List of French Jews

This page is a list of Jews.
For more on who is considered Jewish, see Who is a Jew?.

Jews have lived in France since Roman times, and since the French Revolution (and Emancipation) have contributed to all aspects of French culture and society. A significant number perished in the Holocaust, deported to Nazi death camps by the French Vichy government. After the war, France served as a haven for Jewish refugees, and an influx of immigration (mostly of Sephardi Jews from North Africa) saw the Jewish population triple to around 600,000, making it the largest Jewish community in Western Europe at the present time.

The following is a list of some prominent Jews and people of Jewish origins (not all of them practice, or practiced, the Jewish religion) who were born in, or are very strongly associated with, France.

Historical figures

Activists

• René Cassin (1887 - 1976) drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, won Nobel Peace Prize (1968)[1]
• Daniel Cohn-Bendit (1945 - ) student leader and German Green MEP[2]
• Bernard Kouchner (1939 - ) politician, founder of Médecins Sans Frontières[3]
• Alain Krivine (1941 - ) student leader and Trotskyist MEP[4]
• André Spire (1868 - 1966) lawyer, journalist, poet, Jewish society and French Zionism leader[5]

Clergymen

• Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger (1926 - ) former archbishop of Paris and cardinal[6]

Military

• Affiche Rouge - French Resistance group, mostly Jewish members
• Denise Bloch (1915 - 1945) WWII SOE spy[7]
• Nissim de Camondo (1892 - 1917) pilot in WWI[8]
• Alfred Dreyfus (1859 - 1935) military officer[9]

Politicians

• Robert Badinter (1928 - ) Justice minister, 1981-6; abolished the death penalty in France[10]
• Léon Blum (1872 - 1950) Prime Minister 1936-7, 1938, 1946-7[11]
• Adolphe Crémieux (1796 - 1880) Justice minister, 1848, 1870-1[12]
• Laurent Fabius (1946 - ) Prime Minister, 1984-6[13]
• Louis-Lucien Klotz (1868 - 1930) journalist and politician; Minister of Finance during World War I[14]
• Bernard Kouchner (1939 - ) politician and doctor[15]
• Georges Mandel (1885 - 1944) Interior minister, 1939[16]
• Pierre Mendès-France (1907 - 1982) Prime Minister, 1954-5; withdrew from Indochina[17]
• Jules Moch (1893 - 1985) Transport minister, 1945-7; Interior minister, 1947-50; Defense minister, 1950-1[18]
• Dominique Strauss-Kahn (1949 - ) Finance minister, 1997-9[19]
• Simone Veil (1927 - ) Health minister, 1974-6; legalized abortion, President of the European Parliament 1979-82[20]

Other

• Ilan Halimi, murder victim[21]

Academic figures

Scientists

• Anatole Abragam (1914 - ) Russian-born physicist[22]
• Hippolyte Bernheim (1840 - 1919) hypnosis pioneer[23]
• Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (1933 - ) physicist, Nobel Prize (1997)[24]
• Alexander Grothendieck (1928 - ) German-born mathematician, Fields Medal (1966)[25]
• Jacques Hadamard (1865 - 1963)) mathematician[26]
• François Jacob (1920 - ) microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)[27]
• Gabriel Lippmann (1845 - 1921) physicist, Nobel Prize (1908)[28]
• Andre Michael Lwoff (1902 - 1994) microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)[29]
• Henri Moissan (1852 - 1907) chemist, Nobel Prize (1906)[30]
• Olinde Rodrigues (1795 - 1851) mathematician & social reformer[31]
• Laurent Schwartz (1915 - 2002) mathematician, Fields Medal (1950)[32]
• André Weil (1906 - 1998) mathematician, Wolf Prize (1979)[33]

