Germany: War of Terror Against Israel Worries Authorities and Jewish Community

Since Hamas started attacking Israel yet again, the threat against Jews in Germany is increasing. While the security services are in the process of tightening the protection of synagogues and other Jewish establishments, antisemitic groups are organizing pro-terror rallies.

Berlin, May 12th, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — The terror war Hamas is pulling Israel into has repercussions in other countries as well, including Germany. Synagogues, schools and other Jewish facilities are increasingly being threatened, according to German-language media. The Jewish congregations report more hostile contact attempts. Two serious incidents have already been reported. In Münster, Jew haters burned an Israeli flag in front of a synagogue. The Bonn Synagogue was attacked by persons who threw stones at it.

Authorities Tighten Security

Because of the increasing antisemitism in Germany, all Jewish establishments are being protected 24 hours per day. Since the attack against the Synagogue of Halle in October of 2019, the protection was already intensified. For obvious reasons, the police do not talk about specific measures they are taking in advance, especially when they are about the protection of Jewish facilities. But, according to German media reports, including one by the ‘Bild’ tabloid, the Federal Criminal Police Office is already talking to the regional authorities, about tightening the security.

In the same publication, Felix Klein, Germany’s coordinator in the fight against antisemitism, demanded more safety for all Jewish establishments. He said protection was extremely important right now. Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, was quoted by the newspaper as well. He asked the German security authorities to be vigilant. The burning of Israeli flags and attacks against synagogues were completely unacceptable. “We trust the German authorities will take all measures necessary to prevent incidents of this kind from happening”, Ambassador Issacharoff told ‘Bild’.

‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

On Tuesday, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had stated, the missile attacks against Israel were “absolutely unacceptable” and needed to cease immediately. “In this situation”, Israel had the right to defend itself, Maas said. The “escalation of violence” was not tolerable.

The fact that Jewish organizations in Germany are increasingly being threatened during a war of terror against Israel, a country few German Jews are directly connected to, says a lot about all the hatred spread by terror organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and by their helpers. Obviously, this is not just about Israel, but about Jews, wherever they are.

Antisemites Organize Protest

In several German cities, anti-Israeli protests were registered for this coming weekend. For instance, Samidoun, a self-proclaimed NGO that is being run by members of the Palestinian terror organization PFLP, appealed to other antisemites to join a “popular, Palestinian and Arabic demonstration” in Berlin, on Saturday, during which it intends to call for a Palestine “from the river to the sea”, which would not leave any room for Israel. On at least one of its social media pages, Samidoun defended the war of terror against Israel. “Thanks to the revolution of our great people, victory is closer than ever”, it says there.