AURORA, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 16: Crime scene tape surrounds the Shetland Business Park following yesterday’s shooting at the Henry Pratt Company on February 16, 2019 in Aurora, Illinois. Five people were killed and 5 police officers wounded by a former employee armed with a handgun. The gunman, who was killed by police, has been identified as Gary Martin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) A Jewish student was assaulted outside of a synagogue in Hamburg, Germany, on Oct. 4 in what officials are calling an anti-Semitic attack.
The alleged assailant, reportedly a 29-year-old man, hit the student in the head with a foldable shovel. Police immediately arrested the suspect, who reportedly had a piece of paper with a swastika on it in his pocket during the assault.
The victim, who reportedly was wearing a skullcap at the time of the assault, was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, although the injuries are not considered to be life-threatening.
Avichai Apel, the chair of the German Orthodox Rabbinical Conference, told the Deutsche Welle broadcast network, “It is unbearable to see hatred and violence against Jews erupt again and again on German streets, and this comes during the holiest Jewish holidays and one year after the terrible attack in Halle.” He called on Germans to “take even more decisive action against hate and incitement on the internet, against right-wing extremist agitators, against the Neo Nazi scene and crude conspiracy theorists, and do more for prevention, education and the promotion of civic courage.”
Other Jewish groups joined in.
“A Jewish student was brutally attacked and severely injured outside a synagogue in #Hamburg, Germany,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted. “A full investigation must be done into motivation and organization to better protect Jews who must be able to worship free of fear.”
A Jewish student was brutally attacked and severely injured outside a synagogue in #Hamburg, Germany. A full investigation must be done into motivation and organization to better protect Jews who must be able to worship free of fear. https://t.co/W09sYVKvHe
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 4, 2020
American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris tweeted, “A year ago, it was an attack at a synagogue in Halle, Germany, during Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Now it’s an attack at a synagogue in Hamburg, Germany, during Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Will the age-old & demonic pathology of #antisemitism ever end?”
A year ago, it was an attack at a synagogue in Halle, Germany, during Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
Now it’s an attack at a synagogue in Hamburg, Germany, during Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Will the age-old & demonic pathology of #antisemitism ever end?https://t.co/GHl6ObNmxc
— David Harris (@DavidHarrisNY) October 5, 2020
During Yom Kippur in October 2019, a gunman shot and killed two people outside of a synagogue in Halle. He attempted to enter the synagogue but was unsuccessful due to a lock on the door.
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