German Jewish Students Raise Money For Muslim Kebab Shop

The campaign has already raised more than 12,000 Euros ($14,400) after originally looking to bring in only 5,000 Euros.

The Jewish Student Union in Germany is raising money to help two Muslim Turkish brothers who own a Kebab shop in Halle, Germany. The Kiez-Doner restaurant saw a patron murdered on Yom Kippur last year by a terrorist who had first tried to set off explosives in a nearby synagogue and it is now having financial troubles.

The students started a Go Fund Me campaign declaring, “We, the Jewish Student Union in Germany believe in a multicultural society in this country. We believe in peaceful coexistence, regardless of religion, nationality, or skin color. We believe in solidarity.”

Jewish kids in Germany helping Muslim victims of racist hate attacks. In America, this would be the basis of a made for TV movie for Christmas. For us, it is fitting to report on such Hesed (righteousness) on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

Germany is one of the places in the world to see a rise in the incidents of antisemitism in recent years. There has also been an increase in violence directed against Muslims. The campaign has already raised more than 12,000 Euros ($14,400) after originally looking to bring in only 5,000 Euros.

“We wanted to do something that would draw attention” to the owners’ struggles, “but would also provide concrete financial support,” Ruben Gerczikow, vice president of the Jewish Student Union in Germany, told the New York Times. “We were surprised by the positive reaction,” he added. “We never dreamed that we could raise so much so quickly.”