In 1791, France became the first European country to fully emancipate its Jewish population, and for more than two hundred years French rabbis have spoken a special Sabbath benediction. “May France enjoy a lasting peace and preserve her glorious rank among the nations,” they recite; the congregation replies, “Amen.” For centuries, Jewish identity in France—despite the Dreyfus case, despite Vichy collaboration, despite waves of hate crime—has been tightly linked to the state. But in Joshua Harmon’s “Prayer for the French Republic,” now on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, that contract shows signs of strain.
It’s 2016 in Paris, and the Benhamou family is wondering if they should leave an increasingly hostile France. Since the twenty-six-year-old son, Daniel (Aria Shahghasemi), has begun wearing a yarmulke, he has been attacked twice, and the Benhamous ask if they—like eight thousand French Jews the previous year—should immigrate to Israel. Daniel’s father, Charles (Nael Nacer), whose family fled antisemitism in Algeria in the sixties, says leave; his mother, Marcelle (Betsy Aidem), whose great-grandparents the Salomons miraculously survived the Nazi occupation of Paris, says remain. Daniel’s brittle twenty-eight-year-old sister, Elodie (Francis Benhamou), takes no position—or, rather, she takes many positions, all of which counter the blundering political forays of their visiting American cousin, Molly (Molly Ranson). “I had no idea Israel’s occupation of Palestine was so problematic. Thank you so much for that,” Elodie says, her voice dripping acid.
Denne historien er fra January 22, 2024-utgaven av The New Yorker.
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Denne historien er fra January 22, 2024-utgaven av The New Yorker.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Dark Time. - On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging.
On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging. The point of contact between NATO and Russia's nuclear stronghold is the small town of Kirkenes. For years, Russia has treated the area as a laboratory, testing intelligence and influence operations before replicating them across Europe.
MIRROR IMAGES
‘A Different Man” and The Substance.”
THE FOOTBALL BRO
Pat McAfee brings a casual new style to ESPN.
OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY
Proximity to wealth proves perilous in Rumaan Alam’ novel Entitlement.”
EYES WIDE SHUT
How Monet shared a private world.
WITH THE MOSTEST
The very rich hours of Pamela Harriman.
HUGO HAMILTON AUTOBAHN
On the Autobahn outside Frankfurt. November. The fields were covered in a thin sheet of snow.
TRY IT ON
How Law Roach reimagined red-carpet style.
SORRY I'M NOT YOUR CLOWN TODAY
Bowen Yang's trip to Oz, by way of conversion therapy and S..N.L.”
SNIFF TEST
A maverick perfumer tries to make his mark on a storied fashion house.