Global Outrage Erupts
Nazi Horror in Germany: Antisemite Torches Giessen Synagogue Entrance After Hitler Salute
This outrage hits amid a surge in European Jew-hatred, fueled by anti-Israel rhetoric and radical ideologies. For Israel, watching from afar as its diaspora faces flames, it's a stark reminder: Antisemitism isn't history, it's here, armed with matches and malice.
In a chilling echo of Europe's darkest days, a 32-year-old man was arrested today for a brazen arson attack on the Beith-Jaakov synagogue in Giessen, near Frankfurt, after security footage captured him dousing the entrance with flammable liquid, igniting a blaze, and brazenly flashing a Nazi salute.
The perpetrator, acting alone according to police, arrived with a black backpack, poured accelerant on a pile of cardboard boxes pressed against the synagogue's facade, and set them ablaze, narrowly avoiding catastrophe as the fire was quickly contained.
But the symbolism screams hatred: Before fleeing, he raised his arm in the infamous "Heil Hitler" gesture, a direct nod to the Nazis who once incinerated synagogues across this very land during Kristallnacht.
Authorities nabbed him swiftly, but his motives remain under wraps, though the salute leaves little doubt: This was no random vandalism, but a targeted assault on Jewish life.
Germany's antisemitism commissioner has been briefed, with demands for heightened security, especially poignant given recent attacks, like the Oldenburg synagogue firebombing and Munich Hitler salutes.