In Ulm, an investigative group of the police and the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) are still looking for the suspect, who carried out an arson attack on the Ulm synagogue on Saturday morning. The man is said to have entered the Weinhof in downtown Ulm around 8 a.m. The square by the synagogue is usually well attended at this time of day because market stalls are set up there. The surveillance video shows how the alleged perpetrator first observes the surroundings, then spreads a flammable liquid from a bottle over a two to three meter large area of ​​the synagogue wall. Finally, he then ignites the gasoline or alcohol pool. The actions of the alleged perpetrator were "brazen and very targeted", it is said in security circles, brazen above all because he could not have expectedto remain unobserved. A witness then reported the arson to the police station, which is located near the synagogue.

Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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    According to a wanted report from the police, the man is said to be 1.80 meters tall, he is said to have worn a dark hoodie and white mouth and nose protection.

    Because the attack took place on the anniversary of the beginning of the Six-Day War and because a few weeks ago a woman with pro-Palestinian posters demonstrated in front of the synagogue, it could be an assassin from the militant pro-Palestinian or Hamas-affiliated milieu.

    The Mayor of Ulm, Gunter Czisch (CDU), suspects that the attack could have something to do with the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas.

    Islamist, right-wing extremist or PKK supporter?

    According to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, the security authorities are now examining all three possible main groups of perpetrators who are suspected of committing anti-Semitic crimes in Germany: They are right-wing extremists, supporters of the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK and Hamas, and Islamists who are prepared to use violence. All three groups also have a certain following in the greater Ulm area, although the Baden-Württemberg university town has not been a priority area for Islamist groups for ten years. There was already an attack on the Ulm synagogue in 2017 - the stone facade was damaged at the time.

    On Saturday evening and on Sunday lunchtime there were spontaneous solidarity rallies in the Weinhof and in front of the cathedral. About 250 citizens came on Saturday. In addition, the CDU parliamentary group chairman of Baden-Württemberg, Manuel Hagel, the mayor of Ulm, the Baden-Württemberg commissioner for anti-Semitism, Michael Blume, the local members of the Bundestag and Landtag as well as the former Federal Minister of Education Annette Schavan (CDU) took part in the rallies.

    Mayor Czisch told the FAZ: “It was very right and remarkable that these vigils came on Saturday and Sunday. In such a situation we have to speak up and show our solidarity with the people of the Jewish faith in Germany. "Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) said:" I absolutely condemn the vile attack on the Ulm synagogue. It shows the insidious face of anti-Semitism, which we clearly oppose. "

    The security authorities in Baden-Württemberg have been watching the demonstrations in front of synagogues and Jewish institutions with concern since the Middle East conflict flared up again three weeks ago. Intensive discussions are being held about how the police should deal with these events in the future, above all how the safety of Jewish fellow citizens should be permanently reconciled with the requirements of the right of assembly. The fight against anti-Semitism has been a "focus of action" of the Baden-Württemberg police for a long time.

    At the end of last year, Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) appointed two police rabbis, Rabbi Shneur Trebnik from the “Israelite Religious Community of Württemberg” (IRGW) and Moshe Flomenmann from the “Israelite Religious Community of Baden” (IRGB). On the one hand, they should be the point of contact for Jewish police officers, on the other hand, it is part of their tasks to sensitize police officers in the police schools for the middle and upper-level service to questions of anti-Semitism and to inform them about Jewish life in Germany. Baden-Württemberg is the first federal state to use police rabbis. Shneur Trebnik is also a local rabbi in Ulm. The Jewish community in Ulm has around 450 members today, and its catchment area stretches from Lake Constance to Heidenheim.