German Jewish Leader Warns Against Wearing Yarmulka

Germany’s top Jewish leader suggested on Thursday that Jews shouldn’t wear a Yarmulka in areas with large Muslim populations but also said that hiding isn’t the right approach to concerns about anti-Semitism.

Security worries among European Jews have been stoked by recent attacks in Paris and Copenhagen. Jews in Germany generally feel safe, though security measures need to be evaluated frequently, Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews, told rbb Inforadio.

One of Schuster’s predecessors last year suggested that Jews in Germany should make sure they’re not recognizable as Jews.

“I think hiding is not the right way” of dealing with worries about anti-Semitism, Schuster said. However, he added that it’s right to ask whether, in areas with high Muslim populations in Berlin and elsewhere, “it really makes sense to identify oneself as a Jew by wearing a kippa, for example, or whether it’s better to wear different headgear there.

“That is a development that I didn’t expect five years ago and is a little alarming,” Schuster said, adding that Muslim groups should do more to counter anti-Semitism among young people.

On Tuesday, Germany’s interior minister met with Jewish leaders and reassured them that their safety is a top priority.

(AP)