Simon Schama on...

...The troubled history of Jews in France

For that “human side” to prevail over mutual hatred and the will to kill, education, not legislation, is needed. It is not good that Jews cannot wear skullcaps in the street for fear of physical attack; nor is it good that Muslim women face arrest if they wear the burqa. Neither does anyone any harm. Both communities should know each other’s history, and without the burden of a victimisation competition. The rest of France should accept that those histories are theirs too. But in the end, the only school of tolerance will come from the academy of the everyday: the café, the street, the classroom, the workplace. For in those places, the precious, humdrum urge to live and let live will resist the hate-filled shrieking of blood-drunk executioners.