Talk:Djaafar Khemdoudi

Citizenship

Hello @M.Bitton, I would like to emphasize that I have contacted the family regarding the rights to the images. After discussing with the children, they informed me over the phone that their father did not consider himself Algerian and did not hold Algerian nationality. They have sent me a series of photographic sources, however, they are still considering whether to allow Commons to upload these sources. If that's not the case, I will still use them as references without including them in the photographic record, but we need to wait a few days. Initially, I had stated that he was Algerian and French when creating the French page and translating it into English, but the family has informed me that this was incorrect. Therefore, I have made the necessary modifications, and I believe that stating he was French with Algerian origins is the most accurate here, in order to acknowledge his Maghrebi heritage without delving too deeply into his identity. According to the family, Djaafar Khemdoudi considered himself completely French until his death. This is not surprising, as a significant number of resistance fighters of Maghrebi origin chose to oppose Algerian independence, such as Bel Hadj El Maafi, whom I have created a page for. However, this is not the case for all resistance fighters. We can think of Kaddour Benghabrit's son, Ahmad, who was expelled from the Great Mosque of Paris for delivering sermons in support of the independence of French colonies. However, it seems that Djaafar Khemdoudi was not in that situation and always considered himself French.

Cordially, AgisdeSparte (talk) 10:34, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

Also, the source of Mondafrique is subject to caution, and I specifically sent a mail to the son about it ; since some informations are false ; such as his medals, which are incorrectly reported. Other informations, such as his invalidity, are correct, it seems, but there must be source filtering about this one.

I'm currently trying to organize the informations and confirm them with the family and their documents, however I wait for the response about the rights of the pictures, so we'll have to wait some days. AgisdeSparte (talk) 10:39, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

No source in intro there is no policy that prevents us from adding a source to the intro, especially when it comes to replacing WP:OR. If you know of one, you're welcome to cite it.

+ family testified to me that he never considered himself as an Algerian Unfortunately, you're not a reliable source.

After discussing with the children, they informed me over the phone that their father did not consider himself Algerian and did not hold Algerian nationality even if this was verifiable (it's not), it still wouldn't make any sense given that all the Algerians who fought for France were simply « indigènes » that were never considered as French (whether before or during the war).

This is not surprising, as a significant number of resistance fighters of Maghrebi origin chose to oppose Algerian independence first of all, "significant" is baseless WP:OR and second, that's a different subject. Some Algerians opposed the Algerian independence (years after the second world wars) for various reasons, none of which has anything to do with them feeling French (they were indigènes and different from the French in every possible way, including legally). You're also forgetting all those Algerians who fought for France during the two world wars before fighting France itself during the Algerian war.

Mentioning the fact that he was Algerian is very important because that's the reason his name and that of various other Maghrebis who fought for France were "forgotten" for decades. Had it not been for the work that was carried out by the great-grandson of an Algerian tirailleur (Kamel Mouellef) who couldn't understand why the names of the heroes from the French colonies do not appear in school textbooks, and even less in the national novel (national myth). He gives plenty of examples, including the two Algerians named Mohamed ben Salah and Mohamed ben Ali who were murdered in the cellars of the Rhône prefecture at the beginning of the German occupation. These two Algerians preferred to sabotage the machines rather than have them fall into German hands. The plaque that has been placed inside the prefecture does not mention that they were Algerians. In France, that precision is usually kept for those who are involved in suspicious activities (even if they happen to be 3rd generation Maghrebis).

So, if you want sources about that, you can consult (most of them are in the possession of the family and the prefecture of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the departemental archives of Lyon) :

1. The letter of Bel Hadj el Maafi to the Military governor of Lyon, September 17, 1946, especially the last sentence, speaking about his French patriotism. El Maafi was a French spy, as you can see on his article ; and was used by France to certify that members of the Algerian community of Lyon were not independantists, or where.

2. The attestation of Georges Durand towards the French authorities, former leader of the Lyonnese resistance, December 11, 1947, especially the part about French nationalism.

3. His French état-civil documents ; where he renamed himself "Jean" before "Djaafar", and the names given to his daughter and son, Jacques.

