The Dreyfus Affair at Congregation Beth David

Maurice Samuels speaks at Congregation Beth David, July 30.
Gregg Osofsky
Maurice Samuels speaks at Congregation Beth David, July 30.
On the evening of July 30, Congregation Beth David in Amenia became the epicenter of a deep dive into one of history’s most profound and politically charged scandals. Maurice Samuels, a distinguished professor at Yale University and the director of its Program for the Study of Antisemitism, captivated a full house with his insights on the Dreyfus Affair, drawn from his latest book, “Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair.” The event, skillfully moderated by culture writer Laura van Straaten, opened a deep and complicated discussion into how historical events like the Dreyfus Affair continue to offer valuable lessons, illuminating the challenges and stakes of our own times.
After a brief welcome by Rabbi Jon Haddon, spiritual director of Congregation Beth David, the event opened with an introduction by Ilene Smith, editorial director of the Jewish Lives biography series and a member of the congregation. Smith described the series of biographies, for which Samuels was commissioned, as a “remarkable opportunity to curate deep and interesting biographies about influential figures with a real legacy.” There are now 70 books in the collection all of which “ask the question: What does it mean to be Jewish?” Smith explained.
Samuels and Van Straaten met in Kindergarten in Chicago and have been lifelong friends, so the conversation flowed easily and seamlessly throughout the evening. To provide context, Samuels began with a succinct summary of the Dreyfus Affair. In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, was falsely accused of spying for Germany. With scant evidence, Dreyfus was publicly humiliated, stripped of his rank in a degrading ceremony, and exiled to the brutal penal colony of Devil’s Island. For five years, he endured inhumane conditions, while back in France, his family, particularly his wife, Lucie, fought tirelessly to prove his innocence. The affair divided France into Dreyfusards (supporters of Dreyfus) and anti-Dreyfusards, leading to widespread riots and political turmoil. Dreyfus was eventually exonerated in 1906 and restored to his military rank.
Samuels highlighted the complex socio-political landscape of France during the Dreyfus Affair, noting that despite France being the first European country to grant Jews full civil rights during the French Revolution, antisemitism was rampant by the late 19th century. Dreyfus, a patriotic and wealthy officer, became a scapegoat amid rising antisemitic sentiments. “Half of France committed to believing a lie,” said Samuels. “Even after it was proven that Dreyfus was innocent, people still opposed justice for Dreyfus.” He went on to explain that “France is a paradox in some ways, a kind of conundrum for scholars of antisemitism because it was the country where Jews had achieved the most, where Jews were the most integrated in the world by the 1890s.” But Jews, Samuels explained, were associated with all the changes brought on by modernity, “And by modernity, I mean, the rise of modern industrial capitalism, liberal democracy, and then all the social changes that go along with that. The people left behind by these changes became antisemitic.”
Also deeply examined was the significant role played by intellectuals like Emile Zola whose famous open letter “J’Accuse” accused the French military of a cover-up during the Dreyfus affair, igniting public outrage and prompting a re-examination of the case. In fact, said Samuels, “people say that the modern use of the term intellectual to designate someone who has a cultural position but who takes a stand on political issues, dates to the Dreyfus affair. The most famous one we can talk about is Emile Zola, the novelist. But many writers were anti-Dreyfusard including Jules Verne, for example, the science fiction writer.” The case also caused a divide amongst Impressionist painters with Monet and Pissaro, who was Jewish, being pro-Dreyfus and others such as Degas, Renoir, Rodin and Cezanne who were anti-Dreyfus. This polarization also filtered into the media landscape of the time, which Van Straaten noted bears striking similarities to today’s media environment. “I found myself thinking about how divided our country is culturally and socially again and again,” said Van Straaten “and how one of the most fascinating arguments that you make is about the way in which the trials, the imprisonment, and the fight, the affair itself, which endured 12 years, 130 years ago, became and remains a dog whistle, a cultural moment like today in terms of our divisions.”
Samuels added, “I think that you could argue that the Dreyfus affair was a battle in a kind of ongoing war between left and right which is still playing out.”
Samuels also took care to emphasize Dreyfus’s resilience and heroism and the ways in which he emerges as the true hero of his own story. Surviving the harsh conditions of Devil’s Island required immense personal fortitude. Dreyfus’s determination to clear his name, despite being unjustly convicted twice, played a crucial role in eventually bringing the truth to light.
