Call it a sociological experiment. Israeli journalist Zvika Klein, inspired by the viral video “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman,”?decided he would walk around Paris for 10 hours, openly identifying himself as a Jewish man, and see what reactions he got. The result was disturbing and has garnered Klein over 2 million hits in three days.
Klein, an orthodox Jew, was wearing a yarmulke (or kippah) on his head and tassels on his waist, which is standard dress for a Orthodox member of the Jewish faith. As he walked through various neighborhoods — including?predominantly Muslim ones — Klein was spit at, called a Jew and a “homo,” and one child even asked his mother, “Doesn’t he know he will be killed?”
Klein said he didn’t know how Parisians would react when ?he decided to make the video, but he took along a bodyguard just in case someone tried to physically threaten him:.
“I did not really know what to expect. I hoped no one would put a knife in me or shoot me.”
The reaction of some Parisians is especially disturbing in light of Jewish residents saying that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe and in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings. Some have called Klein’s actions provocative, but he disagrees with their assessment:
“If I was walking around with an Israeli flag, I understand it might create negative feelings. But I don’t think [wearing a kippah] should generate that kind of thing.”
The video was part of an ongoing series of reports Klein has been filing for the Israeli news site NRG, and Klein said it’s indicative of a larger problem with European attitudes toward Jews:
“I have been writing about anti-Semitism in France for years. If I wanted, I could write an article about it every day – there’s always some kind of incident. I just had to see it for myself.”
Watch the video that’s gotten over 2 million hits on YouTube!
