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Investigators and police collect evidence on one side of the Jewish community building on Saturday morning
Photo: Ralf Zwiebler / dpa
According to the police, the facade of the synagogue in Ulm was allegedly damaged by arson.
On Saturday morning, a witness had observed a man who emptied a liquid from a bottle on the floor in front of the building and set it on fire.
The witness immediately called the police and fire brigade while the arsonist fled.
The fire was quickly extinguished.
There was a dark soot stain on one side of the Jewish community building.
As the spokesman said, the state security has been called in to the investigation.
As far as we know, there was material damage to the facade and a pane of glass.
No one was injured.
The background to the crime was initially unclear.
The police published a personal description of the perpetrator and immediately began the search.
A special commission was set up for the further investigation.
Rabbi assumes a targeted attack
According to the rabbi of the Ulm synagogue, Shneur Trebnik, the attack took place around 8 a.m., reports the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunk (SWR).
According to SWR, Trebnik is not assuming a spontaneous, but a targeted attack.
In recent weeks there have been protests in front of the Ulm synagogue in connection with the Middle East conflict.
According to local media reports, anti-Israel posters were also placed in front of the synagogue.
The police subsequently identified a woman as the author of the posters, but could not find any criminal offense.
On Saturday morning, the anti-Semitism officer of the state of Baden-Württemberg commented on the incident on Twitter.
He condemned the "arson attack against the synagogue in Ulm" and was already in contact with the police and the Jewish community.
dpa / afp / hpp