Jewish journalist Zvika Klein used a hidden camera to film himself being harassed and threatened while walking the streets of Paris. Photo: Screenshot.

Zvika Klein

Journalist

Initially, journalist Zvika Klein of NRG thought of the concept as simple: Walk the streets of Paris with a kippah and tzitzit, a tiny microphone, and a hidden camera. He also had a bodyguard in his presence. Variations on the idea had been tried in Sweden and in New York.

Klein’s experience? Spitting, curses and threats.

“What did I learn from this article?” he also stated, “Ten hours with a bodyguard is a nice project that films well, but after that, I returned home [to Israel], and here I can wear my kippah without any feeling of fear. For the Jews of France, my short video is a frightening reality. Even after the cameras are shut off.”

Klein and his story received international media attention.

“The global media didn’t know what to do with this,” he wrote. “How is it possible that a Jew would garner such reactions in the capital of France?”