There is no place for Antisemitism

This is so evident that it shouldn’t need saying: Jews (and all other religious groups) should not have to be be afraid when congregating in places of worship. There is no place for Antisemitism.

It’s sad that almost a century after this photo was taken, Antisemitism is still very real and deadly. In the photo above, Narcisse Manevitch (center with dark beret and checkered pants), celebrates with Jean Dejeans and Paulette Porthault, who’ve just won the 1941 Poly de Chanteloup hillclimb race on his tandem. Narcisse was one of the great French constructeurs of the 1930s. It was Narcisse who taught his friend René Herse how to build frames and helped him launch his innovative components at the 1938 Concours de Machines.

Narcisse was Jewish, and when this photo was taken, German troops already occupied Paris. A few months later, Narcisse and his wife packed a few belongings on their tandem, put their toddler son in a basket on the rack, and fled from Paris to the ‘Zone Libre’ in southern France, where they were a little bit safer. They were able to return to Paris after the war, and continued to build bikes and tandems. Not all Jewish inhabitants of Paris were so lucky.

Photo courtesy Paulette Porthault