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A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 26 april 2018

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Germans don Jewish skullcaps to protest anti-Semitism

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER was elected to Parliament discriminated against and
Associated Press last year. Its leaders are not live in fear. And this
BERLIN (AP) — Germans of known for their openly anti- event tonight is a sign and
various faiths donned Jew- Muslim stance, but their an- an important one."
ish skullcaps and took to ti-Semitism is less apparent. Three people who pro-
the streets Wednesday in Across Europe, anti-Sem- tested separately against
several cities to protest an itism has been on the rise anti-Semitism in the Arab
anti-Semitic attack in Ber- in recent years, and thou- immigrant neighborhood
lin and express fears about sands of Jews — most- of Neukoelln ended their
growing hatred of Jews in ly from France — have demonstration earlier after
the country. moved to Israel. a one person took away
The kippa protest was trig- More than 2,000 people their Israeli flag, police said.
gered by the daytime as- — Jews, Christians, Muslims Beyond that, hundreds of
sault last week of two young and atheists — put on kip- people also rallied in Co-
men wearing skullcaps in pas in a show of solidarity in logne, Erfurt, Magdeburg
an upscale neighborhood A man wears a Jewish skullcap, as he attends a demonstration Berlin. and Potsdam.
against an anti-Semitic attack in Berlin, Wednesday, April 25,
in the German capital. The 2018. The yarmulkes were of all In last week's attack in Ber-
attack, in which a 19-year- Associated Press varieties — silky and knitted, lin, the 21-year-old victim,
old Syrian asylum-seeker is leathery, embroidered and an Arab Israeli who said he
a suspect, drew outrage in ing about their safety in come at a time when Ger- patterned. Holding them wore the kippa in a show
Germany and sharp con- Germany, which has tried many is grappling with an so the wind wouldn't blow of solidarity with his Jewish
demnation by Chancellor to atone for Nazis' killing of influx of more than 1 mil- them away, both men and friends, caught the assault
Angela Merkel. 6 million European Jews in lion mostly Muslim migrants, women cheered when Ber- on video, which quickly
It is the latest of several the Holocaust more than along with the rise of a na- lin Mayor Michael Mueller went viral. It showed a
anti-Semitic incidents that 70 years ago. tionalist party, the Alterna- told them, "Today, we all young man whipping him
have many Jews wonder- The rising tensions have tive for Germany, which wear kippa. Today, Berlin is violently with a belt while
wearing kippa." shouting "Yahudi!" — Jew in
Jewish community leaders Arabic.
said it was the biggest such Germany's main Jew-
display in public since be- ish leader, Josef Schuster,
fore World War II. sparked tension within the
Elard Zuehlke, a 26-year-old Jewish community Tuesday
non-Jewish Berliner, said he when he said he would ad-
came to the rally in front vise people visiting big cit-
of the city's synagogue on ies against wearing Jewish
Fasanenstrasse because "it skullcaps.
cannot be that in Germany The RIAS group that tracks
there is any kind of anti- anti-Semitism said there
Semitism — not in schools, were 947 anti-Semitic inci-
not in public, not at work, dents last year in Berlin, in-
not in politics, nowhere." cluding 18 attacks and 23
"This cannot be happening. threats last year.
Germany has to live up to In all of Germany, authori-
its special responsibility," he ties say there are a high
said. volume of anti-Semitic in-
Reinhard Borgmann, a cidents reported, with the
65-year-old Jew who lost equivalent of nearly four
several great-uncles in per day in 2017. There were
the Holocaust and whose 1,453 anti-Semitic incidents,
mother only survived be- compared with 1,468 inci-
cause she hid from the dents in 2016 and 1,366 in
Nazis, said he was pleased 2015.
that dozens of organiza- Schuster's comments on
tions had turned out to sup- hiding the skullcap drew
port the demonstration. sharp criticism from other
"As Jews, we want to be Jewish leaders, who say
able to move freely, wheth- Jews should wear a kippa
er with kippa or without," to show they're not afraid.
Borgmann said. "We want "Jewish identity is not some-
to be able to practice reli- thing we should hide," said
gion in peace and not be Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal. q