Israeli journalist Zvika Klein sparked a global conversation about anti-Semitism after he secretly recorded himself walking around the streets of Paris “as a Jew,” opening himself up to shocking discrimination. And even though all he did was put a yarmulke on his head and walk around, a news anchor with France’s Channel 4 News asked him on Thursday if he engaged in an “act of provocation.”
“As you say, you are a Zionist, you have a particular standpoint. Do you accept what some critics would say that the video, the way it was done, was an act of provocation?” the anchor asked.
Klein quickly replied, “I don’t think it should be a provocation, because this is the way I dress. I wear a kippah everyday, everywhere I go — except for certain places in Europe because I am afraid for my safety. I don’t think that can be called a provocation because there was no political statement here.”
“I wouldn’t recommend my friends in Europe to walk around with this on their head because it’s dangerous. It doesn’t represent the situation in France, it represents part of the situation in France, 100 percent,” he continued.
At that, the news anchor chimed in, “Condensing it into 90 seconds makes it incredibly powerful, doesn’t it?”
Klein said it’s “positive” that they are discussing the issue, which was the purpose of the video in the first place. Earlier in the interview, he also argued that there are some Muslims in Paris and across Europe who have a problem with Jews just because they are Jewish.
Watch the original video here: