The French historian of Algerian origins, Benjamin Stora, expressed his strong attachment to Algeria, and to the origins of his ancestors and his family in the city of Constantine, noting that “he feels as if he is buried in Algerian land, in the Jewish cemetery in Constantine, the burial place of his grandfather.”
Stora said in an interview with Al-Mashhad TV channel, regarding his strong attachment to Algeria: “At the entrance to the cemetery, there is my grandfather’s grave with Benjamin Stora written on it, meaning my name and surname… I feel as if I myself am buried, in Algerian land, because this grave bears my name.” With this “confusing” fact, Stora answered a question about whether he was thinking about spending the rest of his life in Algeria, citing the example of the French-Jewish actor Roger Hanin, who was buried in Algeria according to his will. It is noteworthy that this actor received an official funeral on February 13, 2015 in the Jewish square of the Bologhin cemetery in Algiers.
Benjamin Stora said in this regard: “I visit Constantine often because I have many university friends who invite me regularly,” considering himself simultaneously “inside and outside of this story.” He explained: “I am outside it by virtue of my profession as a historian and scientist, and as an intellectual, but at the same time I am inside it as a son of this land…” he said, with a slight smile, as a historian specializing in the history of French colonialism in Algeria.
Stora adds that many feelings sweep through him whenever he revisits that “beautiful cemetery, located on the heights of the magnificent city of Constantine, built on top of a rock and surrounded by canyons.” He continues, saying, “Every time I visit, my memory brings back memories of my parents and grandparents when I was a child, because I lived those Jewish-Islamic traditions. This is not an invention, but a reality that I lived in as a child until the age of 12. This creates deep feelings within me.”
Benjamin Stora, 75 years old, is one of the most prominent historians known for his works on the history of Algeria, the Algerian War of Liberation, and Franco-Algerian memory. He lived his childhood as a Jew in Constantine before his family left for France in 1962, and he is still connected to his mother city, which he left when he was twelve years old.
In July 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron assigned historian Benjamin Stora a mission related to “the memory of colonialism and the Algerian War,” with the aim of promoting “reconciliation between the French and Algerian peoples.” The French presidency explained at the time that this mission “will allow for a fair and accurate presentation of the progress made in France with regard to colonial memory and the war of liberation, as well as the outlook on these stakes on both sides of the Mediterranean.”
In an interview with Radio France Internationale, on the eve of receiving his assignment letter, Stora insisted that he “is not a representative of the French state,” saying that “we can never reconcile memories once and for all, but I believe that we must move toward a relative peace of memories in order to face the challenges of the future in particular, so that we do not remain prisoners of the past all the time, because Algeria and France need each other.”
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