Germany: How antisemitic is Germany, asks Spiegel

Typically, the article focuses solely on physical violence/security but nothing on humiliation.

Spiegel: 'Risk Has Gotten Greater': German Jews Advised Against Wearing Kippah

How anti-Semitic is Germany? The Central Council of Jews is warning members of the community against wearing traditional head coverings. It is a precaution that 26-year-old Mark Krasnov has been taking for some time.

Before Mark Krasnov leaves his Berlin home, he always asks himself: Should I play it safe or should I wear the kippah? "I don't want to provoke anyone or for people to get any silly ideas," says the 26-year-old Jewish man. The result is that he hardly every wears the headgear when he goes out. He feels it's too risky.

The question of Jewish safety in Germany became the subject of public debate on Thursday after Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, wondered in a radio interview whether it "really made sense" in "problem neighborhoods with large Muslim populations to make one's self recognizable as a Jew by wearing a kippah?" He suggested that it "might be better to choose a different head covering" in such instances.

"The risk is always there," agrees Krasnov, who is head of the Wiesbaden Jewish community's youth center. "When you leave the synagogue, the security people often say: It's better to take off the kippah. It's safer." Krasnov says he almost never shows his kippa when he's out in public. "It's a preventative security measure for me -- and, ultimately, self-defense."  [...]

Krasnov prefers keeping a low profile. He says that even though he's not the kind of guy who would go out shouting "pro-Israeli slogans," he feels like the mere act of wearing the kippah in public is perceived by some as a provocation. "People stare because it's not something they're used to seeing."

When he goes to the synagogue, his youth center or to Jewish cemeteries, Krasnov says he always wears a kippah. And sometimes he'll wear one in public. "If I'm with a group when I go home from the synagogue, then I sometimes dare to wear it," he says. "Because I know there are others with me who can help in an emergency."