Social scientists

• Raymond Aron (1905 - 1983) sociologist[34]
• Julien Benda (1867 - 1956) philosopher & novelist[35]
• Henri Bergson (1859 - 1941) philosopher, Nobel Prize (1927)[36]
• Marc Bloch (1886 - 1944) historian & Resistance leader[37]
• Léon Brunschvicg (1869 - 1944) philosopher[38]
• Hélène Cixous (1937 - ) feminist critic[39]
• Jacques Derrida (1930 - 2004) philosopher[40]
• Émile Durkheim (1858 - 1917) sociologist[41]
• Alain Finkielkraut (1949 - ) essayist[42]
• Gersonides (1288 - 1344) philosopher[43]
• André Glucksmann (1937 - ) philosopher[44]
• Robert Hertz (1881 - 1915) sociologist[45]
• Emmanuel Lévinas (1906 - 1995) philosopher[46]
• Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908 - ) anthropologist[47]
• Bernard-Henri Lévy (1948 - ) philosopher[48]
• Lucien Lévy-Bruhl (1857 - 1939) philosopher & anthropologist[49]
• Gabriel Marcel (1889 - 1973) philosopher[50]
• Marcel Mauss (1872 - 1950) sociologist[51]
• Jacob Rodrigues Pereira (1715 - 1780) first to teach the deaf[52]
• Rashi (1040 - 1105) religious commentator[53]
• Maxime Rodinson (1915 - 2004) historian[54]
• George Steiner (1929 - ) literary critic[55]
• Simone Weil (1909 - 1943) philosopher & mystic[56]

Cultural figures

Artists

• Christian Boltanski (1944 - ) photographer, sculptor and installation artist[57]
• Brassaï (1899 - 1984) photographer and sculptor[58]
• Claude Cahun (1894 - 1954) photographer[59]
• André François (1915 - 2005) cartoonist[60]
• Michel Kikoine (1892 - 1968) painter[61]
• Moise Kisling (1891 - 1953) Polish-born painter[62]
• Camille Pissarro (1830 - 1903) painter (half Jewish)[63]
• Joann Sfar (1971 - ) cartoonist[64]
• Chaim Soutine (1893 - 1943) Belarusian-born painter[65]
• Pauline Trigère (1909 - 2002) fashion designer[66]
• Ossip Zadkine (1890 - 1967) sculptor[67]

Film and stage

• Anouk Aimée (1932 - ) actress[1]
• Alexandre Aja (1978 - ) director (Haute Tension)[68]
• Yvan Attal (1965-) filmmaker[69]
• Jean-Pierre Aumont (1911 - 2001) actor[2]
• Sarah Bernhardt (1844 - 1923) world-famous stage actress[70]
• David Charvet (1972 - ) French-born actor/singer (Baywatch)[71]
• Marcel Dalio (1900 - 1983) actor[72]
• Gad Elmaleh (1971 - ) humorist, actor[73]
• Daniel Emilfork (1924 - 2006) actor[74]
• Anna Held (1872 - 1918) actress[75]
• Agnès Jaoui (1964 - ) director & actress[76]
• Marin Karmitz (1938 - ) producer[77]
• Mathieu Kassovitz (1967 - ) director & actor[78]
• Claude Lanzmann (1925-) filmmaker[79]
• Claude Lelouch (1937-) director[80]
• Marcel Marceau (1923 - ) mime artist[81]
• Jean-Pierre Melville (1917 - 1973) film director and screenwriter[82]
• Rachel (1821 - 1858) stage actress[83]
• Alexandra Rosenfeld (1986 - ) Miss France 2006[84]
• Ida Rubinstein (1885 - 1960) Belle Epoque icon[85]
• Michael Vartan (1968 - ) actor[86]
• William Wyler (1902 - 1981) director[87]