Before opening to questions from the audience, the conversation shifted to the complex process of national healing after deep political divisions with an emphasis on the resilience required to confront and heal from deep-seated injustice. Samuels, reflecting on France post-Dreyfus, emphasized the ongoing struggle to reconcile differing visions of society and how historical events like the Dreyfus Affair offer crucial insights into the modern parallels and challenges we face today. The evening wasn’t just a history lesson; it was a mirror reflecting many of our current societal fractures, leaving the audience pondering the enduring relevance of the Dreyfus Affair, the vital lessons it holds for our times and, indeed, what it means to be Jewish.
Claire and Garland Jeffreys in the film “The King of In Between.”
There is a scene in “The King of In Between,” a documentary about musician Garland Jeffreys, that shows his name as the answer to a question on the TV show “Jeopardy!”
“This moment was the film in a nutshell,” said Claire Jeffreys, the film’s producer and director, and Garland’s wife of 40 years. “Nobody knows the answer,” she continued. “So, you’re cool enough to be a Jeopardy question, but you’re still obscure enough that not one of the contestants even had a glimmer of the answer.”
Garland Jeffreys never quite became a household name, but he carved out a singular place in American music by refusing to fit neatly into any category. A biracial New Yorker blending rock, reggae, soul and R&B, he used genre fusion as a kind of rebellion — against industry pigeonholes, racial boundaries and the musical status quo. Albums like “Ghost Writer” (1977) captured the tension of a post–civil rights America, while songs like “Wild in the Streets” made him an underground prophet of urban unrest. He moved alongside artists like Lou Reed and Bruce Springsteen but always in his own lane — part poet, part agitator, part bridge between cultures.
“I think what I tried to do with the film, wittingly or unwittingly, was just to show that we all have these lives and they don’t often meet our dreams of what we think we’re entitled to, we’re talented enough to get or whatever,” said Claire. “We all have these goals, but we’re sort of stymied. Often, it’s partly circumstance and luck, but it’s also very often something that we’re doing or not doing that’s impeding us.”
This is not the typical rock-and-roll redemption story. There are no smashed guitars, no heroic overdoses, no dramatic comeback tour. What we get instead is something quieter and more intimate: hours of archival footage that Claire spent years sorting through. The sheer effort behind the film is palpable — so much so that, as she admitted with a laugh, it cured her of any future ambitions in filmmaking.
“What I learned with this project was A, I’m never doing it again. It was just so hard. And B, you know, you can do anything if you collaborate with people that know what they’re doing.”
Claire worked with the editing team of Evan M. Johnson and Ben Sozanski and a slew of talented producers, and ended up with a truthful portrayal — a beautiful living document for Garland’s legions of fans and, perhaps most importantly, for the couple’s daughter, Savannah.
“She’s been in the audience with me maybe three or four times,” said Claire. “The last time, I could tell that she was beginning to feel very proud of the effort that went into it and also of being a part of it.”
Savannah pursued a career in music for a while herself but has changed tracks and become a video producer.
“I think she couldn’t quite see music happening for herself,” said Claire. “She was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to struggle the way I saw my dad struggling and I’m going to get a job with a salary.’”
The film doesn’t just track the arc of an underappreciated musician, however. The music, always playing, is the soundtrack of a life — of a man navigating racial, musical and personal boundaries while balancing marriage, parenthood, aging, addiction andrecovery. Garland and Claire speak plainly about getting sober in the film, a life choice that gave them both clarity and shows Claire as a co-conspirator in his survival.
“I did some work early on with a director,” said Claire. “He wanted the final cut, and I didn’t feel like I could do that — not because I wanted so much to control the story, but I didn’t want the story to be about Alzheimer’s.”
Diagnosed in 2017, Garland, now 81, is in the late stages of the disease. Claire serves as his primary caregiver. The film quietly acknowledges his diagnosis, but it doesn’t dwell — a restraint that feels intentional. Garland spent a career refusing to be reduced: not to one sound, one race or one scene. And so the documentary grants him that same dignity in aging. His memory may be slipping, but the film resists easy sentimentality. Instead, it shows what remains — his humor, his voice, his marriage, the echo of a life lived on the edges of fame and at the center of his own convictions.
The Moviehouse in Millerton will be screening “The King of In Between” on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Peter Aaron, arts editor of Chronogram Magazine will conduct a talkback and Q&A with Claire Jeffreys after the film. Purchase tickets at themoviehouse.net.
The Haystack Book Festival, a program of the Norfolk Hub, brings renowned writers and thinkers to Norfolk for conversation. Celebrating its fifth season this fall, the festival will gather 18 writers for discussions at the Norfolk Library on Sept. 20 and Oct. 3 through 5.
