Around seven months after the attempted attack on a synagogue in Berlin, according to the public prosecutor’s office, no suspect has yet been identified. When asked, an authority spokeswoman initially did not want to provide any information about whether and what measures might still be planned to identify the perpetrators.
According to the police at the time, on the night of October 18, 2023, two masked perpetrators threw so-called Molotov cocktails in the direction of the Kahal Adass Yisroel Synagogue on Brunnenstrasse, which is housed in a community center. According to investigators, the incendiary devices hit the sidewalk near the synagogue. One was able to be extinguished in time by police guards. The second incendiary device went out.
The incident caused horror across the country. The Berlin Public Prosecutor General’s Office took over the investigation. She justified this, among other things, with the escalating nature of the attack. The authority referred to the political situation in the Middle East after the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023, as well as the subsequent pro-Palestinian rallies in Berlin, which were characterized by anti-Semitism and increasing violence against the police.
More than 1,000 cases relating to the Middle East conflict at the public prosecutor’s office
Since the terrorist attack, the police and judiciary have recorded a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents and crimes in connection with demonstrations about the Gaza war. According to its own information, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office has so far had around 1,040 cases (as of May 17th). Of these, around 210 cases involve crimes during demonstrations on the Middle East conflict, as the authority spokeswoman said upon request. This often involves incitement to hatred, damage to property, insults or the use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.
The attack on Jewish student Lahav Shapira at the Free University of Berlin (FU) made headlines in February. The 30-year-old was taken to hospital with broken bones in his face. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating a pro-Palestinian fellow student with German citizenship for grievous bodily harm and classifies the case as a hate crime. According to the authority, it is still unclear when the investigation will be completed.
Announcement from the Attorney General’s Office dated October 19, 23