European Jews Often Hide Symbols Of Their Identity - Meet The Non-Jewish Schoolteacher Doing The Exact Opposite: A Fireside Chat With Tobias Reckeweg

It happens like clockwork: whenever tensions rise in the Middle East, as they did during the spring of 2021 between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Islamist terrorist group, incidents of antisemitism spike around the world. But that doesn't mean antisemitism ceases to exist other times, or even that it remains dormant. Indeed, across the world, from North America, and particularly in Europe, though statistics vary, Jews are targeted disproportionately to their population. In some European cities, Jews are often encouraged to hide symbols of their Jewish identity. In Germany, one person has decided that's unacceptable. Tobias Reckeweg, a non-Jewish educator in Western Germany specializing in German history and mathematics, has become an unlikely ally to the Jewish community: in recent years, he has begun donning a Star of David, a widely-recognizable Jewish symbol, in an act of solidarity. In this week's podcast, we sit down with Tobias to discuss his small act of showing support for the Jewish community, the response from Jews and the wider public alike, and his take on what prompted him to take up the cause of advocating for Europe's Jews. Welcome to The Honest Report podcast.