[6] This qualification was followed by a diploma in Turkish from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in 1982 and a doctorate in literature and the human and social sciences from Paris 8 in 1987.

[7][8] Benbassa achieved the latter by completing a dissertation titled "Haim Nahum Efendi, Last Great Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1920)" with Louis Bazin as her doctoral adviser.

The Jews Yesterday, the Muslims Today" during widespread political debate surrounding the Law on Religious Symbols in French Public Schools in 2004.

[13] Following the Charlie Hebdo shooting and Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege in January 2015, Benbassa organized a day of debate on the topic in March of that year.

[4][16][17] Benbassa was the rapporteur for a bill extending the statute of limitations for discriminatory remarks of a homophobic, sexist or ableist character and thereby align it with laws surrounding racial, ethnic or religious discrimination.

It included twelve proposals, among them the introduction of a census question on the birth country of one's ancestors and respondents' previous nationalities "in order to obtain measurable findings on the extent of discrimination and its occurrences."

"[20] In October 2013, in response to the Dibrani case involving the arrest of an illegal immigrant child during a field trip and their immediate deportation, Benbassa commented: "I, who thought France had not forgotten its sombre history, was far from imagining that in 2013, as an official elected by the people, would be the witness to a police roundup.

In response, Benbassa organized a Senate conference in October 2016 with the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts's chair of addiction studies, titled "Legalization of Cannabis: Is Europe Condemned to an Impasse?

[29] In March 2016, Benbassa led the laws committee in establishing a fact-finding mission on deradicalization, for which she served as co-rapporteur along with Catherine Troendlé of The Republicans (LR).

[33] Since then, Benbasssa has sat on the constitutional law, legislation, universal suffrage, regulations and general administration committee and has served as the vice-president of the senatorial delegation to Overseas France.

[34] During her second term, Benbassa has spoken on various issues: she joined the yellow vest protesters; advocated for migrants; denounced living conditions in French prisons, particularly for minors; lobbied against gender-based and sexual violence, especially in the political world and planned to introduce legislation on animal welfare.

Controversy arose once more after she published a photograph of herself at the demonstrations accompanied by participants (among them a young girl) wearing a yellow, five-pointed star and a crescent moon of the same colour, all labelled with the English word "Muslim.

[37][38] The magazine Marianne criticized Benbassa for taking advantage of a child for political purposes, arguing that "in Islamist processions, as in the protest, children are forced into the propaganda of adults and wear slogans that they cannot understand.

[42] In July 2021, online newspaper Mediapart published an investigation detailing allegations of coercion and humiliation from Benbassa's parliamentary staff and former students.

The accusations included the senator pressuring an assistant to delay a surgical operation by several months, repeatedly threatening her staff and harshly attacking their actions and competence.