French textbooks mostly adhere to UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance in education, but downplay the role of Jews in French history and fail to address the "destructive" reality of contemporary antisemitism.
This is according to IMPACT-se's new investigation into the representation of Jews and antisemitism in French textbooks. The report is one part of the organization's Europe-wide research into antisemitism in textbooks, covering eight countries in total.
The IMPACT-se report analyzed both school textbooks (Grades 10-12) and the official History state curriculum for Grades 4-9.
IMPACT-se found that French textbooks did include a diverse range of mentions relating to Jewish history, both in France and in a broader global context. However, it said that the majority of Jewish historical events centered "disproportionately" on antisemitism and persecution, most notably through episodes such as the Dreyfus Affair and the Holocaust.
While it is vital to teach about these, the report said, the emphasis on suffering "risks reducing Jewish history to a narrative of oppression and exclusion."
It added that both contemporary and historic Jewish communities in France have played significant roles in civic life, education, and public discourse, but found that these were rarely mentioned in educational materials. It referred to this as "the underrepresentation of Jews in Medieval Mediterranean and French culture and history."
Marcus Sheff, the CEO of IMPACT-se, told the Jerusalem Post that it is important to teach "not just about just how Jews died but how Jews lived."
Textbooks offered 'limited or superficial examples'
For example, Sheff told the Post that the discussion around Dreyfus was important, especially regarding the role of the episode in French antisemitism, but that context is needed to discuss how this man came to be in the French military.
Similarly, he said there was little to no discussion of Rashi, the renowned 11th-century French Jewish scholar.
"It is a necessity to talk a bit more about Jews as part of the French fabric," said Sheff.
Regarding antisemitism, the report said that textbooks offered "limited or superficial examples" that "often fail to engage with more recent and severe manifestations of antisemitism, such as the rise in hate crimes."
Additionally, it found a lack of discussion around conspiracy theories targeting Jews, or terrorist attacks specifically directed at Jewish communities. This was prevalent in one of the Grade 10 textbooks, which "downplayed" antisemitism as a form of discrimination, and failed to include any examples. Such an omission, IMPACT-se said, may lead students to have a reduced understanding of the evolving nature of antisemitism.
Nevertheless, the Holocaust was reportedly addressed in "considerable detail," alongside discussion of Nazi ideology, the inclusion of witness accounts and the attempts to humanize Jewish victims as a way of fostering empathy among students.
That being said, IMPACT-se did find that there was a tendency to downplay the extent of the Vichy Regime's active participation in the "identification, arrest and deportation of Jews from France," adding that this minimization may reflect "broader societal and political struggles with national memory and responsibility."
In terms of Zionism and Israel, the report praised the discussion of the establishment of Israel within the context of post-World War II geopolitical reordering and the decolonization movements of the mid-1990s, but criticized the way in which the "conflict-centered narrative" overlooks key aspects of Jewish historical and cultural continuity in relation to the Land of Israel.
Overall, the discussion of Israel within textbooks was deemed to be positive, with IMPACT-se even commending the incorporation of Israel’s Declaration of Independence as a primary source document, calling it an "effective pedagogical tool."
As an example, the 11th grade History Geography, Geopolitics, and Political Science textbook links Theodore Herzl's coverage of the Dreyfus Affair and the rise of Zionism. "By highlighting how Herzl's exposure to the rampant antisemitism during the Dreyfus Affair galvanized his vision for a Jewish homeland, the textbook effectively illustrates the profound impact of this episode on the emergence of modern Zionism," claimed the report.
IMPACT-se noted the particular relevance of the investigation given the fact that France has the largest Jewish population in Europe, with an estimated "core" Jewish population of around 446,000 as of 2024.
"We conveyed to the French Ministry of Education our findings that, generally, the portrayal of Jews and Judaism was well done," Sheff told the Post. "However, we did communicate that no curriculum is perfect, and that there is clearly room for more."
He told the Post that IMPACT-se believes there will be a review of the French curricula carried out by the country's education ministry over the summer. "We told [the ministry] that this is an ideal opportunity to fill in some of the gaps, while still recognizing that a really quite decent job has been done."
Sheff added "we are grateful that our report will be one the of the resources that the Ministry of Education will have on its desk if this reform is conducted."
He concluded by saying that he felt there is a greater responsibility on the French to be particularly careful in their depiction of Jews and Judaism just because they have such a large Jewish population and because those Jews have been subject to a great deal of hate, but that more can always be done in terms of education.