Crime18 September, 20262 min read
Afghan Man Arrested for Attempted Arson at Bergische Synagogue in Wuppertal Ahead of Yom Kippur
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A 37-year-old Afghan national arrested for allegedly attempting arson at Wuppertal's synagogue. The incident occurred Thursday afternoon; flames were extinguished and no injuries reported.
Attempted arson in Wuppertal
An attack on the Bergische Synagogue in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, prompted renewed calls for stronger protection of Jews in Germany after a 37-year-old suspect of Afghan origin was arrested over an attempted arson attack ahead of Yom Kippur. DW said the Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a request for a detention warrant against the suspect, who prosecutors said set fire to the rear part of the synagogue using an incendiary device around 2:00 p.m. on Thursday and made an anti-Semitic remark during the attack. DW described preliminary investigations indicating the man threw two bags containing a liquid toward the synagogue, poured the contents of a third bag at a side door, and then lit the flammable substance.
Police said people inside the synagogue quickly controlled the flames with a fire extinguisher, preventing injuries, and damage was limited to minor damage to one door. In parallel reporting, The Times of Israel said police told AFP that the suspect “spread a flammable liquid on the steps in front of the synagogue” before “setting it alight,” and that “No one was injured,” with damage described as minimal.
Prosecutors, police, and Jewish leaders
DW reported that examination of surveillance camera footage reinforced suspicions against the man as the perpetrator and that authorities said he made statements immediately after his arrest indicating an anti-Semitic motive behind the crime. A DW spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s Office said the suspect “made statements clearly containing anti-Semitism,” while also adding there were “currently no indications of an Islamic background to the incident.” Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, condemned the incident and warned of what he called the “progressive normalization of hatred towards Jews,” according to Israel National News.
DW also quoted Schuster’s concern that the daytime timing reflected a “normalization of anti-Semitism” that the community has not yet received a response to. In the same Wuppertal context, Israel National News said Schuster described the attack as demonstrating “the progressive normalization of hatred towards Jews” in Germany.
Security stakes before Yom Kippur
DW said the Bergische Synagogue, also known as the New Synagogue, opened in 2002 and serves a Jewish community of just over two thousand people, as authorities weighed whether additional security measures would be imposed over the weekend. DW reported that Wuppertal mayor Miriam Sherv called the incident “extremely despicable” and urged residents to show solidarity with Jews, while the Wuppertal police declined to comment on additional security measures around the synagogue over the weekend. DW also said Schuster stressed that authorities bear responsibility for ensuring the safety of worshipers in crowded synagogues across Germany during Yom Kippur, which falls the day after tomorrow on Sunday.
In separate reporting, The Jerusalem Post said the synagogue is guarded by police almost around the clock and that the close security presence may have enabled officers to identify and arrest the suspect quickly. The Jerusalem Post further framed the incident as an “arson attack” ahead of Yom Kippur and noted that in 2014 Molotov cocktails were thrown at the synagogue.