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Should We Hide Our Tsitsit or Kippot to Protect Us from the Anti-Jewish Mob?
Demonstrators wearing kippot in solidarity with the Jewish community at a Berlin demonstration against antisemitism in April 2018. Photo: Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch.
This week’s Torah reading is mainly concerned with the 12 men sent by Moses to tour the land of Israel before entering it. On their return, 10 of them stated that although the land was fruitful, the inhabitants were too much of a military challenge. The two dissenters, Joshua and Kalev, were shouted down. Thus, the Jewish people were sent back into the wilderness for another 40 years, until a new generation with a different mental state would be ready to enter.
Mental fortitude is the theme of this week’s reading — and a very relevant one for all of us.
This week’s reading also talks about the fringes — Tsitsit — that many Jews wear, sometimes over their clothes and sometimes underneath:
God said to Moses speak to the children of Israel and tell them that they should make these fringes on the corners of their garments for all future generations and included in the fringes should be a thread of blue and when you look at them you will remember all the commandments which God has given and you will carry them out and you should not allow your eyes and you should not be seduced after your heart and your eyes which so easily seduce you. (Numbers, Chapter 15:37-40).
Archaeologically we know that in the ancient Middle East, aristocrats and priests wore distinctive clothes, including girdles with fringes as a symbol of superiority. The Israelites adopted these fringes to remind everyone of the laws.
The general clothing of the Israelites were square garments with a hole in the middle for the head, falling down at the sides with four corners. That was where the fringes were attached. When the style of clothing changed to be togas or skirts during the Greek and Roman period, which didn’t have four corners, some gave up the law, while others had specific garments made in order to keep the tradition. Of course, this identified Jews as being different in the Graeco-Roman world. Some flaunted it, and others hid or abandoned Judaism.
In the 19th century, after the Enlightenment, Jews began to mix more freely and generally in non-Jewish society, and tried to avoid looking different. It became a pretty widespread custom to make special four-cornered garments that would be worn underneath one’s shirt, and therefore not necessarily visible. The only place that one saw the garment with fringes was in the synagogue, where we have what is called the Talit Gadol, which is much bigger than the smaller Talit Katan, the little one worn underneath.
In the less civilized world that we live in, I have been asked several times whether it would be better if we didn’t wear our Tsitsit, out of fear of being attacked. Some people have even asked me whether they are allowed to take down their Mezuzah because they fear that if their house would be recognized as a Jewish house, it would be vandalized.
This is not a new problem. It has been with us throughout our period of exile, whether in the Christian or Muslim world. Particularly toward the end of the 19th century, as Jews spread out beyond the ghettos, and Jews were attacked, assimilated Jews like Franz Kafka and Marcel Proust withdrew even more.
Wearing Tsitsit in public (and/or kippot for that matter) can take courage. And not all of us have the fortitude to assert our identity openly. And it’s up to us as to how we deal with it. For me, it is a matter of pride and taking a stand — as well as passing on to the next generations that being proud to be a Jew may very often subject you either to ridicule or even attack, but it defines one as a person.
It was so impressive and reassuring during the recent parade for Israel in New York to see hundreds of youngsters and adults walking down Fifth Avenue happily wearing the Magen David, kippot, and flaunting their Tsitsit.
We all make choices as to how much of our tradition we adhere to, and to what degree, but this is a very important test case of who we are and where we stand. This too is about mental fortitude.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post Should We Hide Our Tsitsit or Kippot to Protect Us from the Anti-Jewish Mob? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays
A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.
The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.
“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.
“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.
The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”
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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.
The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.
US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.
It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.
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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – An Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.
Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.
On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”
A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”
Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.
Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.
Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.