A colleague told me he tried to buy a star of David pendant when he was in Israel, but the salesgirl was reluctant to sell because he was obviously not of the faith. He had to cajole her, and even after succeeding, he couldn't bring himself to wear it.

"Look," he fished out the lone silver chain round his neck to show me he couldn't even wear the pendant under his shirt. "Did you know anyone else who ever wears a star of David?"