(UnitedVoice.com) – Police in Germany are investigating what appears to have been an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Berlin. Two individuals, both of whom remain unidentified, reportedly threw Molotov cocktails at the property from the street and then fled the scene. The act comes in the wake of the brutal conflict that recently erupted between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Fox News reports that the synagogue attack occurred on October 18 at roughly 3:45 a.m. The flaming projectiles only reached as far as the sidewalk beside the building, where they exploded on the ground. The assailants, both of whom had walked to the site, kept their faces covered. During investigations a few hours later, a man drove up on a scooter and attempted to charge the scene on foot. Police detained him, and he reportedly resisted while yelling anti-Israel rhetoric. Sources haven’t indicated whether the two incidents are linked.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz immediately condemned the attempted arson. He stated, according to The Associated Press, that the country was “united” in its protection of Jewish communities. Germany’s stained history with the religious and ethnic group, due to the rise of Nazi power in the 1930s, makes attacks like this one particularly scathing. More than 1,400 German and Austrian synagogues burned before and during the Holocaust, which ultimately led to the brutal genocide of roughly six million European Jews.
The bloody conflict that began on October 7 between Israel and Hamas sparked fears of increased anti-Semitic strikes throughout Germany. The government increased security around Jewish institutions and began flying Jewish flags in front of city halls as a visual sign of its solidarity. Many of the emblems have since been torn down and burned. Other buildings have reportedly had the Star of David painted on them.
Similar conflicts are increasing in other areas of the world, as well, including the United States, leaving leaders in multiple regions working overtime to keep the peace.
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