Germany vows ‘zero tolerance’ for attacks on synagogues

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged “unwavering security” for synagogues in Germany in an interview with Funke media group on Thursday.

Police have stepped up protection at Jewish temples and intervened at a number of anti-Israel rallies taking place across the country as violence escalates in the Middle East.

What did Maas say about antisemitic attacks in Germany?

Maas called on citizens to reject the idea of “blaming people of the Jewish faith in Germany for events in the Middle East — whether on the streets or on social media.”

The foreign minister, who placed blame for the violence currently gripping Israel on Hamas, said there would be “zero tolerance for attacks on synagogues in our country.” 

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Gaza wakes up to horror

  Israel targeted Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. The attacks have escalated in the past few days.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Locals flee for safety

  People evacuate a building targeted by an Israeli strike in Gaza City. At least 56 have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Militants have also fired rockets into Israel, killing at least six people.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Destruction in Gaza City

  Israeli officials say the military is targeting buildings that house the offices of militant groups or their leaders

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Rockets over Tel Aviv

  The Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, fired rockets on Tel Aviv on Tuesday night. Israel’s missile defense system protects the city and destroys projectiles in the air or diverts them so that they cause as little damage as possible.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Anxious waiting

  But the Iron Dome missile defense system does not offer 100% protection. When the sirens go off, Israelis know that they have to find safety in shelters as quickly as possible. Even if it’s 3 a.m.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  More danger

  Even if rockets can be repelled, falling debris is also dangerous. Here, a house in Yehud, just north of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport has been destroyed. The Israeli army claims that more than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Monday.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Finding cover

  People who fail to make it to shelters in time try to take cover as best they can, like these people in Ashkelon about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Gaza Strip.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Stones and tear gas

  In recent days, there have been many clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces in a variety of cities, including here in Hebron, in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel. Demonstrators threw stones and other projectiles.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  Taking position

  Security forces have used stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets against Palestinians protesting forced evictions in east Jerusalem.

• Rubble in Gaza, Israel as IDF’s battle with Hamas continues

  How long will it last?

  As it does not look like there will be any de-escalation for some time, some Palestinians in Gaza City have taken refuge at the UN compound for fear of further airstrikes.

  Author: Uta Steinwehr

German president: ‘Hatred of Jews will not be tolerated — no matter from whom’

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier underscored that commitment on Thursday: “Nothing can justify threats against Jews in Germany or attacks on synagogues in German cities. Whoever burns Star of David flags or shouts anti-Semitic slogans on our streets is not only abusing the right to demonstrate but committing a crime,” he told Germany’s Bild newspaper. “We neither want to nor will we tolerate the hatred of Jews — no matter from whom.”

Anti-Israel demonstrations in a number of major German cities, more planned

Germany has seen a number of large demonstrations over the past couple of days, with the latest being staged in Hannover and Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday night and in Bremen and Munich on Thursday. The protests drew several hundred participants each, and saw anti-Israeli as well as antisemitic chants, as well as the burning of Israeli flags.

“The burning of Israeli flags and attacks on Jewish institutions on German soil will not be tolerated,” said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.

Police have detained several individuals in connection to rocks being thrown through the windows of synagogues across the country on Wednesday and Thursday.

A statement from the Interior Ministry on Thursday said that “security agencies expect intensifying protest activities by Palestinians in Germany as well as parts of the leftist scene.” 

Police in Berlin said pro-Palestinian groups had called for three demonstrations in the city’s Neukölln and Kreuzberg neighborhoods this weekend.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Cologne, 1959: Swastikas and hate speech

  In December 1959, two members of the Deutsche Reichspartei (DRP) right-wing extremist party painted swastikas and the words “Germans demand: Jews out” on the synagogue in Cologne. Anti-Semitic graffiti emerged across the country. The perpetrators were convicted, and the Bundestag passed a law against “incitement of the people,” which remains on the books to this day.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Lübeck, 1994: First arson attack on a temple in decades

  People across the world were horrified at the March 1994 attack on the synagogue in the northern city of Lübeck. For the first time in decades, a synagogue in Germany burned. Four right-wing extremists were eventually convicted of arson. The day after the fire, 4,000 locals took to the streets under the slogan “Lübeck holds its breath.” In 1995, the same synagogue was hit by another arson attack.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Essen, 2000: Stones hurled into Old Synagogue

  Armed with paving stones, more than 100 Palestinians from Lebanon attacked the Old Synagogue in Essen in October 2000. The incident occurred after a demonstration against “violence in the Middle East.” A police officer was injured. Mahmud Alaeddin, deputy head of the general delegation of Palestine in Germany, distanced himself from the attack.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Düsseldorf, 2000: Arson and stones

  A 19-year-old Palestinian and a 20-year-old Moroccan damaged Düsseldorf’s New Synagogue with incendiary devices and rocks in October 2000 as “revenge” against Jews and the state of Israel. “We need the respectable people to rebel” against anti-Semitism, then-German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder demanded. The federal and state governments and various NGOs launched campaigns to counter extremism.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Mainz, 2010: Molotov cocktail attack shortly after inauguration

  Shortly after being inaugurated in September 2010, an arson attack hit the New Synagogue in Mainz during the night of October 30. The spectacular Deconstructivist building by architect Manuel Herz was erected on the site of the former main synagogue that was set on fire during the Kristallnacht, the Nazis’ national night of pogroms, in 1938.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Wuppertal, 2014: Incendiary devices

  In July 2014, three young Palestinians hurled incendiary devices at the front door of the synagogue in Wuppertal. In a highly controversial decision, the court ruled there was “no evidence whatsoever” of anti-Semitic motives. Jews in Germany and the foreign media were outraged. The chairman of the Jewish Community Wuppertal declared the ruling as “an invitation to further crimes.”

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Berlin, 2019: Knife-wielding attacker

  A man wielding a knife climbed over a barrier at Berlin’s New Synagogue on the eve of Shabbat on October 4, 2019, during the holy period between the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Security personnel overwhelmed the attacker, whose motive remained unclear. Police released him afterwards, a decision Jewish leaders called “a failure” of justice.

• Attacks on synagogues in Germany

  Halle, 2019: Shooter attempts mass murder on Yom Kippur

  About 80 people were in the synagogue on Wednesday afternoon to observe Yom Kippur, the Jewish calendar’s holiest day. The alleged attacker reportedly attempted to shoot his way into the synagogue but was prevented by a safety door. Two passersby were shot to death and two were injured. The suspect, who has a history of right-wing extremist, anti-Semitic, and misogynist rhetoric, was detained.

  Author: Bettina Baumann

Jewish group condemns ‘pure antisemitism’

On Thursday, the Central Council of Jews in Germany condemned the ongoing demonstrations and vandalism. The group also released a disturbing video on Twitter that was recorded in the city of Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday evening. In it, police can be seen standing in front of a group of individuals carrying Palestinian and Turkish flags and loudly chanting primitive antisemitic slogans. 

The tweet read: “Hatred of Jews in front of the Gelsenkirchen synagogue. The days when Jews are openly insulted on the streets should be far behind us. This is nothing other than pure antisemitism.”  

Police reacted to criticism that they had not intervened by saying their main goal was to protect the synagogue. They added that there had not been enough officers at the scene to detain anyone,and that the crowd was dispersed once backup arrived. 

js/rt (dpa, AFP)

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