When I went to read the paper today, the front page story was an event that happened Friday evening (unlike American papers, Monday is the big news day, not Sunday).
Friday evening, on his way home from synagogue, the local rabbi was stabbed in the stomach by an anonymous (possibly middle eastern) young man. Witnesses to the scene heard him shout "du Scheiß-Jude, ich stech' dich jetzt ab!" and the only explanation is a random act of antisemitism.
The interesting part to the story is that the entire city of Frankfurt is up in arms over this tragedy. There were several articles in the paper about how everyone is shocked, and how Frankfurt prided itself in such a large and healthy Jewish population, and how the city has (almost always) had a relatively positive relationship with the Jews. My last post was about the poignant war memorials, and I have seen a few more since I last posted pictures. Before my arrival I was wary about how the German population reacts to Jews, especially with the High Holy Days approaching, but so far I have been pleased.
The article discussed this event in context of the ever-present Middle Eastern conflict, and antisemitism vs. radical Islam, which made it seem that the German-borne antisemitism is not prevalent these days. It is always possible that the newspaper portrays the stories in a slanted light, but this time, at least here in the very modern and cosmopolitan city of Frankfurt, I don't think so.
I've been here for almost two weeks now, and this is already the second major incident that has occured (the first being the busted terrorist plot on the airport and military base). It is all so much more real here - rather than just reading about it in papers, these terrorist acts are happening in the city where I live. Despite it all, however, the environment and the streets of the city itself feel so much more safe than Atlanta. I have never remotely feared for my safety while being out and about, which is such an interesting contrast. The large-scale violence from terrorism is much closer, but the street crimes and overall local violence is almost none.
I promise I am taking care of myself and watching out for my safety, no matter how unthreatened I may feel.
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1 comment:
That's awful. It's good to hear, though, that the Germans are so incensed by such an attack. However, it's quite surprising, at least to me, that the streets are quiet and safe. Not that I expected them to be anything else, but with the terrorist plot, you're not really sure what to think. I'm glad you feel so safe and welcome, and that you're looking out for yourself. :)
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