4. His Neuengamme deportation papers ; that specify him as "Frank" in the last line.

4. You spoke about Kamel Mouellef, who specifically wrote about Djaafar Khemdoudi. He never said anything like that in any of his works about Djaafar Khemdoudi. He was also in link with the family of Djaafar Khemdoudi to wrote his works speaking about him. It was specifically them who told me to add Kamel Mouellef to the article. Ask him. :)

5. There isn't any document about Djaafar Khemdoudi that specifies that he was Indigène ; even his Maghrebi bataillon isn't known specifically, during the war. You have, however, a series of official documents about the fact that he was french, starting from his état-civil by French authorities, that you can consult at the préfecture of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Therefore, better than vulgarization articles that are dubious, as I said above, you can consult those sources about that. Moreover, this is somewhat spoke about by Marc André, especially about the commemoration of Djaafar Khemdoudi in the prison of Montluc by the ADM.

PS : If you want to speak about that, and consult some of these documents, you can text me on the French Wikipédia Discord (AgisdeSparte there too). I would be more than happy to speak to you about this and send you what I have ; but I cannot send them here in a public space, since the family isn't sure yet to allow these documents to be used by Commons. Normally, as I did a lot of Resistance fighters from colonial origin, I say that they are Algerian (or other), such as for https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahi_Sa%C3%AFd. Here, it's not the case.

Cordially,

AgisdeSparte (talk)

I don't see any reason to replace sourced content with WP:OR. By your logic, the Harkis who fought other Algerians for France should be described as French, yet that's not the case for the simple reason that when the event that made them notable took place, they were Algerians (the fact that they became "French" after the war is irrelevant). M.Bitton (talk) 17:49, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

@M.Bitton You have 4 sources that I gave you speaking about that and you reverted entering an edit war with a dubious source. I spent days doing this article ; even contacting witnesses to have more sources about him (and again, nobody knows his ascendance, since he was wealthy, was seemingly Berber and was the only child of his family, very unusual facts in colonized Algeria and in Indigènes). However, since you seem to not read them or take them into account, there is no problem. I won't participate in the English wikipedia article of Djaafar Khemdoudi anymore, and will continue exclusively on the French one.

Cordially, AgisdeSparte (talk) 21:25, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

The unjustified sourced content removal and the addition of WP:OR has to stop. M.Bitton (talk) 14:06, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

As you can see, it's sourced, notably from Arolsen Archives, and I precised it was at the request of his family. Ty not to disrupt the work and the sources again on this article, since I spent days to find them. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:45, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Nope, it's not sourced. The source used for this WP:OR He is considered as a French, and not as an Algerian fighter by the Arolsen Archives - International Center on Nazi Persecution after a request from his family says the exact opposite of what you attributed to it. M.Bitton (talk) 15:47, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

You didn't read it, then, the source says : Pour ses enfants, il est aussi important que leur père soit classé parmi les français dans les Arolsen Archives, et non pas en tant qu’Algérien, car il a combattu dans la Résistance française. or in English : It is also important to his children that their father is listed as a Frenchman in the Arolsen Archives and not as an Algerian – after all, he fought in the French resistance. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:51, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Who gives a shit what his kids think? The kids of the Harkis would also love to see their parents being remembered as French, but we know that they weren't back then and nor were all the Algerians that fought for France.;

Did you read the reliable source that you removed? You know, the one that describes him as Algerian? M.Bitton (talk) 15:53, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

@M.Bitton What reliable source that I removed ? AgisdeSparte (talk) 16:32, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Sorry, I just looked at the link you putted, yes. I was the one who putted this source in the article, and it's not removed, only at other places,

I thought at first that it was a reliable source, but it's not a reliable source, it's a open source blog, not a media of any sort or nothing close to it, we should remove it altogether, since blogs are not allowed on Wikipedia. AgisdeSparte (talk) 16:35, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

You're not the reliable source: the WP:OR based on random images that you uploaded to Commons is 100% unreliable. M.Bitton (talk) 16:37, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

The only source about his citizenship, then, is the Arolsen Archives, and we can restore the revision you just undid. For the other issues, you can open another section in the discussion. AgisdeSparte (talk) 16:41, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Also, you are being very agressive, and you use profanity. Can you please stop ? AgisdeSparte (talk) 16:41, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

Don't play games with me. Need I remind you what you you removed my comment from the talk page and then blanked the issue from your before restoring your POV? M.Bitton (talk) 17:17, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

I didn't remove your comment from the talk page and if you think I did, it was a mistake from my part and you could have talked to me about it ; I just see it rn, I don't even remember doing that. I apologize if it hurted you, but that wasn't intentional. The only one I removed intentionally was on MY talk page, since it was unjustified.

