Police cars in Germany (illustrative image).
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Paul Zinken / dpa / AFP
An act of "disgusting anti-Semitism".
A man in his thirties "seriously injured" a Jewish student on Sunday outside a synagogue in Hamburg, northern Germany, police said.
The man attacked the victim, 26, with a shovel in the face as she was about to enter the synagogue compound for a religious holiday, Hamburg police said in a report. Press release.
A "new shock for the Jewish community in Germany"
His assailant was arrested, said police, who stressed that he was wearing an outfit resembling a German army uniform.
According to the German news agency dpa, a piece of paper with a swastika was found in his pants pocket.
The victim, who managed to take shelter and was taken in charge of first aid by passers-by, was then admitted to hospital, the same source continued.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas immediately denounced on Twitter "disgusting anti-Semitism" which "we must all oppose".
From New York, the leader of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, for his part deplored "a violent, anti-Semitic act of terror".
The president of the German Conference of Orthodox Rabbis (ORD), Avichai Apel, called the attack "a new shock for the Jewish community in Germany".
“It is unbearable to see that hatred and violence against Jews continue to erupt in German streets,” he said in a statement.
Rise of anti-Semitism in Germany
The alleged assailant was arrested by police officers responsible for monitoring the religious building but gave the impression of being "extremely confused", making an interrogation very difficult, said a police spokesperson quoted by dpa.
He is a German from Kazakhstan, the source added.
The Jewish community of Hamburg celebrated this Sunday the feast of Succot, also known as the "feast of the huts".
According to German media, the synagogue was packed with worshipers.
This attack comes nearly a year after an abortive attack on a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, the biggest Jewish holiday, October 9, 2019. For lack of being able to enter the building, the assailant, tried since the summer, had killed a passerby then a young man in a snack bar in this town in the former GDR.
In a country haunted by its past, the authorities are worried about a resurgence of anti-Semitism in recent times, fueled in particular by the far right.
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