German Jewish leader: better not to wear skullcap in areas with large Muslim populations

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2014 file photo the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Josef Schuster speaks during a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Schuster told rbb Inforadio Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, that Jews in Germany generally feel safe, though security measures need to be evaluated frequently. He is suggesting that Jews shouldn't wear the traditional skullcap, or kippa, in areas with large Muslim populations. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File) (The Associated Press)

BERLIN – Germany's top Jewish leader is suggesting that Jews shouldn't wear the traditional skullcap, or kippa, in areas with large Muslim populations.

Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews, told rbb Inforadio Thursday that Jews in Germany generally feel safe, though security measures need to be evaluated frequently.

Schuster says that "hiding is not the right way" of dealing with worries about anti-Semitism.

But he says it's right to ask whether, in areas with high Muslim populations in Berlin and elsewhere, "it really makes sense to identify oneself as a Jew by wearing a kippa, for example, or whether it's better to wear different headgear there."

Security worries among European Jews have been stoked by recent attacks in Paris and Copenhagen.