French Rabbi Warns of Ant-Semitism

hans ze beeman, Mittwoch, 19. November 2003, 18:45 (vor 7948 Tagen)

PARIS - Worried about a surge in anti-Semitic
attacks, France´s chief rabbi has cautioned Jewish
men against wearing yarmulkes in public,
suggesting they wear baseball caps instead.



After a weekend arson attack on a Jewish school,
Rabbi Joseph Sitruk urged young men to be extra
cautious, saying they could become targets of
violence if they wear the yarmulke, or skullcap.

"I ask young Jews to be alert, to avoid walking
alone, to avoid wearing the yarmulke in the street
or in the subway and consequently becoming targets
for potential assailants," Sitruk told Radio J
this weekend.

In another interview, Sitruk spoke more bluntly.

"I ask them to replace the yarmulke with the
baseball cap," he told Radio Shalom on Monday.

"It hurts me" to make such a recommendation, he
said. "But I say that to protect our young
people."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/
20031119/ap_on_re_eu/france_anti_semitism_1