In Berlin, unknown perpetrators threw Molotov cocktails at the building housing the synagogue at night – reports the German “Bild” citing the police. No one was injured in the incident. – 85 years after Kristallnacht, synagogues in the German capital are burning again. Anti-Jewish violence on the streets of Berlin has reached a new dimension, said Gideon Joffe, president of the local Jewish Community.
The incident occurred on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday around 3:45 a.m. in the Mitte district in the center of the German capital. According to the police, the building which houses, among others, synagogue, two people approached him and then threw two Molotov cocktails, i.e. bottles filled with flammable liquid, at him.
According to “Bild”, no one was injured in the incident. The place where the attack took place was cordoned off with police tape, and no information about material losses was provided. The search for the perpetrators is ongoing.
A synagogue in Berlin was thrown with Molotov cocktails
– 85 years after Kristallnacht, synagogues in the German capital are burning again. Anti-Jewish violence on the streets of Berlin has reached a new dimension, said Gideon Joffe, president of the Jewish Community of Berlin. – Jews in our city no longer feel safe – he added, quoted by “Bild”.
The building on Brunnenstrasse houses several Jewish institutions. In addition to the synagogue of the Kahal Adass Yisroel association, there is also a Talmudic school. The building was guarded on site by the police, but they were unable to prevent the attack.
On Wednesday morning, a man was detained for standing in front of the synagogue and shouting anti-Semitic slogans. It has not yet been confirmed whether this person was involved in the arson.
A synagogue in Berlin was thrown with Molotov cocktails
“It’s psychological terror”
The Central Council of Jews expressed horror at the attack. “This arson attack is a consistent continuation of the glorification of Hamas terror on German streets. ‘Day of Rage’ is not just words. It is psychological terror, leading to specific attacks,” the Council said in a post on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter).
“We believe that German law enforcement authorities will pursue this case with unrelenting severity. This is a decisive moment for every democracy,” commented the Israeli embassy in Germany.
As “Bild” emphasized, these were not the first anti-Jewish demonstrations in Berlin after the news about Tuesday’s explosion in a hospital in the Gaza Strip, which killed several hundred people. There were riots in several places in the German capital, and the police had to protect against aggressive crowds, including: Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
Protests following the shelling of a hospital in Gaza. Crowds in front of the US Embassy in LebanonReuters