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Published on 17 January 2016
Yes, I Will Wear a Kippa in Public in Paris
By David Ettinger, Professor of Economics at the Paris–Dauphine University, published in Haaretz January 15, 2016
Last Monday, a radicalized teenager from an ethnic Kurdish family that came to France from Turkey, assaulted a Jew wearing a kippa [Jewish headcovering] in Marseille. Thankfully, the victim was only slightly injured. Ever since, one question has been in the air. Should a Jew wear a kippa in France? Is this still responsible, is it safe?
The answer given by almost all French Jewish leaders is clear: We won’t remove our kippa.
As any Jew, I feel obliged to disagree with other Jews - and even more with political leaders. However, for once, I had to agree. To stop wearing a kippa in the street after an act of aggression like this, because of an act of aggression like this, just isn’t an alternative: This Shabbat, I’ll wear my kippa as I cross the Place de la Republique on my way to the synagogue.
I consider myself to be a reasonably observant Jew. Following the French integrationalist tradition and my personal choice, I don’t wear a kippa in the street on a daily basis. However, in Paris, as in almost all French cities, there is no eruv [a boundary marking system which allows Orthodox Jews to carry objects between places on Shabbat]. I don’t want to carry a kippa in my pocket on Shabbat on my way to the synagogue - so I put it on my head.
Recently, my wife expressed her concerns about my going out in the street with a kippa. I could put a hat or a cap. But it is not my style and I do not see any reason to hide that I am Jewish. I don’t want to have to perceive myself as a coward hiding my identity. I do not intend to change my behavior because of this young extremist.
I am not giving any lessons in courage. I live in a fashionable area with a well-heeled population, a Parisian bubble, where one can spend an afternoon working in café surrounded by ten thirty-somethings doing the same with their brand new MacBooks. Would I be so brave were I living in a more disadvantaged neighborhood?
Sixty-three percent of those polled reported being insulted for being Jewish, and more than half reported being subjected to anti-Semitic threats. Anti-Semitism is perceived to come from the far right and those of Muslim origin, although a majority of French Jews said that Muslims live peacefully in France, and that it is only the radicalized who constitute a menace.
I am not naïve either. This assault is not an isolated act. I read the statistics: there were more than 400 anti-Semitic acts (of different magnitudes) in 2014 in France and over 850 last year. As a French Jew, I lost my ‘anti-Semitic virginity’ over the last 15 years. Our dreams of a postwar Europe and France without anti-Semitism now seems far away... Read more.