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Lecture

Lyn Julius
Algerian Jews between War and Exodus

Thursday 4.06.2026

How to watch

This lecture starts on 4 June at 7:00pm (UK).

Summary

The Algerian Jews played a key part in Operation Torch in 1942; nonetheless, restoration of their French citizenship was delayed. Although the community tried to remain neutral, the FLN war against the French (1954–62) was thought to have claimed the lives of a thousand Jews. With independence looming, the community faced a terrible choice: “suitcase or coffin.”

Lyn Julius

Lyn Julius was born in the UK and educated at the French Lycée in London and the University of Sussex. The daughter of Jewish refugees from Iraq, she is a journalist and founder of Harif, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa (www.harif.org). Lyn blogs daily at Point of No Return. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Huffington Post, Jewish News, and Jerusalem Post. She has a regular column in the Times of Israel and JNS News. Her book Uprooted: How 3,000 Years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight has been translated in to Norwegian, Portuguese and Arabic, and a Hebrew version is in progress. Lyn’s latest book Cast Out, a long-form essay is available from Jewish Quarterly.