Essay Examines Dual Citizenship ‘In This New Nationalist Era’
Writer Pamela Druckerman, who is Jewish, has a brilliant, timely essay in the New York Times about her experiences as an American acquiring French citizenship, in the era of Brexit and Trump. A taste:
[D]uring my [citizenship] interview, I froze when asked why I wanted to become French. I remembered hearing that when a rabbi asks someone why he wants to convert, the best answer is that he just feels a burning need to be Jewish. Maybe acquiring Frenchness is similar, and I should say it’s a spiritual calling? I finally just told the truth: I like it here.
It’s Paris. A challenging city in many ways, but with a lot, quite a lot, to like.
Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at bovy@forward.com. Her book, The Perils of “Privilege”, will be published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30