German Chancellor Promising to Protect Jews After Firebomb Attack on Berlin Synagogue
Following a firebomb attack on a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “we will never accept when attacks are carried out against Jewish institutions.” Two Molotov cocktails were thrown early on Wednesday at a synagogue in the heart of the German city by assailants, according to police, as antisemitic events have been on the rise in the nation as a result of the Middle East conflict’s development.
On X, now known as Twitter, the Kahal Adass Jisroel community posted, “Unknown persons threw two Molotov cocktails from the street.” In the city’s Mitte area, dozens of police officers were conducting an investigation in front of the synagogue, and the whole street adjacent to the structure was closed off to traffic.
Leading Jewish organization in Germany claimed responsibility for the assault on two individuals but provided no additional information. The Central Council of Jews said in a statement, “We are all appalled by this terrorist act. “Most of all, the local families in the synagogue’s immediate vicinity are alarmed and uneasy. Deeds follow words. Germany is also seeing the effects of the exterminationist ideology of Hamas.
A synagogue, a kindergarten, a yeshiva school, and a community center are all located inside the Kahal Adass Jisroel community’s complex of buildings in the city’s heart. Additionally, according to police, there were clashes between police and Muslim immigrants overnight in the city’s Neukoelln and Kreuzberg areas, as well as near the famous Brandenburg Gate, in which many policemen were hurt.
On Wednesday, Scholz told reporters while on a trip to Egypt that Germany would not tolerate anti-Semitic or violent demonstrations and that Jewish institutions would get more security. What some of them are yelling and doing personally outrages me, and I’m sure that other German citizens feel the same way, according to Scholz. The chancellor said, “We stand united for the protection of Jews also in Germany.”
Police have tightened security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and across Germany as a result of the savage assault by Hamas on Israel on October 7 and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. However, Israeli flags that were flying in front of municipal halls around the nation as a show of support have been destroyed and set ablaze. The star of David was painted on doors and walls of many Jewish-inhabited buildings in Berlin.
