The Vulgar American

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The Vulgar American
Les Machines de l’île

Les Machines de l’île

Sarah Blake
Jan 01, 2024
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Les Machines de l’île
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Before we start, happy holidays and happy New Year! Not the happiest post follows, but I wanted to write about our trip to Nantes, France, and it came with its own complications. Thank you for reading and staying with me for another year of my Substack! I’m incredibly grateful.

For the first half-term break, at the end of October, we went to France. This meant, for the first time in his life, I had to tell my son to deny that he’s Jewish if anyone asked.

If you haven’t heard, hate crimes against Jews have seen a steep rise. The interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, said, “The number of antisemitic acts has exploded.” As of November 6th, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez cited “257 antisemitic acts in the Paris region alone, and 90 arrests.”

Some of the specific events that have come across my social media are the stabbing of a young woman in Lyon, and an older couple’s door set on fire in Paris. Jewish stars and swastikas are being marked on the homes of Jewish people. Friends of mine have been sharing their thoughts about taking down their mezuzahs.

My son’s reaction was that it’s easy to deny that he’s Jewish because he doesn’t feel very Jewish. He didn’t have the same family gatherings that I had growing up. I’ve celebrated Hanukkah with him every year, talked about the other high holidays, but that’s about it. I don’t feel very Jewish either.

Until I do.

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