'I bought a baseball cap to hide my kippah': Jews observe first Shabbat after Golders Green attack
'I bought a baseball cap to hide my kippah': Jews observe first Shabbat after Golders Green attack 6 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Judith Moritz , Special correspondent and Daniel Wittenberg , Senior...
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Key developments are emerging from the global stage. 'I bought a baseball cap to hide my kippah': Jews observe first Shabbat after Golders Green attack 6 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Judith Moritz , Special correspondent and Daniel Wittenberg , Senior producer Carlos Jasso/ via Getty Images The scene in Golders Green earlier this week during a visit by the PM For the first time in his life, Derek has decided to conceal his Jewish skullcap - known as a kippah - when out in public. "I went shopping yesterday and bought a baseball cap," says Derek, who lives in Edgware in north London and did not want to give his full name. "I never wear a baseball cap.
"I felt that to go on the underground, as a religious Jew, was just too problematic. " Every Friday night, Derek and many other Jews across the world mark the end of the week by ushering in the start of the Jewish sabbath - Shabbat. Families light candles and gather around the table for Friday night dinner, sharing the comforts of food and conversation.
The Details
On Saturday morning, they go to synagogue, to pray and reflect on the week that's just passed. This Shabbat is no different. The candles were lit.
The synagogues will be busy. Yet at the same time this weekend the ritual will feel different for every Jew in Britain. Although he's covering up his kippah in public, Derek says he will attend synagogue as usual - but that it will feel especially intense.
"Unsurprisingly, this week we are going to have even more security. My synagogue is like a prison. And it's a small synagogue.
What Experts Say
" He adds: "I have never experienced - not the levels of hate, but the deafening silence of a community, of a country in the wake of such virulent antisemitism. " Adam Wagner, a prominent human rights lawyer, is one of those who have been agonising over whether to stick to his usual routine. Like many Jews, Wagner prepares for Shabbat by going to buy a challah, a braided bread, from a kosher bakery.
But the thought of going to a Jewish site in Golders Green fills him with fear. "In the back of my mind, I'm thinking how to keep myself from being stabbed in the queue," he says. Wagner has also been wrestling over whether to wear a kippah when walking to synagogue this week.
His child has surprised him by asking him to promise not to do so. "I still haven't decided," he says. "I will need to have a discussion with them on the day.
The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.