But as we said,

1. The source of Arolsen putted for the nuanced text is correct, and in accordance with the text that was added, contrary to what you said some posts ago, where you challenged the fact that the source said that.

2. The source that you thought was reliable isn't, since it's a blog.

3. You removed +10 sources to enforce your preferred version of the page, giving as a reason that I removed the source from the blog, which isn't true, since it's still there, but we must remove it now.

4. If I putted the Arolsen source, it was for nuancing issues, to concord with your POV (which isn't backed up by any source, except a blog) that you defended here, and to reach a satisfactory solution. Then you attacked the pictures and images added, which are all primary sources that can be used but that weren't used in the page to defend that he was French, even if I talked about it here, I didn't use that, only the Arolsen Archives, with the nuance that the family was behind that consideration, to be able to reach a satisfactory settlement with the source you used at that time which proved to be unreliable and not usable.

Then, again, I ask you to stop edit warring and return to the previous version, and also stop assuming bad faith from my part or insulting me AgisdeSparte (talk) 17:50, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

You removed my comment from the talk page. That's a fact that you are fully aware of.

1) Contrary to what you seem to think, this is not a blog. 2) It's used by a lot of scholars.

1) The arolsen source that you added about what his kids think doesn't contradict the above: it says "Djaafar Khemdoudi est né le 12.11.1917 à Aumale (aujourd’hui Sour El-Ghozlane) en Algérie", which makes him Algerian like all Algerians at the time. 2) The same source also describes him as Algerian.

None of the garbage that you added to Commons qualifies as a source, let alone a reliable one.

Don't template a regular and then expect them to keep their gloves.

Lastly, let me repeat what you swept under the carpet: Mentioning the fact that he was Algerian is very important because that's the reason his name and that of various other Maghrebis who fought for France were "forgotten" for decades. Had it not been for the work that was carried out by the great-grandson of an Algerian tirailleur (Kamel Mouellef) who couldn't understand why the names of the heroes from the French colonies do not appear in school textbooks, and even less in the national novel (national myth). He gives plenty of examples, including the two Algerians named Mohamed ben Salah and Mohamed ben Ali who were murdered in the cellars of the Rhône prefecture at the beginning of the German occupation. These two Algerians preferred to sabotage the machines rather than have them fall into German hands. The plaque that has been placed inside the prefecture does not mention that they were Algerians. In France, that precision is usually kept for those who are involved in suspicious activities (even if they happen to be 3rd generation Maghrebis who never set foot in their ancestors homeland). M.Bitton (talk) 18:33, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

1. No, I'm not aware of that, as I say to you, thank you to not give me ideas or make me speak without me speaking.

2. It's funny to see that now that you are flagged, you respond and actually try to answer the issues.

Mondafrique is a blog, and the fact that it's used by scholars doesn't change that, such is Oryx, for example. They are described as such in the French Wikipedia and their creating article, which says : "Mondafrique est un site web d'investigation et d'opinion créé en décembre 2013 et ouvert au public en janvier 2014 à l'initiative du journaliste d'investigation Nicolas Beau."

The fact that it's open sourced is even more a thing to manage.

3. You speak about Kamel Mouellef, which I myself quoted in the page when I created it, btw it was because the family told me to look at his work and to mention him, since he was the one who worked the more extensively on the figure of Djaafar Khemdoudi. He doesn't say anywhere in his book that Djaafar Khemdoudi was Algerian.

4. What you call garbage (again being very nice and not using profanity at all, even when you try to defend yourself from accusations of WP:SPA) are primary sources that weren't used in the citizenship issue. If you have problems with them, open another subsection in the talk page. They weren't the only sources that were added, btw, but it's a rhetorical accusation I guess, even if it's not the subject here.

5. Then, if you have any issue with them, place back the 6000o you removed and go back to the precedent version, and then open a subsection speaking about those sources, because you are clearly off topic.

