Third-worldism, the French Christian Left and theological antizionism (1967-1985): a rejuvenated repertory for Christian antisemitism.

• In Event: Jewish Identity, Internationalism and Perceptions of Jews in France and Britain

Abstract

After the Six Day War, a strong theological antizionism arose among the French Christian Left, giving way to open forms of antisemitism. It was led by intellectuals who had fought against faith-based anti-Jewish prejudices within Christian Churches (Cardonnel), up to Vatican II. Some had actively supported the development of the Israeli State (Montaron, Terrenoire) in the 1950s, while older figures had taken part to Catholic and Protestant WWII-rescue organizations (Casalis).

They didn’t only radically change perspectives after 1967, but developed a theological counter-system aiming to legitimize politically and theologically antizionism, reactivating traditional Christian anti-Jewish tropes (Pharisaism, Jewish unfaithfulness, deicide), and gaving away to open antisemitism, sometimes even a claiming "a right" (sic) to it.

Their theological counter-model drew on budding “liberation theologies”, yet elaborated by European intellectuals – some had taken part in the French decolonial struggle (Biot; French bishop of Algiers, Duval, who kept his position after 1962). While influenced by a Marxist historical approach, their line was primarily faith-based. Siding with Palestinians, they elaborated a “counter-theology of the people” against the Christian theologies of the “Jewish people”, developed in the 1960s. From laicized nun Lacaze and former worker-priest Gauthier (who left Jerusalem in 1967 to share the life of refugees in Lebanese camps), Lebanon-born but Paris-based Moubarak, to young Protestant Baubérot, all became key-figures of Christian Third-Worldism. France displayed a unique form of faith-based anti-Zionist dissent, rejuvenating antisemite tropes, but also inventing other and new images in this repertory. Frenchmen co-chaired with Lebanon the World Conference of Christians for Palestine (1970-1972), that offered a platform to Fatah and LPO and legitimized the use of terrorist violence in Munich.

After 1975, these dissenting protesters were called out by their hierarchies. The movement slowed down with the Lebanese war but became the backbone of historical studies that outlined the continuity between Christian and Muslim forms of antisemitism, between anti-Judaism, antizionism and antisemitism, as Giniewski (1985-2000), Taguieff (2000-2015), Levy (2016).

This paper looks anew at this paradigm of continuity and the transnational networks of dissemination, as it combines archival research (private, unregistered collections) with the history of faith-based activism and violence. Last but not least, it reexamines the issue of long-term continuity or shift of generations, as post-10/7/2023 France saw a rejuvenated Christian pro-Palestinian activism and a rise of antisemitism.

Author

• Claire Maligot, Reims University