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A Jewish presence in Pou
L’Shana Tova
by Ben G. Frank
JTA
This is the beautiful town that
Henry IV made famous. History
buffs know that Henry IV, who
became king of France in 1589,
was born in Pau.
Located in the southwest of
France, charming Pau, (pronounced
PO) with a population of about
150,000, beckons every visitor to
begin his sojourn by walking along
the charming avenue marked Boul
evard des Pyrenees. Built on the
initiative of Napoleon I, and sim
ilar to Nice’s famous Promenade
des Anglaise, this scenic boulevard
commands a breathtaking view of
a large part of the snow-cropped
Pyrenees.
In this tourist area, far away
from the center of France, one just
doesn’t expect to find Jews. But
there is a Jewish presence here: an
active Jewish community functions.
Pau also may be noteworthy, 1
was told, because during World
War II the synagogue located at
No. 8 Trois-Freres-de-Bernadec
street, may have been the only syn
agogue in France to have services
every morning and evening despite
the entrance of the German Army
at the end of 1942.
There are 160 Jewish families in
Pau. supporting an active syna
gogue and a kosher butcher shop.
Like other cities in France, the
bulk of the Jewish community is
Sephardic, with an Ashkenazic
minority. In 1961, there were only
30 Jewish families here. But then
came the mass influx of North
African Jews who invigorated the
community and gave France the
shot in the arm that it needed to
become post-war Europe’s largest
Jewish community.
The synagogue in Pau was es
tablished by the Jews of nearby
Bayonne, many of whose families
came as Marranos after the Span
ish Inquisition. They had crossed
the nearby Spanish border to free
dom.
Twenty students attend the Tal
mud Torah. There is a mikva.
Community lunches and dinners
are served here. A hugh poster cit
ing the 50 years of contributions by
the organization, WIZO, appears
on one wall of the Talmud Torah
Community Center. The rabbi is
Sephardic. Services are held Fri
day evenings, Saturday mornings
and Saturday evenings. Holiday
celebrations attract a large gather
ing; the synagogue is packed. On
special occasions, refreshments are
served in the small but well-kept
community center.
The fact that the synagogue was
not harmed during the war does
not mean that Jews did not suffer
in the Holocaust. Some were de
ported, some were tortured by the
gestapo, and some hid, according
to Simon Hertzberg, a local resi
dent who fled to Pau from Paris in
1940.
Pau proudly advertises itself as a
gateway to the Basque country.
One can still see elegance here.
Walking through quiet streets of
this 19th century resort of the Eng
lish, one can understand why in
1863, 3,000 British citizens lived
here in this town south of Bor
deaux and east of Biarritz. The
English took their vacations here,
as it was a popular resort, indeed.
After all did not Lamertine say:
“Pau...is the most beautiful on
land, as Naples is the most beauti
ful at seas.”
Here, in the southwest France,
with its different clans, and fami
lies, and ways of life and customs,
Jews established roots in the heart
of this “Bearn region,” an all-year-
round health resort area. In the
summer, the population increases
with the flood of tourists. This
year, American Jews, one of the
most traveled ethnic groups in the
U.S., are also visiting France. Many
fly aboard TW A to France; fan out
to different parts of the country;
and then board a daily TW A flight
to Israel. (On Tuesday, Friday and
Sunday there are two TWA flights
to Israel and all flights have kosher
food on request.)
In Pau, many American Jews
come in contact with David Habib
who was born in Tunisia and is
now a leader of the Jewish com
munity here. Like many North
Africans, he has become active in
the municipal government. He is a
vice mayor of Pau, which is a
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strong Socialist town whose mayor
is also a minister in the Socialist
government of President Francois
Mitterrand.
Habib is secretary of the Consis-
toirc. Like many Jews in France,
he is concerned, but does not panic
about the extreme rightwing which
is gaining in popularity. He is
proud of the Sephardic commun
ity. He is part of that wave of sev
eral hundred thousand Sephardic
Jews, most of whom are today
engaged in commercial enterprises
and professions.
Most Sephardic Jews never think
of their former North African lands.
“We prefer to visit Israel,” Habib
said in an interview.
Throughout France, the big
problem facing the Jewish com
munity is mixed marriage. Its rate
is much higher than in the United
States. “It touches every family,"
said a Jewish leader in the south
west area of France, which, with
Biarritz, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Saint
Jean-de-Luz, has become an allur
ing diversity of scenery and attrac
tions for tourists, especially with
its casinos, golf courses, beaches
and cultural facilities.
The Palois, the people of Pau as
they are called, are proud of this
city’s fine restaurants, gardens,
parks, scenery. For the Jews, too,
life seems to be active, comforta
ble, peaceful, well-off—away from
the larger industrial centers of
Paris and Lyon—and yet challeng
ing in a region at the foot of the
Pyrenees, with good transportation.
It’s only seven hours from Paris on
the French National Railroads,
super clean, comfortable trains; or
an hour’s air flight from Paris.
The Jewish community leaders
whom 1 talked to in Pau said they
would welcome American Jewish
visitors and they pointed to the
inscription on the door post of
their synagogue which reads:
“Blessed are those who cometh and
goeth.”
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PAGE 23RH THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE October 3, 1986