The attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Berlin sparked horror. “It is very clear that we do not and will never tolerate attacks being carried out against Jewish institutions,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Wednesday in Cairo. “This arson attack is the consistent continuation of the glorification of Hamas terror on German streets. The ‘Day of Wrath’ is not just a phrase. It is psychological terror that results in concrete attacks,” explained the Central Council of Jews. According to the police, two masked strangers threw incendiary devices towards the synagogue on Wednesday night, but they did not reach the building. There is a Jewish daycare center next to a synagogue.
Two masked people throw Molotov cocktails
The masked people threw two burning bottles filled with liquid towards the building on Brunnenstrasse around 3:45 a.m., the police said. “The bottles hit the sidewalk and broke. The fires went out.” However, a small fire broke out on the sidewalk. This was immediately deleted by an employee from Central Property Protection.
The community of Kahal Adass Yisroel had previously written on the platform that unknown people had thrown two Molotov cocktails in the direction of their community center. According to Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD), the presence of the police prevented the perpetrators from getting close enough to the building on Brunnenstrasse to actually hit their target.
The state security agency responsible for politically motivated acts is investigating attempted serious arson. According to the police, while they were still investigating the crime scene, another incident occurred in front of the synagogue: At around 8 a.m., a 30-year-old drove up on an e-scooter, threw it away and ran towards the building. Police stopped the man and temporarily arrested him, it was said. The 30-year-old defended himself and shouted inflammatory and anti-Israel slogans.
No justification for hatred
“It’s just crazy what’s happening here,” said the Parliamentary Managing Director of the Green Party parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, in Berlin. “In Germany we have a problem with anti-Semitism and Israel-related anti-Semitism.”
This act “hits us in the heart,” wrote Berlin’s Deputy Prime Minister Franziska Giffey on Wednesday on the X platform, formerly Twitter. The SPD state chairwoman also called on the capital’s residents to be vigilant. Berlin will protect Jewish life resolutely and with all the means of the security authorities. “This is also a task for all Berliners,” said Giffey. “It is unbearable,” commented the FDP parliamentary group on X about the attempted arson attack. “Jewish life is an integral part of our country. This violence has no place here!” she wrote.
GdP: More than 20 emergency services injured
After a further escalation of the Middle East conflict, riots broke out in the Berlin district of Neukölln on Wednesday night. There were major deployments for the police and fire brigade. According to the Berlin Police Union (GdP), more than 20 emergency services were injured. The union announced on the platform on Wednesday that stones and pyrotechnics were thrown at them on Sonnenallee, Hermannplatz and Pariser Platz.
“The images from yesterday evening clearly show that we are experiencing the effects of a religious war on the streets of the capital and that our emergency services are becoming the targets of religious fanaticism, which will become even more pronounced as the military situation worsens,” explained GdP regional chief Stephan Weh.
Interior Senator Spranger emphasized that the security authorities had considered a wide variety of scenarios in their assessments of the security situation. “That’s exactly why we increased the protective measures. That’s exactly why police officers were on duty again yesterday, preventing crimes and arresting criminals.”
