The head of Marseille’s Consistoire (Israelite Central Consistory) of France called on local Jews to remove their yarmulkes and not to walk outdoors displaying one due to the current security realities. As was reported by YWN, Zvi Ammar, who heads the Israelite Consistory, urged men to stop displaying their yarmulke outdoors “until better days”.

This resulted in a response from the EJA, the European Jewish Association. That statements follows:

“In light of the warning by the head of Marseille’s consistoire that French Jews should remove their kippot to avoid becoming the next target of the continued attacks against the French Jewish community, I would like to call on French Jews to stand up for their Jewish rights with pride, as they have always done so.

French Jewry has long been example to other European communities of pride in their Jewish faith and identity and in these troubled times, we look to them to continue to be so and to positively contribute to France’s diverse culture as it has always done. To French Jewish leaders, I would reiterate my calls to defend the right to religious faith and practice, where it doesn’t impinge on the rights and beliefs of others, in the peace and security that is the fundamental right of all European citizens.

Most of all, I would like to recall the words of the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in his former position as interior minister, when he responded to calls from the far right to ban the kippa in defense of France’s secular society: ‘every religion has its rites and traditions; the freedom of belief, it’s the freedom to wear a kippa, to eat kosher and to practice religious circumcision…secularism wasn’t created as a weapon against others. The Jews of France can wear with pride their kippa – it’s the responsibility of politicians not to respond to such provocations.’

Having demonstrated with words their support for French Jews, we now look to the French authorities to consolidate their important commitment with demonstrable actions to safeguard the right of French Jews to wear their identity with pride.”

In a directly related matter, Bayit Yehudi party leader Minister Naftali Bennett twitted on Wednesday, “In the State of Israel, no Jew will ever need to remove his Kipa”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)