German police arrest man suspected of trying to torch synagogue |
German police arrested a 32-year-old man suspected of trying to burn down a synagogue in what is believed to be an antisemitic attack, local media reported on Wednesday.
Security camera footage outside the Beith-Jaakov synagogue in the city of Giessen showed a man wearing a black backpack raising his arm in what appears to be a Nazi salute on Tuesday, according to reports. He then lit a pile of cardboard boxes stacked against the building and walked away.
The fire caused damage to the synagogue’s entrance but did not spread further. No one was injured.
Police told German media that the suspect appeared to have acted alone and that his motive remains under investigation.
The suspect is being held in a psychiatric hospital.
The incident is part of a growing trend exemplified by the arson attack on a Mississippi temple in the US on Saturday, said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association.
Was ist mit Dir los, Deutschland?
Ein Brandanschlag auf eine Synagoge lässt Dich kalt? Kein Aufschrei, keine Omas gegen sonst was,........