A video that went viral on social media showed international pop star Justin Bieber appearing to perform a Nazi salute during a show in Finland. Jewish communities in Europe have demanded a clarification.
What happened at the concert?
Bieber performed in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday in front of 20,000 spectators, as part of a concert tour in which he will also perform in Israel this October. During the performance, according to the footage, Bieber was seen performing a hand gesture and marching in a line.
Members of European Jewish communities have demanded explanations from Bieber's production team after the video went viral.
"The famous singer slapped the face of millions of Jews around the world when he chose to miraculously start the Nazi salute, which symbolizes identification with the values of the Nazi Party and its leader, the Jewish oppressor Adolf Hitler," President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, said.
"The famous singer slapped the face of millions of Jews around the world when he chose to miraculously start the Nazi salute, which symbolizes identification with the values of the Nazi Party and its leader, the Jewish oppressor Adolf Hitler."
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt
"It is conceivable that a singer with tens of millions of fans and followers around the world allows himself to carry out such a movement on European soil, soaked in the blood of millions of Jews and other minorities who were brutally murdered by the Nazi oppressor.
"Using this movement on such a wide platform is an image of victory for the antisemites and it gives an incentive to the attackers," he added.
Goldschmidt said he "demands explanations from the singer about the humiliating gesture," and said that he calls upon "the State of Israel to consider canceling his planned appearance in Israel this October."