(Photo: by Frederick Florin / Pool / AFP)
By Robert Sarner - June 16, 2019
As the global pandemic of anti-Semitism worsens, its impact deepens. According to Paris writer Marc Weitzmann, such is the situation for Jews in France today that many play down, if not conceal, their Jewish identity in public. Weitzmann himself readily admits to not exhibiting outward signs of his Jewishness when circulating in the city.
Having just spent the past four years studying the resurgence of Jew-hatred in France for his new book, Weizmann is keenly aware of the potential, sometimes lethal, danger Jews face in his native country.
“I definitely take precautions,” Weitzmann says in fluent English during a recent interview with The Times of Israel. “For instance, when I’m in the subway or in a bar, I’m careful about what kind of book I carry. If it’s about a Jewish topic, I don’t show the cover too obviously. I wouldn’t wear a Star of David outside, and not just in Paris. Today, you can expose yourself to insults and worse pretty much anywhere in France. I first started having this concern about 15 years ago when things started to change for Jews.”
Read More: Times of Israel