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Germany's Jews call for protection amid Israel-Palestinian clashes

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Germany's Jews call for protection amid Israel-Palestinian clashes
A police car outside a synagogue in Bonn on Wednesday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg

Germany's Jewish community on Wednesday urged the country to ramp up protection after Israeli flags were burnt in front of synagogues amid escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence.

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Police arrested 16 people in two separate incidents at synagogues in the cities of Bonn and Münster, where Israeli flags were set on fire late Tuesday.

Josef Schuster, president of Germany's Central Council of Jews, blamed Hamas for the escalating conflict in Israel and said tensions were spilling over.

"Israel and Jews as a whole are subjected to hatred and incitement, particularly on social media. The threat to the Jewish community is growing," he said.

Pointing to the flag-burning incidents, he said "the protection of Jewish institutions must be raised".

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"We expect from the people in Germany solidarity with Israel and the Jewish community," added Schuster.

READ ALSO: Merkel 'shamed' by growing anti-Semitism in Germany

Anti-Semitic crimes have risen steadily in Germany in recent years, with 2,032 offences recorded in 2019, up 13 percent on the previous year, according to government figures.

A German court in December handed down a life sentence to the assailant behind a deadly far-right attack last year that nearly became the country's worst anti-Semitic atrocity since World War II.

After failing to storm a synagogue, the gunman shot dead a female passer-by and a man at a kebab shop.

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rlesses 2021/05/13 19:30
German Jews are not responsible for the actions of the state of Israel, and should not be threatened or have Israeli flags burned in front of synagogues. That is blatant antisemitism.
ntrewartha 2021/05/13 10:53
All this started with Israel taking over Palestinian housines , butally forcing the occupants out. How would one feel if one got turved out of your own house. Isreal must stop this. Hamas tends to overeact which is not exactly helpful either. Perhaps Trumps disasterous Irael policy is probably the root cause of this.

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