美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: To Fight Anti-Semitism, German Tabloid Prints Cutout Kippah

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Bild is a tabloid¹, a German daily newspaper best known for blaring headlines, fleshy photos and breathless coverage² of gossip and scandals. But this week, the newspaper ran a kippah on its front page, a Jewish skullcap, which signifies reverence³ for God above. It's blue and white with Stars of David. Readers could cut out the kippah and wear it. Wear it so that your friends and neighbors can see it, wrote Julian Reichelt, the paper's editor-in-chief. Explain to your children what the kippah is. Post a photograph with the kippah on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Go out into the streets with it.

The newspaper printed the cut-out kippah after Felix Klein, the German government special representative for anti-Semitism, told a German newspaper group that because of the increase in attacks against Jews, quote, "I can no longer recommend Jews wear a kippah at every time and place in Germany." The government minister said later he only meant to bring attention to the problem. But Julian Ropcke, a Bild columnist⁴, wrote, if even only one person here can't safely wear a kippah, then the answer can only be we're all going to wear a kippah.

Anti-Semitic hate crimes are on the rise in Germany, 20% over the last year. About 200,000 Jews now live in Germany 74 years after the defeat of the Nazi⁵ regime that tried to extinguish - there is no decorous way to put this - every single Jewish person in Germany and the European continent. The way in which so many Germans have tried to face up to and atone⁶ for their country's historic crimes is an important part of what makes Germany respected in the world today.

But as Simon Schama, the historian and author of "The Story Of The Jews" told us from London this week, once the condition of tolerating Jews was visibility - yellow badges and red hats - the better to mark them out for abuse and discrimination. Now the condition is for invisibility. The message is the same - sorry, but you know how it is. Jews can't choose how they appear in public. It's for their own good. Which is why it was heartening this week to see Germany's most popular and flashy newspaper make a bold splash on its front page with a kippah. They encourage people to don the skullcap as a symbol of faith in a society where people won't be terrorized by bigotry⁷ and fear.

1 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

4 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

5 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

6 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

7 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。