A Berlin synagogue has been attacked with Molotov cocktails as incidents of antisemitism rise in the German capital.
The Kahal Adass Jisroel community said its synagogue in the city’s Mitte neighborhood was attacked with two incendiary devices early on Wednesday.
Police confirmed the incident and said they have launched an investigation.
The community wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Unknown persons threw two Molotov cocktails from the street."
Dozens of police officers were scrambled to the synagogue which was cordoned off to allow detectives and forensics officers to gather evidence
The Central Council of Jews said in a statement: “We are all shocked by this terrorist attack. Above all, the families from the neighbourhood around the synagogue are shocked and unsettled. Words become deeds. Hamas’ ideology of extermination against everything Jewish is also having an effect in Germany.”
The building complex of the Kahal Adass Jisroel community in the centre of Berlin houses a synagogue, a kindergarten, a yeshiva school and a community centre.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after the attack: “It outrages me personally what some of them are shouting and doing, and I am convinced that Germany’s citizen are of the same opinion as me.
“We stand united for the protection also of Jews."
Police also said there were riots overnight between Muslim immigrants and police in the city’s Neukoelln and Kreuzberg neighborhoods and at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate in which several officers were injured.
Security has been tightened around Jewish institutions across Germany following the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, which claimed up to 1,400 lives and the ensuing Israeli bombing campaign on Gaza. More than 100 hostages taken by Hamas in its attack still remain in captivity in Gaza.
Israeli flags that were flown as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt. Several building in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls, according to authorities in Germany.
