The synagogue in the German city of Halle suffered an attack where a man forcibly broke into their place of worship on the holiest day for Jews. The senior German officials visited the scene of the crime to meet the Jewish community to console them after they were rattled by the incident. It was reported that two people were murdered during the assault which took place outside the synagogue and in a kebab shop. The Jewish people in Germany are again feeling the horrors of the holocaust. The attack stirred new concerns among people with respect to rising far-right extremism and uncertainties about the police response. 

No police officials outside the synagogue

During the attack, there were no police officers present outside the Jewish synagogue making it vulnerable to attacks. Josef Schuster, who is the head of Germany’s Jewish community, blamed the police and called the absence of the police officers outside the synagogue as part of improper behavior. His statement points out that the Jews are still unsafe in the city and depend on the police. The members were locked behind the doors and waited for the police officials to arrive for more than 10 minutes. 

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Gunman belonged to extreme-right background

The prosecutor Stephan B identified the attacker as a German citizen. The gunman used home-made weapons to execute the attack. However, it was a failed attempt as there were 80 people present inside the place of worship, yet he managed to kill one woman on the street and a man in the kebab shop. The officials identified him as a 27-year old German citizen, who belongs to an extreme-right background. The motives behind the attack are yet not clear. But there are speculations that the attacker probably uploaded the video of the attack on a live-streaming gaming platform. The reports reveal that policies have not confirmed the details of the attack, and the case will be taken over by the anti-terrorism agents.

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Angela Merkel asked for solidarity

The attack was criticised by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her spokesperson further expressed condolences and asked for "solidarity for all Jews on the holy day of Yom Kippur." The head of the Jewish community reported that the people inside the synagogue saw everything and were scared. They all were rescued several hours later the incident and finally felt a sigh of relief. 

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Incidence of violence increasing in Germany

The video of the attacker was published on a famous gaming site, where one can hear him ranting about the Jews, saying anti-Semitic remarks and denied that the Holocaust ever happened. The Domestic Intelligence agency of Germany has reported a sudden increase in the number of attacks against the Jews from 21 in the previous year to 48 in 2019. The reports also reveal that there is an increase in the number of far-right extremist accounts for a total of 24,100. These people are considered to be potentially violent. Such rising acts of violence are periodically reported and are a serious matter of concern.

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