PS : The text I putted about Arolsen was a nuanced text that didn't say that he was French, btw, don't give me a position I didn't put in this version of the article that you removed. AgisdeSparte (talk) 19:08, 17 June 2023 (UTC)

References

In World War 2

Algeria=France=Algeria. Just posted a big explainer on that at WP:ANI. Otherwise, really, I must get back to the dramas I already have in progress. 07:43, 18 June 2023 (UTC) Elinruby (talk) 07:43, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

That's what the French claimed (after exterminating the third of the Algerian population), but the Algerians were not considered as French, unless one assumes that in 1945, France killed 45,000 French people who were out celebrating the end of world war 2 and then went on to kill over a million of them between 1954 and 1962. As I explained above, even the Harkis who fought other Algerians after WW2 were not considered as French. M.Bitton (talk) 12:28, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Nationality compromise

We need to discuss this without flooding the talk page with text, which has already been done. In short: No walls of text.

Let's start with some basic principles:

1. The Manual of Style says that nationalities should usually, but not always, be included. Per MOS:NATIONALITY, "in controversial or unclear cases, nationality is sometimes omitted."
2. It is not unusual for multiple nationalities to be listed, particularly if both nationalities are specially relevant to the subject. See: Peter Lorre, described as "a Hungarian and American actor".

Now, I think a table would be helpful here to organize the basic disputes. Please correct this table if there is a fact that is wrongly marked as agreed or disputed.

Fact	Agreed	Disputed
Khemdoudi was born in Algeria in 1917.	X
Algeria was a French colony at the time.	X
Algerian-born persons were considered French "subjects" at the time.	X
France granted citizenship to Algerian-born persons in 1947	X
Khemdoudi lived most of his life in France; he moved there when he was 17.	X
Khemdoudi EITHER was a French national (as a French subject) at the time of his birth or became a French national after the War, but no reliable sources directly describe him as "French".	X
There are two reliable source that describes Khemdoudi as "Algerian".	X
Reliable sources note that Khemdoudi considered himself French, and his children considered him to be just French.	X
Khemdoudi joined the French resistance and committed many notable acts in France.	X
After the war, Khemdoudi lived and died in France.	X
Because he was born in Algeria, Khemdoudi's actions were not widely recognized for some time.	X

Is that everything?--Jerome Frank Disciple 14:15, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

There are two (not one) reliable sources that describe him as Algerian. Because he was Algerian, Khemdoudi's actions were not recognized (until the grandson of an Algerian shed some light on the issue). The actions of French people who were born in Algeria are not ignored. The word Algerian doesn't necessarily refer to the nationality, it's also refers to the ethnicity (to differentiate between them and the French). M.Bitton (talk) 14:25, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

I will update that, thanks! But please, let's be careful about adding extra walls of text. Because he was Algerian, Khemdoudi's actions were not recognized—that's already in the table. Also, I'm not sure "Algerian" is considered an ethnicity. See Ethnic groups in Algeria.--Jerome Frank Disciple 14:28, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

However one looks at it, the word Algerian was used to differentiate between the Algerians and the French. Here's an official announcement from the Paris prefecture in 1961:

Il est conseillé de la façon la plus pressante aux travailleurs musulmans algériens de s'abstenir de circuler la nuit dans les rues de Paris et de la banlieue parisienne, et plus particulièrement de 20h30 à 5h30 du matin".

— la préfecture de police de Paris (5 October 1961), Source

If he was in Paris during the Paris massacre of 1961, he would have been beaten and probably murdered like the rest. M.Bitton (talk) 14:32, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

No extra walls of text. Seriously, the object here is not to randomly speculate or include OR, like your last sentence. Let's see if @AgisdeSparte: agrees with the table, and then we can move on to the implications.--Jerome Frank Disciple 14:36, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

What's the reason for having point number 4 (which isn't that simple and refers to a post WW2 period)? and where is the source for point number 8 (its relevance, even if sourced, is also questioned since it took place a decade after WW2)? M.Bitton (talk) 14:58, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

We can mark 8 as disagreed. Also, please don't delete other comments. As I said before—the last sentence of your last reply was not appropriate.--Jerome Frank Disciple 15:02, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

I honestly have no idea how I managed to overwrite your comment with mine. What part of my last comment are you referring to? M.Bitton (talk) 15:07, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

@Jerome Frank Disciple: can you please answer the question as I'm puzzled by your last remark. Addressing what I said about number 4 would also be welcome. M.Bitton (talk) 15:16, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

We can mark the point 7 as being disputed too, since there are at least two documents from French people (without any doubt, Georges Durand and Bel Hadj El Maafi) that described his action during the war as doing his actions for his "compatriots", thus refering to French compatriots, of course. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:19, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

The source from G. Durand speaks about his "great patriotism" when it adresses the German invasion of France. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:21, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

