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In viral clip, French TV host asks Jewish guest why he wears a kippah in public
(JTA) — An Israeli professor was asked by the host of a French TV news show why he publicly identifies his religion by wearing a kippah in a clip that went viral on Wednesday.
“Many people are asking, why a professor wears a religious symbol in our studio,” the host of CNews pressed Dr. Cyrille Cohen, head of immunology at Bar Ilan University, who was invited to discuss vaccine effectiveness against the COVID-19 virus.
“For transparency, I wear it everyday, I did not put it on especially for this show,” he responded with an air of confusion.
“קוראים לי כהן, אני מישראל, אני עם כיפה”
הבנתי שהקטע הזה וויראלי למדיי בצרפת, הנה תרגום לעברית: פרופ’ סיריל כהן הישראלי בא להתראיין בערוץ צרפתי כרופא, ונשאל מה פתאום הגיע לאולפן עם כיפה… pic.twitter.com/6v0YM7ZnS5
— סיון רהב מאיר Sivan Rahav Meir (@SivanRahav) December 7, 2022
But French-Jewish journalist Elisabeth Levy, who was also a guest on the panel, pushed further.
“You understand, don’t you, that our non-religious way of life is discrete. It’s not against religion, but you should keep your religion to yourself,” she said.
“My name is Cohen! Why would you want me to ‘keep my religion to myself’? I’m coming from Israel,” Cohen responded in exasperation.
A clip of the video drew quick condemnation on Twitter. “Is this 1930s Europe?” tweeted Israeli journalist Emily Schrader.
Though brief, the exchange illustrated the starkly different perspectives on religious expression in France, the United States and elsewhere in the western world. “Laicite,” or secularism, rather than religious freedom, is enshrined in the first article of the French constitution, which also protects the free exercise of religion. The term has long been understood to imply a strict separation between the private sphere, where religion is accepted, and the public, where it is discouraged.
Religious minorities have complained that French secularism is often gentler with displays of Christianity, than other faiths.
“If a priest came in here would you ask him to take off his cross, if the pope, would you have him take off his cross and head covering?” Cohen said in the exchange.
Since 2004, French public schools have banned all personal displays of religion, including both crosses and yarmulkes. In 2009, debate erupted after a woman was banned from swimming in a public pool while wearing a bathing suit in line with some Islamic interpretations of modesty laws. In 2016, the swimsuit nicknamed a “burkini” was banned by the mayor of Cannes, a beach town.
French Jews also came up against the government’s strict adherence to laicite when a hearing in the trial of suspects involved in the 2015 shooting at a Paris Kosher supermarket, which killed four Jews, was scheduled on Yom Kippur. The French judiciary refused to change the date after requests by the families of the victims, citing laicite.
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The post In viral clip, French TV host asks Jewish guest why he wears a kippah in public appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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US Strikes More Than 90 Iranian Military Targets on Kharg Island, CENTCOM Says
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. Photo: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
United States forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, the US Central Command said on Saturday.
“US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure,” CENTCOM said.
The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites, the US military said in a post on X.
President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island hub, unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
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North Korea Fires Ten Ballistic Missiles Toward the Sea of Japan
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and wife Ri Sol Ju inspect an honour guard before leaving Pyongyang for a visit to China, this January 7, 2019 photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang January 8, 2019. Photo: KCNA via REUTERS.
i24 News – North Korea fired roughly ten ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the South Korean military reported, marking a new act of defiance amid Seoul and Washington’s annual joint military exercises.
The launches, originating from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, were detected around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The missiles were directed toward the East Sea—the Korean name for the Sea of Japan—though details on their range or trajectory were not immediately available. Earlier, the South Korean Ministry of Defense had already confirmed the launch of at least one unidentified projectile in the same area.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also verified the incident, noting that a suspected ballistic missile had been launched from North Korea.
The launches come amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Since Monday, the United States and South Korea have been conducting their annual joint exercises, which will continue through March 19 and involve approximately 18,000 South Korean troops alongside an unspecified number of U.S. forces.
Pyongyang has sharply criticized the drills, calling them a rehearsal for invasion. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned this week that the exercises could trigger “terrible and unimaginable consequences.”
The missile tests also coincide with fading prospects for inter-Korean dialogue. Kim Jong-un recently dismissed outreach efforts from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, labeling Seoul “the most hostile enemy.”
The show of force occurred just hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, during a visit to the United States, mentioned a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un—a meeting Washington still considers possible.
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Dutch Authorities Investigate Explosion at Jewish School Claimed by Extremist Group
Police outside a Jewish school following an explosion that caused minor damages, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 14, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – An explosion struck a Jewish school on Zeelandstraat in Amsterdam-Buitenveldert during the night between Friday and Saturday, Dutch authorities confirmed. Emergency responders, including police and firefighters, acted swiftly, and officials reported that the building suffered only limited damage. No injuries have been reported.
Mayor Femke Halsema described the incident as a deliberate attack against the Jewish community in the city, emphasizing that the authorities are treating the case “very seriously.” Security camera footage showing the individual who detonated the device is under investigation.
In an unverified online video, previously little-known group identifying itself as Ashab Al Yamim later claimed responsibility for the blast. The group released online footage appearing to show the small explosion followed by a fire outside the school. Its logo was also seen in videos related to an attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam earlier this week.
Dutch investigators are coordinating with the judiciary to determine the full circumstances of the attack and whether additional suspects were involved. Authorities noted that the organization had not been previously known to security services.
The explosion comes amid rising security concerns for Jewish institutions across Europe, following heightened tensions in the Middle East. The group behind the claim has also alleged responsibility for previous incidents targeting Jewish sites in Europe, including attacks in Liège, Belgium, and Rotterdam, though these claims remain unverified.
Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers across the continent have stepped up security measures in recent weeks amid fears of potential threats to Jewish communities.