Benoît Rayski (19 February 1938 – 20 March 2024) was a French journalist and essayist.
Biography
Born in
Paris on 19 February 1938, Benoît Rayski was the son of
Adam Rayski
Adam Rayski (14 August 1913 – 11 March 2008) was a Franco-Polish intellectual best remembered for his involvement with the French resistance.
Communist activist
Rayski was born as Abraham Rajgrodski to a family of ''Ashkenazim'' (Yiddish-speaki ...
, leader of the Jewish section of the
FTP-MOI, a clandestine movement of the
French Communist Party within the
French Resistance. Benoît published approximately a dozen essays on the history of communism in the Resistance, notably ''L'Enfant juif et l’enfant ukrainien : réflexions sur une imposture'' and ''Le cadavre était trop grand. L'Affiche rouge'', the latter of which discussed the
Affiche Rouge and those who were sentenced to death for their participation.
In his earlier career, Rayski worked for ''
France-Soir'', ''
L'Événement du jeudi'', ''
Le Matin de Paris'', and ''Globe Hebdo''. However, he later began writing for right-wing sources, such as ' and ', as well as others such as ''
Atlantico'' and ''
Causeur''.
In October 2015, Rayski published an article in ''Atlantico'' discussing the reissue of ''
Mein Kampf
(; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...
'', which he claimed was a "bestseller in the Arab-Muslim world". The following month, included him in an article dedicated to "hawkish editorialists", mentioning his claims to be a "left-wing Islamophobe" and a "right-wing Islamophobe". In 2016, he published a racially-charged article in ''Atlantico'' attacking , with a portion of his article stating: "I don't want to be mixed with thousands of Sihame Assbagues who spit on me. Me being happy in my garden. Lounging in my hammock. Me smoking cigar. Me reading ''
Tintin in the Congo''. Me dreaming of being in a palanquin carried by black people."
In 2017, he commented on the erotic essays and novels of
Marlene Schiappa
Marlene may refer to:
People
* Marlene (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Marlene (Burmese businesswoman), Nang Kham Noung (born 1991)
* Marlene (Japanese singer) (born 1960), a Filipina jazz singer active in Japan
Film
* ' ...
, whom he called the "queen of sluts", provoking reactions from internet users. Two days later, ''Atlantico'' issued an apology letter from Rayski to Schiappa. The website's publishing director, , declared the comments "unjustifiable and inappropriate".
Benoît Rayski died on 20 March 2024, at the age of 86.
Publications
*''L'Enfant juif et l’enfant ukrainien'' (2001)
*''Un livre rouge'' (2002)
*''Ces étoiles qui brûlent en moi'' (2003)
*''Jours tranquilles à Créteil : Voyage au bout d'une haine ordinaire'' (2004)
*''Là où vont les cigognes : récit'' (2007)
*''Le cadavre était trop grand : Guy Môquet piétiné par le conformisme de gauche'' (2008)
*''L’Affiche rouge – 21 février 1944'' (2009)
*''L’homme que vous aimez haïr'' (2010)
*''J'ai pour la France une étrange passion : Itinéraire amoureux'' (2012)
*''L'antisémitisme peut-il être de gauche'' (2013)
*''Le Gauchisme, maladie sénile du communisme'' (2013)
*''Stèle pour le sous-lieutenant Grunberg : Lycéen et résistant guillotiné par Pétain'' (2014)
*''Comment je suis devenu un sale Français : bref itinéraire d'un Juif polonais né en France'' (2015)
*''Fils d'Adam, Nostalgies communistes'' (2017)
*''Les bâtards de Sartre'' (2018)
*''Les effacés de la terre : quelques jours dans la vie de Julie'' (2019)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayski, Benoit
1938 births
2024 deaths
French journalists
French people of Polish-Jewish descent
Journalists from Paris