Posted on 05/14/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
In an interview with the Guardian, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis says that since October 7th and the ensuing war in Gaza, the Jewish communities across Europe have been grappling with a wave of increased hate speech, vandalism, harassment, and threats.
Some Jews in Europe have even consulted local rabbis on halachic questions in an attempt to find out whether it is permitted to remove Jewish symbols out of concern for their safety.
"The statistics show an increase of hundreds of percent in antisemitism throughout Europe. Many Jews are trying to hide their Judaism. One of the most common questions to Rabbis since October 7th is whether it is possible to take the mezuzah off the door. This says a lot," said Rabbi Goldschmidt.
He added that, "Other precautions that some people took included wearing hats instead of the traditional yarmulkah (skullcap) on the street, and avoiding speaking Hebrew when riding in Ubers. There used to be a red line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. We have seen this red line disappear. I think that ultimately this is not a problem for the Jewish community. Ultimately, this is a big problem for Europe at large. This situation in the streets is destabilizing our society."
Rabbi Goldschmidt was asked if he was afraid that the verbal threats would also turn into physical violence, to which he replied, "It never stops with words."