Can ‘Magic Kippah’ Save European Jews from Anti-Semitism?
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — The Associated Press reported today that, in response to the increasing numbers of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, an Israeli barber has designed yarmulkes that blend in with the wearer’s hair.
Called the “Magic Kippa,” the head coverings, made of synthetic hair, are washable, brushable and dyeable. Inventor Shalom Koresh told the AP he invented them so that observant Jewish men “could feel comfortable going to places where they are afraid to go, or places where they can’t wear it and feel secure.”
He noted that the yarmulkes, which sell online for $56 and up, are particularly popular with French and Belgian buyers.
Koresh might also consider marketing in Malmo, Switzerland. In a sort-of riff on the viral “Walking Around New York City While Female” video, a Swedish reporter recently walked around the heavily Muslim city while wearing a kippah and secretly recorded the reactions he received. In footage that aired on Swedish television this week, he was hit once and cursed at by numerous passersby.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
