Germany put on bales in solidarity with the Jewish community throughout the country

In Germany, a demonstration of solidarity with the Jewish community took place under the slogan “let’s put on a kippah” in protest against the increasing attacks on Jews and other manifestations of anti-Semitism, Vesty writes.

Фото: Depositphotos

Demonstrations began on Wednesday, 25 on April, a day after Yosef Shuster, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said that he did not recommend Jews to appear on the streets of large cities in a pile, and advised to wear neutral hats like caps, baseball caps and like that

However, the Germans themselves believe otherwise.

“We cannot under any circumstances allow anti-Semitism to become the norm again in Germany,” said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas before the start of the “Berlin Puts on a Kippah” demonstration, where all participants, both Jews and Germans, came wearing kippahs. In this way they intend to demonstrate their readiness to rally against anti-Semitism.

Similar actions were held in other cities of Germany - Cologne, Potsdam, Magdeburg and Erfurt.

Actions of solidarity with the Jewish community began in Germany a week after the 19-year-old refugee from Syria attacked two Jews in Berlin, who were wearing bales on their heads. Around this time, there were reports of attacks on Jewish schoolchildren in schools.

As reported by the German edition Tag SpiegelAccording to official data, in 2017, the German police received an average of four reports of anti-Semitic incidents. For 1377 cases from 1452, ultra right-wing extremists are responsible.

Back in February, 2015, the head of the central organization of German Jews warned of the danger of appearing in the pile in areas densely populated by Muslims. According to Yosef Shuster, the situation has only worsened since then, and now it can be unsafe to wear a pile in well-off central areas.

According to him, it would be more correct if “the Jews accepted the challenge and, as one, would put on a kippah,” but at present in Germany this is too dangerous.

“If we fail to overcome this conflict in society, then democratic values ​​will be lost. If it is no longer possible to stop open anti-Semitism, then we can talk about overt racism,” added Schuster.

Israel's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau called on German Jews not to follow Yosef Schuster's recommendation to wear a kippah in public. “The kippah is a symbol of Jewishness, wear it with pride,” Rabbi Lau said.

The Israeli rabbi was supported by his German colleague Yehuda Teuchtel, the chief rabbi of the Jewish community of Berlin.

“Hiding and being afraid is not the answer,” he said on April 24. “We must continue to wear a kippah, proud of our Jewishness, and wage an uncompromising fight against anti-Semitism.”

The immediate reason for the new warning from the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany was the attack that 17 carried out on April against a young man who appeared in a pile in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. A Muslim attacked him and injured him.

#Germany in 2018 thanks to #Angela Merkel! A #Jew is attacked for being #Jewish! An #Arab #migrant attacked him for wearing a #Kippah! Welcome back to #Germany in the 1930's! pic.twitter.com/2uCrToVkHp #BBC #IDF @LBC #SKY #UK #Antisemitic @ConHome #AntiSemitism #ISRAEL #USA #Trump

—BREXIT BRITAIN?? Supporting BREXIT & #NoDeal! (@EUVoteLeave23rd) April 18, 2018

The young man was hospitalized.

The attack in Berlin. Photo courtesy of the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Anti-Semitism

German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack in Berlin.

“This is an ugly incident that will be responded to,” she said, adding that “the fight against anti-Semitism must be won.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mas called the situation a shame for the country.

“If we have to provide special security for synagogues and Jewish schools, if a person who goes out into the street wearing a kippah becomes the target of an attack, if we award music prizes to anti-Semitic provocateurs, then this is nothing less than a shame,” said the head of the German foreign policy departments.

German journalist stepped out to a crowd of Muslims in Berlin

The news told about the experiment of TV presenter Klaus Strunz, who decided to check what life was like for Jews in modern Germany, and chose the most revealing day for this - “Al-Quds Day”, held in Berlin. To do this, he wore a kippah all day, recording the attitude of those around him to the “Jewish look.”

Online edition Judische algemeine took an interest in the sensations of the journalist.

“The real discovery for me was an alarming symptom: Jews are still persecuted in Germany today, at least those who look Jewish,” Strunz said. “They see a pile on your head, and few can handle it.” Some become unnaturally kind, others turn away, some don’t even know how to feel about it. It is clear that the kippah evokes much more emotion than hijabs and crosses. I wanted not only to understand what it was like to be a Jew in Germany, I wanted to feel it. And yes, this is a special, I would even say depressing feeling.”

Read also on ForumDaily:

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The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the US in 2017 increased by 57%

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