Germany – Berlin police are investigating after a 53-year-old rabbi and his six-year-old daughter were allegedly attacked by four Arab teens in downtown Berlin. The rabbi required treatment for head wounds at the hospital.
According to the Jüdische Allgemeine (http://bit.ly/SSSB1N), the rabbi, who was wearing a kippah, was approached by one of the teens and asked if he was a Jew. The youth then proceeded to repeatedly beat the rabbi on the head, while spewing anti-Semitic insults and offensive remarks about the rabbi’s mother. The group also threatened to kill the rabbi’s daughter. Berlin police have classified the assault as a hate crime, while Berlin’s mayor condemned the attack saying, “Berlin is an international city in which intolerance, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are not being tolerated. Police will undertake all efforts to find and arrest the perpetrators.”
Dieter Graumann, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany said he was certain the police would capture those responsible for the vicious assault, adding, “This despicable attack on Jews in the middle of our capital is outrageous and shocking. It is not just an evil attack on Jewry in Germany but an attack against all of us, and against our common values of tolerance and liberalism. It must not be downplayed. However, we Jews won’t be intimidated by such callous attacks. We will continue vigorously to build our Jewish future in this country.”