Anti-Semitic attack: arson attack on synagogue in Wuppertal

kna | The police have started an investigation after an arson attack on the synagogue in Wuppertal-Barmen. A suspect was arrested and there was minor damage to property, a spokesman for the Catholic News Agency (KNA) said on Thursday evening.

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany was affected. “What deeply disturbs me is the calmness with which the perpetrator in Wuppertal carried out this attack in broad daylight,” said Josef Schuster. There is no trace of awareness of injustice or shame. “This action testifies to the progressive normalization of hatred of Jews, to which our society has not yet found an answer.”

Schuster pointed out that the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, is coming up in three days. "All synagogues will be full. The security authorities have a duty to ensure the safety of the services. We do not want and will not allow ourselves to be deterred from living our religion."

The timing of the attack is reminiscent of the attacks on Hanukkah 2025 in Sydney, Yom Kippur 2025 in Manchester and the attack in Halle in 2019, the Central Council President continued. In Wuppertal itself, an arson attack was carried out on the synagogue in 2014. “The pattern of anti-Semitic violence remains, of choosing holidays to spread fear and further push Jewish life out of the public eye.”