Status: 06.10.2022 15:51
After a window of a synagogue in Hanover was allegedly smashed on the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, the background to the crime is still unclear.
The police said on Thursday that there were no new findings. So far, no information on possible perpetrators, a motive or the course of the crime is known. The object with which the disc was destroyed has not yet been found. An anti-Semitic crime cannot be ruled out – but the officials also investigated whether it was an event without human intervention. “We are investigating at high pressure in all directions,” said a police spokeswoman. There is probably no video material, since there are no surveillance cameras in the affected area of the synagogue. State security is investigating. “If we assume that it was actually an attack, then it is the first time that something like this has happened in Hanover,” said Michael Fürst, chairman of the Jewish community in Hanover. He also heads the state association of Jewish communities in Lower Saxony.
Schuster: Statements of solidarity give courage
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, spoke of an attack on Thursday. It is shameful that Jews in Germany in 2022 will not be able to go to prayer without fear. “We are encouraged by the many expressions of solidarity from civil society and state institutions,” he said.
Stephan Weil: No place for anti-Semitism
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) expressed his sympathy and solidarity to the community members in a telephone conversation with Michael Fürst. “We stand firmly by the side of our Jewish citizens,” said Weil. Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) referred to the ongoing police investigation. “If it is confirmed that the window was smashed, this is not mere property damage.” Any form of violence against Jewish life is an attack on “our free, open and solidary society in Lower Saxony,” said Pistorius.
Havliza: “Ugly sign of anti-Semitism in our country”
Justice Minister Barbara Havliza (CDU) spoke of a shocking attack. “Regardless of who smashed the window, regardless of the motive: This attack on the highest Jewish holiday, three years after the terror of Halle and on the fenced yard of the synagogue, is an ugly sign of rising anti-Semitism in our country.”
People in synagogue celebrated conclusion of Yom Kippur
Michael Fürst, chairman of the Jewish community, shows politicians the damage to the synagogue.
According to the congregation, 150 to 200 people were in the synagogue when the window broke on Wednesday evening. “We were all concentrating on prayer, and around 7 p.m. we heard a bang,” said Arkadij Litvan, a member of the Jewish community’s board of directors. Nobody got hurt. After the police were alerted, the believers continued their prayers. “We won’t let these lunatics bother us,” said Litvan.
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State representative: Security of Jewish institutions important
The Lower Saxony state commissioner against anti-Semitism and for the protection of Jewish life, Franz Rainer Enste, said the incident showed once again “that the question of improving the security of Jewish institutions is anything but a phantom debate”.
Regional bishop: “I am horrified and ashamed deeply”
Ralf Meister, regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hanover, said on Thursday that it was intolerable that Jews were being threatened when practicing their religion. “The attack on the synagogue in Hanover last night horrified and deeply ashamed me. We must continue to work against any form of anti-Semitism at all levels and in all areas with much more determination than before,” said Meister, who has long been committed to the conversation between Christians and Jews. Hildesheim’s Catholic Bishop Heiner Wilmer said that “the evil of anti-Semitism is unfortunately still present in our society. Our Jewish sisters and brothers must be able to celebrate their services undisturbed and in peace.” He was glad that that no one was injured.
Shura: “On all levels against anti-Semitism and racism occur”
The state association of Muslims in Lower Saxony (Schura) also condemned the attack. “I am appalled by the anti-Semitic attack in Hanover. My solidarity goes to all my Jewish friends,” said Chairman Recep Bilgen, according to the statement. It remains a joint commitment against all anti-Semitism and racism at all levels and in all areas with much more determination to enter
More and more anti-Semitic incidents in Lower Saxony
The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference was also dismayed. “It is shocking and sad at the same time how, despite security precautions, Jewish life in the middle of Germany is being attacked more and more openly and unrestrainedly,” it said. “It fills us with great concern that such attacks are not only increasing, but also happening at ever shorter intervals,” said the board of the Orthodox Rabbinical Conference Germany. The number of anti-Semitic offenses recorded by the police in Lower Saxony has risen from 140 in 2017 to 269 last year, according to the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior. The majority of the crimes were in the area of hate speech in the form of hate postings on the Internet.
Security is to be improved – three years after the Halle attack
The incident in Hanover brings back memories of the attack on the synagogue in Halle on October 9, 2019. There, on Yom Kippur, a right-wing extremist tried to break into the synagogue by force of arms. He failed at a security door. Shortly thereafter, he shot dead two passers-by nearby and injured two others. As a result, the Jewish communities in Lower Saxony agreed with the state government after long negotiations to strengthen security precautions. Work on the synagogue in Hanover is to begin soon. Interior Minister Pistorius said on Thursday: “We have repeatedly intensified the protective measures in recent years and are in personal contact with representatives of the Jewish communities.”
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