Germany: Ulm synagogue arson trial begins

A 47-year-old Turkish man who is alleged to have carried out an arson attack on a synagogue in Ulm more than two years ago went on trial at the district court in the southern city on Thursday.

Prosecutors in the nearby city of Stuttgart believe that the crime in June 2021 was motivated by antisemitic sentiment.

What were the circumstances of the attack?

The man is alleged to have poured gasoline alongside a wall of the synagogue and then to have set it on fire.

The conflagration left burn marks on the facade and covered a window with soot.

No one was in the building at the time.

The man fled to Turkey following his crime but was arrested at the start of July when he returned to Germany.

The trial is expected to finish in January.

Protection of synagogues in Germany

At the time, politicians condemned the attack and called for better protection of Jewish sites.

Antisemitic crimes have been increasing in Germany in recent years. The ongoing war between Israel and the militant Islamist group Hamas has led to an added upsurge in such crimes in the past few months.

In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel by Hamas militants, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that authorities had increased the protection of Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany.

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