprets this dialogue as an articulation of the absolute desire for a homeland following years of wandering, juxtaposed against a psychological shedding of a prior self. Drawing from this literary foundation, she suggests that Israelis are distinct from Jews globally. She calls upon non-Israeli Jews to maintain an impartial judgment, arguing that historical persecutions should not leave them feeling perpetually hunted or discriminated against, which she contends risks amplifying past trauma and undermining personal dignity.

Shifting from literary critique to contemporary politics, Muratore addresses the events of October 7, characterizing the attack as a tremendous terrorist act. However, she argues that this violence does not justify the ongoing eradication of the Palestinian population, which she attributes specifically to the actions of the Israeli government rather than Jewish people collectively. Advocating for lucid and unbiased evaluation of these tragedies, she emphasizes that anti-Zionism is distinct from antisemitism.