Yesterday, the high-circulation German tabloid Bild published an article with the slogan «The Kippa belongs to Germany» and a paper cutout of this Jewish headgear that can be cut out and worn in solidarity with religious Jews. This, as well as a series of materials dedicated to anti-Semitism, were published in response to a statement by the Government Commissioner for Combating Anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, who recommended that religious Jews refrain from wearing the kippah in public places. This recommendation was based on the 62 cases of attacks on Jews in Germany last year.
From a human perspective, it is understandable that the issue of anti-Semitism has come to the attention of Bild and its editor-in-chief, Julian Reichelt. Moreover, it is in the interest of Muslims living in the West that followers of all religious communities can openly and safely wear their traditional headwear and clothing, the right to which, we should remember, has always been guaranteed under Islamic rule. After all, in secular society, the position of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab or a Muslim man wearing a turban is much closer to that of a Jew wearing a kippah than to that of nominal/non-practicing Christians or even Muslim women, not to mention atheists.
However, it should be noted that the same Bild that today declares that «the Kippa belongs to Germany» recently showed solidarity with politicians who advocated slogans such as «Islam does not belong to Germany». This publication has also published material criticizing Muslims who adhere to their religion, especially girls who wear headscarves at school or refuse to expose themselves in swimming pools, which was portrayed as extremism and a refusal to integrate into society.
But if, according to this logic, Muslim women should remove their headscarves for better integration, why shouldn’t Jews remove their yarmulkes for greater security? By the way, regarding safety — the reason for concern about Jews wearing kippahs — there were 62 cases of attacks last year. There is no dispute that this is outrageous. However, we would like to remind you that in the same year there were 908 attacks on Muslims in Germany, which is 14.6 times more than on Jews.
Again, attacks on Muslims do not justify attacks on Jews, nor do they make them any less outrageous. This is especially true when such attacks are perpetrated by youths with Muslim backgrounds, as it is unacceptable to confuse political anti-Zionism with everyday anti-Semitism for many reasons. Among other things, it gives Zionists a reason to equate any criticism of Zionism with anti-Semitism. We just have to understand that when 62 attacks per year (in a country with a population of almost 83,000,000 people) are perceived as a huge problem, and 14.6 times more attacks are simply ignored, it looks like a clear policy of double standards.
But seriously, who is really bothered by yarmulkes in Germany? If a certain percentage of the 62 attackers were Muslims or pseudo-Muslims rather than neo-Nazis, this clearly cannot be considered representative of the approximately four million strong Muslim community in the country. On the other hand, we see constant discussions among politicians and public figures in Germany, including on the pages of Bild, with calls to ban headscarves in schools as something that prevents Muslims from being «normal Germans.» But isn’t it clear that if there is again a trend in society to force all its members to be «normal Germans», i.e. to hide their differences, then not only Muslims will be affected?
Therefore, despite all the crocodile tears shed over anti-Semitism, the responsibility for which they try to shift onto Muslims, the foundation for it, along with Islamophobia, is created by those who try to paint everyone with the same brush — under which there will be no place left for the kippah or the hijab.