We need WP:RS that dispute number 7. Your WP:OR conclusions that are based on your word or the images (that for all we know, you made using Photoshop) simply won't do. M.Bitton (talk) 15:22, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

The quote of Bel Hadj El Maafi speaking of his patriotism is quoted in the book of Marc André, which is a RS. Thank you. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:24, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

That's WP:OR. Do you have a reliable source that describes him as French? If not, then you have nothing. M.Bitton (talk) 15:26, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

No it's not. When someone says "He did his actions and was devoted to me and all of his compatriots", and this document is quoted in a book from an historian, it becomes a RS that is authentificated, and not something made on Photoshop. Thank you. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:28, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

In other words, you have no WP:RS that says he was French. Let me remind you that there are plenty of Algerians who decorated for their courage and so-called "patriotism" during the world wars. At no point, before or during the wars were they considered as French.

Anyway, point 7 stays as it is until a WP:RS that describes him as French is presented. M.Bitton (talk) 15:32, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Stop misrepresenting what I say, let @Jerome Frank Disciple chose. I'm done speaking with you.

@Jerome Frank Disciple You can also note that Djaafar Khemdoudi was involved in French Orders of Merit, such as the society "Honour, Help, Patry" until the last days of his life, even if this isn't a RS (and I didn't mention it before), it can show light to the historical truth there.^[1] AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:35, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

In other words, you have no WP:RS that says he was French. That, just like the Harkis, he became French afterwards is irrelevant. M.Bitton (talk) 15:36, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Btw, @Jerome Frank Disciple, while doing research just now, I found a quote that he made where he considers himself French only. It's from the Center of Memory and Deportation of the Drôme, which is a center of historical research on Resistance and Deportation. This quote is also to be found and repeated on other sites, like Oumma.com (a Muslim site for Francophone people), but they quote the Center of Memory and Deportation, so I'll only link it.

The quote says : "Through this duty of memory, I want to say to young French people from post-colonial immigration: the tricolor flag is yours, your ancestors have contributed to writing the history of France^[1] AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:46, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

BTW, an additional point that wasn't noted before but that must be, is that, according to his death certificate, which nobody criticized so far, and even the current version of the page + the source from the Montluc Memorial, he was called "Jean", which is a French named, showing that he renamed himself. You can also note that his son, which is sourced in Arolsen (or in the source about Vaulx en Velin I believe) is called Jacques, which is a French name too. This, alongside the other documentation, is telling. AgisdeSparte (talk) 15:56, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

In other words, you still have no WP:RS that says he was French at the time. That, just like the Harkis, he became French afterwards is irrelevant (I can provide plenty of sources of them trying to prove their "Frenchness" to the French). M.Bitton (talk) 16:51, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Please, both of you, try not to get into extended back and forths. Just as an experiment, would you all be willing to voluntarily commit to a rule: Each person here can respond once after each of my comments.

So, I will say @AgisdeSparte, I'm not sure "what the subject considered themself" ... or even what select others considered the subject, is particularly relevant. What the subject considered themself might be relevant. But if it can be relevant, I think we first have to establish that he was a French national.

Take an example: I was born in the United States. I've never lived anywhere else. I have some Scottish ancestors from way back, but I've never even visited Scotland. But let's imagine I tell everyone that I consider myself Scottish. ... If a Wikipedia article were written about me, it probably wouldn't be appropriate for it to describe me as "Scottish".

So do we agree that Khemdoudi was either born a French national or became a French national? Let's just focus on that question alone.---Jerome Frank Disciple 16:28, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Like the Harkis, he wasn't born a French national nor was he considered as such during the second World War, he became one after the events that made him notable (that's the reason two RS describe him as Algerian and no RS describes him as French). Some Algerians (not all of them) weren't granted a second rate citizenship until 1947 and even that came at a price (in practice, they still had to abandon Islam). Adding this part following what was said abouyt me below: unlike some people, I don't make things up as I go along, so here's a solid RS (a simple concept that some people seem to struggle with) that backs up what I said (see quote in ref). At that time, being Muslim meant being Algerian and equally, having the French citizenship, meant being an apostate (a status that the Algerians viewed as worse than a Harki). M.Bitton (talk) 16:51, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

