Anti-Semitic attack in Berlin sparks political outcry

A state of anxiety and denunciation prevailed in German political circles in Berlin following an attack with suspected anti-Semitic motives, which resulted in the injury of a woman in the Berlin-Mitte neighborhood in the center of the German capital.

The Berlin police announced that two men directed "anti-Semitic" insults at a 43-year-old woman during the night of Thursday/Friday before last on the "Thor Straße" street in the central Berlin neighborhood, before one of them assaulted her using a broken bottle.

The police explained that the woman suffered multiple cuts in her hand while trying to confront the attack. She was taken to the hospital to receive treatment, and the two attackers fled. The police have not yet provided any additional details about the identity of the suspects.

The Star of David was the beginning of the incident

According to police, the incident began around 2:30 a.m. when the two men stopped the woman and asked her about the Star of David she was wearing.

The State Security Service of the Berlin State Criminal Investigation Office, which specializes in politically motivated crimes, investigated the case.

According to the German News Agency (DPA), the German authorities classify the attack as an “anti-Semitic” attack.

Greens warn of rising anti-Semitism

The incident sparked angry and shocked reactions at the state level, as a number of politicians in Berlin expressed their strong condemnation of the attack.

“We are seeing a rise in anti-Semitism from all political stripes, and it always remains just as dangerous,” said Werner Graf, head of the Green Party faction in the Berlin state parliament and the leading candidate in the state elections.

Graf added that strengthening the fight against anti-Semitism will be one of the main tasks of the next local government, days before the new elections for the Berlin state parliament and district councils scheduled for the end of next week.

The Left Party: a heinous crime and a threat to Jewish life

For its part, the Left Party bloc and the party leadership, led by the main candidate for the parliamentary elections, Elif Eralp, issued a joint statement in which they expressed their denunciation of the incident.

The statement said, according to the Catholic News Agency (KNA), that on the weekend in which Jews celebrate Rosh Hashana, the occasion should have been “full of joy, hope and a new beginning. But instead, a Jewish woman from Berlin was forced to defend herself against physical violence.”

The statement stressed that what happened was “unacceptable,” adding: “Wearing the Star of David must be possible always and everywhere without any danger. Otherwise, Jewish life will withdraw more and more from public life,” according to the German NTV channel website.

The party described the incident as a "heinous crime," calling for confronting all forms of anti-Semitism and ensuring the security of Jewish citizens in public space.

p.sh/a.j.m (dpa, afb, kna)