Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin early Wednesday morning (October 18) amid a spike in antisemitic incidents across Germany and the rest of Europe.
Police said two people threw "burning bottles filled with liquid" in what was described as an attempted arson. The bottles shattered on the sidewalk next to the building, and the masked assailants fled the scene soon after, the Associated Press reported.
Petrol Bombs Fell Short of Burning Synagogue
Other instances of violence were reported across the German capital after emergency services were pelted with bottles, stones, and fireworks.
Kahal Adass Jisroel synagogue executive director Anna Segal told the BBC that the Jewish community felt on edge and needed more protection due to the increased cases of antisemitism in German society.
"The situation has been escalating all of the past week since the war broke out in Israel," she said. "The tensions, we could feel them in the city more and more."
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Antisemitic Violence in Berlin
Jewish institutions typically have ongoing police protection in Germany and reports suggest that officers were at the scene when the attack happened. Police alleged that they also briefly detained a man who approached the building on a scooter and ran towards the synagogue shouting anti-Israel slogans.
Barriers have also been set up around the synagogue and Jewish community centers in the center of Berlin, with officers present along the street.
Earlier this week, police reported an incident of antisemitism after several homes were painted with the Star of David, fearing such action would be a renewal of a renewed Kristallnacht or Night of the Broken Glass.
Condemnation from the Chancellor, German Jews
Germany's Central Council of Jews said in a statement that they were "shocked" by the terror attack.
"Above all, the families from the neighborhood around the synagogue are shocked and unsettled," the group said. "Hamas's ideology of extermination against everything Jewish is also having an effect in Germany."
In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also condemned the firebombing incident.
"It outrages me personally what some of them are shouting and doing, and I am convinced that Germany's citizens are of the same opinion as me," Scholz said. "We stand united for the protection of Jews [in Germany]."
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