Man shouts ‘Heil Hitler’ at rabbis discussing anti-Semitism at Geneva convention

JTA — A man shouted “Heil Hitler” and gave a Nazi salute on Tuesday to a group of rabbis meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

The heads of the Conference of European Rabbis were holding their biannual meeting at the Beit Yaakov synagogue when the incident occurred. The epithet was caught on camera as one of the rabbis was being interviewed in the synagogue courtyard by the Israeli news website Arutz Sheva.

Synagogue security blocked the man from entering the property and asked the rabbis to enter the building. Police were called to the scene.

“Outside, anti-Semitic calls are being made and inside we are discussing how to address these issues,” Rabbi Moshe Lebel, head of a Moscow yeshiva and the rabbinical director of the Conference of European Rabbis, told the conference participants. He was the rabbi being interviewed at the time of the incident.

“We strengthen the communities and hope that with the Lord’s help that the communities will be strong and resist these shouts and should not be overly excited,” he said.

The rabbis attending the three-day conference discussed possible solutions to issues facing European Jewry, such as the recent ban on kosher slaughter and circumcision in some European countries, Ynet reported.