@Jerome Frank Disciple I completely agree to that rule. So yes, Indigènes were French nationals, even if they were subjected to discriminatory measures and different treatments than their non-Indigènes conterparts. Even if he had, when he was born in French Algeria, an inferior legal status to the ones that the non-Indigènes had, he was still a French national, and travelling outside French Algeria/France proper, he would have had a French passport. Moreover, he joined the Metropole in 1937, at age of 17 years-old, so before being major of age (majority was at 21 years old at that time, 18 years old now), and in Metropole, there wasn't such thing as Indigénat, which was local set of laws applying in the French colonies, not in the French Metropolis. Of course, what M. Bitton says about Islam is false, as you can find for Abdelkader Mesli, Bel Hadj El Maafi or Kaddour Benghabrit, who stayed Muslims after coming to France. Note also that whereas he says that he became French after WW2 (thus admitting at least some kind of French bg), there is no such document anywhere that shows that he changed his status or was naturalized of any sort. In absence of such sources, since he admits he was French at some point, it's better to leave it since the beginning.AgisdeSparte (talk) 16:55, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Excellent, great job both of you. So I thinkr that point is actually the crux of the matter. I think we should focus in on this question. First, it doesn't seem to me like we have a clear definition of what a "French national" is. Is the term restricted to citizens, or does it include subjects? Do either of you have a reliable source that directly says whether "Indigènes"—which I take to mean people born in French "departments" or colonies—were French nationals?(Admittedly, this is entering rocky waters ... it's arguably a WP:SYNTH issue, but in light of this essay (SYNTH is not a rigid rule) and WP:IAR, I think it's appropriate to make an exception here given the seeming straightforwardness of the inquiry: If we have source that says "all people born in French colonies were French nationals" ... and a source that says Khemdoudi was born in a French colony ... it's not really a stretch.)--Jerome Frank Disciple 17:31, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Did you read the source that I cited above (about citizenship and its link to Islam)? M.Bitton (talk) 17:38, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Ah, it appears that source says that Algerians at the time were French nationals but not French citizens, yes? Okay, so disregard my previous question.--Jerome Frank Disciple 17:42, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Proposed solution

So, what I've tried to do here is provide a third opinion (even though the ship has sort of sailed on that given the ANI posts).

In light of the above, I think we have two matters of interpretation to consider, per MOS:NATIONALITY

1. Was Khemdoudi's connection to French relevant to the actions for which he is notable?
2. Was Khemdoudi's nationality controversial, such that it should not be noted?

I think both of these questions present exceedingly close calls. But, on my read of the dispute, I think we should either describe Khemdoudi as a French-Algerian or not note his nationality.

1. First, on the surface (and probably the easiest way to resolve this): We have an article on French Algeria. It is undisputed that Khemdoudi was born in French Algeria. Currently, the article just links to Algeria (with an "n" after it), but it would be more accurate to link to French Algeria.
2. Second, the nationality issue. It is true that Khemdoudi is not directly called "French" by the reliable sources presented. But of the sources that are written about Khemdoudi, only a very few sources directly describe him as "Algerian", either (I take it the participants in this dispute disagree as to whether there are one or two reliable sources, but it doesn't make a difference on my analysis). Further, per my explanation above, I think this is not an issue in which a strict reading of WP:SYNTH is appropriate. It appears from the sources that Khemdoudi, as a French subject, was a French national at the time of his birth. @M.Bitton: correctly notes (with a reliable source) that this was a second-class legal status, and that Khemdoudi only achieved full citizenship later in life. I also take his point that Khemdoudi was overlooked because he was Algerian, and he only became notable after a reconsideration of the contributions of persons born in French colonies. But that's a bit of a double bind: the very notion of being overlooked implies that Khemdoudi would have been written about had he not been Algerian—in other words, that his notability isn't solely related to him being Algerian. While being overlooked is certainly part of the Khemdoudi story that we must tell in this entry—and the fact that he was overlooked because he was Algerian is an essential detail—, it is not the whole of the story.
3. Third, Khemdoudi's association with France does seem to have been highly important to him and the actual actions he took. If he hadn't originally been overlooked, I think it'd be quite obvious that we should include his French-national identity. He moved to France when he was just 17 and, except for when he was held in German concentration camps, he lived there for the rest of life. He also joined the French resistance, committed heroic acts in France, and received French honors. And, as User:AgisdeSparte has shown—he considered his French nationality to be important. Now, if he wasn't a French national, then I agree this would not matter—see the example I offered above re: myself and Scotland. But he was, and he clearly cared about both his French identity and strongly felt that others born in French colonies should be considered "French".
4. Fourth, while I do not think it directly relates to whether Khemdoudi was French, the fact that his children felt strongly that he be considered French and not Algerian is I think of very slight relevance, not to whether we describe him as French but as to whether it would be controversial to merely describe him as Algerian. Alone, this would have no weight, but, taken with the previous paragraphs, I do think that a lone "Algerian" would be controversial.

