As the first anniversary of October 7 is being discussed everywhere in the media, we asked ourselves how we could commemorate it. What’s left to say that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? Not much, it seems to us, and that’s why we’ve opted for sobriety: one text on October 7, no more. But we’d also like to point out that it didn’t take us long to find out clearly and distinctly what there was to say and think about it: here we publish “Reflections from October”, a text adapted from a lecture given by David Seymour at the end of November 2023. It deals with the evil double of Western modernity, and the possibility that what was revealed by October 7 was the permanence of the Jewish Question.
A debate was launched by Gabriel Abensour in K. last February. He deplored the lukewarmness and disarray of Franco-Judaism, which he explained by the neglect of its spiritual heritage, particularly Sephardic. In April, David Haziza responded, lamenting the fact that efforts had been made to make Judaism modern and presentable, to the detriment of its vitality. And now Julien Darmon has added his take to the discussion, expressing astonishment that it is apparently so difficult for us to appreciate the achievements of Franco-Judaism where they have actually taken place. Why look abroad when French Jewish scholars and intellectuals have done so well? And where should we turn our gaze today, if we are to hope for renewed vitality in Franco-Judaism?
After “Is your German Hebrew?”, “Krawuri: my third identity card” and “My father’s sukkah”, Ruben Honigmann continues the intimate exploration of his questions – ironic and profound – that we are always happy to publish in K. The source of his new essay is a class photo showing him in 1995 among his classmates at the Aquiba school in Strasbourg. What happened to the people in the picture? And how does he make the link between who he was almost thirty years ago and who he is today?