Jerome A. Cohen, author of the memoir “Eastward, Westward: A Lifein Law.”Haystack Book Festival
For example, “Never Take the Rule of Law for Granted: China and the Dissident,” will be held Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. at the Norfolk Library. It brings together Jerome A. Cohen, author of “Eastward, Westward: A Life in Law,” and Mark Clifford, author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong King’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic” in dialogue with journalist Richard Hornik to discuss the rule of law and China.
The Council on Foreign Relations stated, “Few Americans have done more than Jerome A. Cohen to advance the rule of law in East Asia. He established the study of Chinese law in the United States. An advocate for human rights, Cohen has been a scholar, teacher, lawyer, and activist for sixty years.”
Cohen, a professor at New York University School of Law and director of its U.S.-Asia Law Institute, revealed his long view on China: “We are now witnessing another extreme in the pendulum’s swing toward repression. Xi Jinping is likely to outlive me but ‘no life lives forever.’ There will eventually be another profound reaction to the current totalitarian era.”
Mark Clifford, author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic.”Haystack Book Festival
In “The Troublemaker,” Clifford chronicles Lai’s life from child refugee to pro-democracy billionaire to his current imprisonment by the Chinese Communist Party. Clifford is president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and holds a PhD in history from the University of Hong Kong. He was the former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and The Standard (Hong Kong and Seoul).
Journalist Richard Hornik, adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.Haystack Book Festival
Richard Hornik, adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center, will moderate the discussion. Hornik is the former executive editor of AsiaWeek, news service director of Time magazine, and former Time bureau chief in Warsaw, Boston, Beijing and Hong Kong.
Betsy Lerner, author of “Shred Sisters,” is giving the 2025 Brendan Gill lecture at the Haystack Book Festival.Haystack Book Festival
The Brendan Gill Lecture is a highlight of the festival honoring longtime Norfolk resident Brendan Gill, who died in1997. Gill wrote for The New Yorker magazine for fifty years. Betsy Lerner, New York Times-recognized author of “Shred Sisters,” will deliver this year’s lecture on Friday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.
Visit haystackbookfestival.org to register. Admission is free.
Danielle Mailer with her 12 foot aluminum mountain lion outside of the Scoville Library.
On Saturday, Sept. 27, Salisbury Family Services (SFS) will hold a benefit dinner and barn dance, honoring artist Danielle Mailer. Taking place at Stillwater Farm in Salisbury, this festive fundraiser will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and lively barn dancing — all in support of the critical services SFS provides.
Founded in the mid-1930s during the Great Depression, Salisbury Family Services has been a lifeline for residents of Salisbury and the surrounding villages of Amesville, Lakeville, Lime Rock, and Taconic for nearly 90 years. What began as an effort by local women to mend clothes and provide food has evolved into a professional social service agency offering confidential support for housing, food, childcare, medical needs and more.
This year’s benefit celebrates Danielle Mailer, a nationally recognized visual artist and longtime local resident whose vibrant work and generous spirit have left a lasting impression on the Northwest Corner. Known for her bold, figurative style and large-scale public installations, Mailer has brought color and life to communities throughout Connecticut and beyond.
“I suspect that they honored me because they think I’ve given back to the community in various ways,” said Mailer from her studio in Goshen. Mailer just began her tenth year as a teacher at the Salisbury School. Prior to that, she taught at Indian Mountain School for 15 years. “So that’s, what? That’s 25 years of teaching in the community,” said Mailer with a laugh.
Alongside teaching, Mailer will also be honored for her artistic contributions to the area. If you’ve driven through Torrington and seen the undulating sea of fish on the backside of Staples (“Project Fishtales”) or delighted in her playful blue lion outside of the Scoville Library, you’ve seen her art do what it does best: transform public space into something personal and joyful.
Mailer has shown in major galleries, had retrospectives at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut, and helped shape The Tides of Provincetown, a traveling tribute to her hometown of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Currently, she’s getting ready for the unveiling of a large-scale ballerina she created for the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory in Torrington on Oct. 3.
Some of Mailer’s work will be on view and for sale at the event on the 27th. Proceeds directly support the SFS’s ability to provide emergency assistance and essential services to those in need.
“I readily donate my art to lots of things because I think that’s something art can do — to support the different community events that are very necessary to keep the town humming, said Mailer. “And I am really flattered. It’s been really fun to be honored.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.salisburyfamilyservices.org