Rabbis in Europe requesting kippah-wearing emoji be added to the archive

Rabbis in Europe requesting kippah-wearing emoji be added to the archive
By Euronews
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In a letter sent to the Unicode Consortium — a non-profit that approves new emojis — the Conference of European Rabbis said a fight against anti-semitism "starts with the small things", namely a new emoji that could represent the Jewish faith.

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Rabbis across Europe have requested that a kippah-wearing emoji become the latest addition to the growing archive in a bid to tackle anti-semitism.

In a letter sent to the Unicode Consortium — a non-profit that approves new emojis — the Conference of European Rabbis said a fight against anti-semitism "starts with the small things", namely a new emoji that could represent the Jewish faith.

Taking inspiration from the recent addition of an emoji wearing a hijab, which is a veil worn by women of the Muslim faith, the letter said images "accentuate and symbolise the diversity of the population".

The inclusion of Jewish symbols, such a kippah, would include the religion in "daily discourse among app users", it added.

The letter follows recent criticised comments from Germany's anti-semitism commissioner Felix Klein after he warned Jews away from wearing the kippah in certain areas of the country for fear of their safety.

He later backtracked and encouraged all Germans to don the kippah in an act of solidarity.

Anti-semitic incidents rose by 20% last year in Germany, according to the country's interior ministry.

This Friday is also al-Quds day — drawing the name from the Arabic word for Jerusalem — the day will be marked with protests across the weekend against Israel.

READ MORE: Germany encourages people to wear kippahs in solidarity with Jewish population

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