If you are Jewish, would you move to Europe right now?

[Anonymous]

Yes,absolutely. I'm Jewish, francophone, and definitely look Jewish. Which suburb is your job in? There are lots of great neighborhoods with thriving active Jewish communities and Shuls.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely GO!

[Anonymous]

I have a chance to move to Austria to work for a UN agency. I decided not to. Frankly the history is hard to escape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How would anyone know you are Jewish? If someone targeted me because they followed me home from shul, I would be at CDG coming home immediately. But otherwise, I would go.

Some people look obviously Jewish, Barbara Streisand, Steven Spielberg, David Brenner, etc......

how do they they look "obviously Jewish"?

[Anonymous]

My brother, SIL, and their kids live in Paris right now. They live close to the American School and there older child is at school there. They are having a very good time and I don't think being Jewish has ever been a concern. They are more disappointed that their kids aren't really learning French because they spend all their time with other expats.

We have visited them with our kids lots of times, including for Passover, and have never experienced anything negative. Paris is very cosmopolitan. You will not be the only Jews you know.

[Anonymous]

The last name might be a clue (in some cases)?

[Anonymous]

Jewish here (Sephardic to be specific) I grew up in Germany from ages 1-8 and I have from my mother's side (they married Germans) in Berlin, Hamburg and Koln. My father's family is from Spain, my mother is from Mexico (also Sephardic but mixed with mestizo) I use to spend summers there and never had an issue. I go back as often as I can.

My last name most people wouldn't think of as Jewish since it's Spanish. I wouldn't trade my experience growing up in Europe for anything in the world. As far as looking "Jewish" who the heck knows since I stereotypically look Spanish.

[Anonymous]

How will anyone know you are Jewish? In college, I knew the guys with those little hats were Jewish, but that's it. I'd move to France.

[Anonymous]

My Jewish friends in London are not concerned.

[Anonymous]

Yes, definitely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No not really Barbara Streisand, Howie Mandel and Steven Spielberg hardly look Arab...nice try

Yeah, they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How would anyone know you are Jewish? If someone targeted me because they followed me home from shul, I would be at CDG coming home immediately. But otherwise, I would go.

Some people look obviously Jewish, Barbara Streisand, Steven Spielberg, David Brenner, etc......

When you talk about someone who looks "obviously" Jewish, know that these features are very similar to Arab features. Jews and Arabs look the same.

No they don't?? Arabs look completely different. Jews inter married for centuries and do have a distinctive look. But it's not Arabic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How would anyone know you are Jewish? If someone targeted me because they followed me home from shul, I would be at CDG coming home immediately. But otherwise, I would go.

Some people look obviously Jewish, Barbara Streisand, Steven Spielberg, David Brenner, etc......

When you talk about someone who looks "obviously" Jewish, know that these features are very similar to Arab features. Jews and Arabs look the same.

No they don't?? Arabs look completely different. Jews inter married for centuries and do have a distinctive look. But it's not Arabic.

They look just like the Syrian refugees. Put a picture of Streisand or Spielberg next to Syrian President Assad and notice similarities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Jewish. I have a promotion opportunity to move to Paris with my company. The job is in the suburbs. There aren't many Jews at my company and I know nobody in the area.

With the rising antisemitism in Europe, is this a bad and dangerous idea?

Part of me is like "how cool to live abroad and expose my young children to French. My DH would be a stay at home dad for a year". The other part of me really doesn't want to put myself in a situation where we would be singled out due to religion. Our families had a hard enough time surviving WW2...

In the DC area, I don't think twice about religion or discrimination. I did have a bad experience as a young 20-something living in a different part of the country where there were very few Jews. A broken window, threats and racial slurs that I swear haven't been in the everyday vocabulary since the early 1950s (this was 15 yrs ago). So I picked up and moved to DC...

All other factors aside, WWYD?

It will depend on how observant your family is. The problems in France come from the French wanting French culture as the only culture. So if you stick out as being Jewish, Muslim, not eating pork, not French, etc and are a permanent residents, yes problems. If you are a typical Americn Jew, they will just think you are an American work overseas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How would anyone know you are Jewish? If someone targeted me because they followed me home from shul, I would be at CDG coming home immediately. But otherwise, I would go.

Some people look obviously Jewish, Barbara Streisand, Steven Spielberg, David Brenner, etc......

When you talk about someone who looks "obviously" Jewish, know that these features are very similar to Arab features. Jews and Arabs look the same.

No they don't?? Arabs look completely different. Jews inter married for centuries and do have a distinctive look. But it's not Arabic.

They look just like the Syrian refugees. Put a picture of Streisand or Spielberg next to Syrian President Assad and notice similarities.

I agree that Assad looks very white but the vast majority of Syrian refugees do not look like him.