Musicians

• Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813 - 1888) composer & pianist[88]
• Joe Dassin (1938 - 1980) singer[89]
• Natalie Dessay (1965 - ) soprano[90]
• Sacha Distel (1933 - 2004) singer[91]
• Paul Dukas (1835 - 1965) composer[92]
• Serge Gainsbourg (1928 - 1991) singer-songwriter[93]
• Jean-Jacques Goldman (1951 - ) singer and songwriter[94]
• Fromental Halévy (1799 - 1862) composer[95]
• Ludovic Halevy (1834-1908), librettist[96]
• Joseph Kosma (1905 - 1969) film composer[97]
• Jacques Lanzmann (1927 - 2006) lyricist; brother of Claude Lanzmann[98]
• René Leibowitz (1913 - 1972) composer[99]
• Enrico Macias (1938 - ) singer[100]
• Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974) composer[101]
• Pierre Monteux (1875 - 1964) conductor[102]
• Georges Moustaki (1934 - ) composer, singer[103]
• Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880) composer[104]
• Régine (1929 - ) Belgian-born singer[105]
• Sapho - singer[106]
• Martial Solal (1927 - ) jazz pianist & composer[107]
• Alexandre Tansman (1897 - 1986) composer, pianist[108]
• Émile Waldteufel (1837 - 1915) composer[109]

Writers and poets

• Tristan Bernard (1866 - 1947) playwright & novelist[110]
• Henri Bernstein (1876 - 1953) playwright[111]
• Paul Celan (1920 - 1970) poet[112]
• Romain Gary (1914 - 1980) novelist[113]
• Max Jacob (1876 - 1944) poet[114]
• Edmond Jabès (1912 - 1991)poet[115]
• Joseph Joffo (1931-) writer[3]
• Gabriel Josipovici (1940-) novelist[4]
• Gustave Kahn (1859 - 1936) poet & art critic[116]
• Joseph Kessel (1898 - 1979) novelist & journalist
• Jacques Lanzmann (1927 - 2006) writer[117]
• Justine Lévy (1974-) novelist[118]
• André Maurois (1885-1967)author[119]
• Albert Memmi (1921-) novelist & sociologist[120]
• Patrick Modiano (1945-) writer (half Jewish)[121]
• Irène Némirovsky (1903 - 1942) writer[122]
• Georges Perec (1936 - 1982) novelist[123]
• Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922) writer (half Jewish)[124]
• Yasmina Reza (1959-)playwright[125]
• Nathalie Sarraute (1900 - 1999) writer[126]
• Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber (1924 - 2006) journalist, co-founder L'Express[127]
• Anne Sinclair (1948-) political journalist; wife of Dominique Strauss-Kahn[128]
• André Suarès (1868 - 1948) poet[129]
• Tristan Tzara (1896 - 1963) poet[130]
• Ilarie Voronca (1903 - 1946) poet & essayist[131]

Business figures

• Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet (1906 - 1996) founder and head of Publicis Groupe[132]
• Moïse de Camondo (1860 - 1935) banker[133]
• André Citroën (1878 - 1935) founder of Citroën[134]
• Marcel Dassault (1892 - 1986) aerospace industrialist[135]
• Achille Fould (1800 - 1867) financier[136]
• Maurice Girodias (1919 - 1900) founder of Olympia Press (half Jewish)[137]
• Michel Adam Lisowski, founder and president of Fashion TV
• André Meyer (1898 - 1979) French/American financier[138]
• Rothschild banking & wine growing family of France[139]
• Pierre Wertheimer (1888 - 1965) co-founder of Chanel[140]

Sport figures

• Alain Calmat (1940-) figure skater[141]
• François Cevert (1944 - 1973) racing driver (half Jewish)[142]
• Robert Cohen (1930-) boxer: World Bantamweight Champion[143]
• Pierre Darmon (1934-) tennis player[144]
• René Dreyfus (1905 - 1993) racing driver[145]
• Alphonse Halimi (1932 - 2006) boxer: World Bantamweight Champion[146]

See also

• History of the Jews in France
• List of French people

References

Footnotes

1. ^ "Motion Pictures". Encyclopaedia Judaica. (1971-1972). Keter Publishing House. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
2. ^ "Jean-Pierre Aumont ... returned to fight for his country despite the danger to him as a Jew", Jewish Chronicle, 2001-02-16, pp. 31. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
3. ^ "A Bag of Marbles" - Joseph Joffo
4. ^ (Jewish Year Book 2005 p215)