I would really encourage both editors to try to see the big picture here. This is really about one word. We've already spent far too much time discussing it. M.Bitton, I completely understand that you want to emphasize the discriminatory treatment of Khemdoudi. But the best way to do that is to expand the "Legacy" section (which currently discusses the fact that Khemdoudi was forgotten and why). I actually think it's ridiculous that his forgotten status isn't mentioned in the lead, and I've gone ahead and fixed that—I hope that balance makes this an acceptable compromise to you. And, AgisdeSparte, just as general notes: while I think you've made great contributions to the article, I would just generally be cautious about some of your methods. Wikipedia articles should generally rely on secondary reliable sources. At least a few of your changes have been based solely on published primary sources or, more worrying, on your unpublished contact with the family. Those are both risky paths; the latter of which is probably never appropriate, and the former of which should only be taken on the rarest occasions.--Jerome Frank Disciple 18:13, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Given the choice, I'd rather not note his nationality at all because the confusing "French Algerian" is not how he's described by RS. This is also what Folly Mox suggested on ANI. M.Bitton (talk) 18:47, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

@Jerome Frank Disciple: I forgot to ping you. M.Bitton (talk) 18:53, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

@Jerome Frank Disciple: thank you for stepping up. Ping me if it seems like a good idea.

Taking my own advice and answering here to a comment at ANI. If needed I can find sources for the remark that Algeria was France at the time, but on reflection it really doesn't matter, since being born on French soil doesn't necessarily get you French citizenship. There's no question about that though, as this was the subject of a huge discussion at Liberation of France, where someone was trying to insert the Hollywood version, where it was all about D-Day rather than the reality where it happened because West Africans stepped up in Algeria. I still haven't gotten to actual content of the articlr and really don't want to as I am bogged down elsewhere.

Just say he was in the Resistance ffs

I will look for sources later (about to be called

away). There are copious French academic sources online about the period and I have not yet heard anyone mention the standard databases. Elinruby (talk) 18:56, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

This settlement suits me, and in fact is not really away from what I had put in the text on his legacy that was removed prior to this issue. I indeed added in the Legacy part, prior to all of that : "Like many other resistance fighters, particularly those of foreign origin, Djaafar Khemdoudi was forgotten after the war. Author Kamel Mouellef has contributed to preserving the memory of Djaafar Khemdoudi by publishing works about him. A plaque in his honor has been placed in his former cell at the Montluc prison, but this has sparked controversy within the Association of Resistance Fighters of Montluc (ARM), as his Algerian origins have posed a problem for some members." because as stated on ANI, the problem with these kind of figures is that they were in some kind of no-man's-land, especially when they chose France during the Algerian War. This kind of issues is not to be found in the biographies of Yahi Saïd or Mehedine Ben Mohamed Azouz, which I described only as being Algerians, since there wasn't anything showing otherwise, and who, btw, also had remarkable and very inspiring acts. AgisdeSparte (talk) 19:21, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

And who died under Nazi barbary and gave their lives for freedom. AgisdeSparte (talk) 19:25, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

I indicated above that I thought either saying "French Algerian" or not including his nationality (and just noting that he was born in French Algeria) would both be acceptable. Since @M.Bitton: has stated a preference for the latter, I'm going to change the article accordingly. I agree that's the safer option, given the dearth of sources and Synth issues (which I dothink are a close call)--Jerome Frank Disciple 20:03, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

Oh also—please don't take my insertion of phrasing as somehow definitive! I think the compromise we have reached is to omit the nationality. If you prefer your wording as to other issues, obviously feel free to replace it!--Jerome Frank Disciple 20:07, 18 June 2023 (UTC)

My bad, just so you know, I just realized that the quote from the Center of Deportation and Memory/Oumma are in fact from Abdelkader Mesli, not from Djaafar Khemdoudi, just wanted to point that out. This makes more sense with the fact that DK refused to speak about the Resistance after the war. AgisdeSparte (talk) 22:28, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

References