Yet Another Reason Why You Can't Get A Decent Bagel In Berlin

Yahoo News: Rabbi beating sparks fury in Germany

The brutal daylight beating of a rabbi in front of his six-year-old daughter sparked furious condemnation in Germany Thursday, with some Jewish groups saying they feared a rise in anti-Semitic behaviour.

However, it is not the native Germans doing the attacks, at least not this time around:

The attack on the 53-year-old by four youths, thought to be Arabs, left him hospitalised and the Jewish community outraged, already up in arms over a court ruling in western Germany that outlaws religious circumcision. One youth smashed the rabbi in the face several times after asking him if he was Jewish, apparently because he was wearing a traditional head covering, police said. The assailants fled, but not before aiming death threats at the young girl, according to authorities, who have launched an investigation into the Tuesday attack.

Unfortunately such attacks against Jews in Germany by Muslims is hardly a rare occurrence:

Berlin rabbi Andreas Nachama told AFP that Germany had seen over the past few years "a rising hostility towards Jews due to the conflict in the Middle East."

"Verbal attacks against Jews have increased," said Gideon Joffe, head of the Jewish Community of Berlin, in an interview with local daily Tagesspiegel.

Meanwhile, the rector of the Abraham Geiger College in Berlin, an academic seminary for rabbis, warned his students against wearing the yarmulke, or traditional Jewish head covering.

"If you are no longer seen as a Jewish person, you are safer," Walter Homolka told Friday's edition of the Berliner Morgenpost daily.

I'd like to think American Jews' reactions in the face of similar attacks would be markedly different in both tone and measure.

After all, the last time German Jews decided to meekly weather things out thinking it can't get much worse as they kept proclaiming they were good Germans really didn't help much.

A pity Germany is finding such difficulties culturally assimilating such Muslim immigrants. Tom Kratman, Please Call Your Office, it's your forecasted storm rolling in on line 1.