Vandals targetted a synagogue in Graz, Austria, spray-painting pro-Palestinian slogans on it and another Jewish community building.
According to Jewish locals, the attack took place at both the synagogue and the Jewish community hall, with the phrases “our language and our country are red lines” and “Palestine is free” being graffitied on the buildings.
The antisemitic attack is said to have taken place at around 11 pm on Tuesday, Austrian tabloid Kronen Zeitung reports. It is just the latest in a growing trend of antisemitism in the city, according to Elie Rosen, president of the Jewish community.
The Graz synagogue has only been open for around 20 years and was rebuilt after being destroyed on November 8th, 1938, by the Nazis during the infamous Kristallnacht when Nazi members set it, along with community offices and a ceremonial hall at a local cemetery, on fire.
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The vandalism comes just months after a 16-year-old German in the process of converting to Judaism was assaulted on the streets of the city. He had been asked if he were a Jew, as he was wearing a ring with a Star of David on it.
“The situation has deteriorated considerably over the last five years, especially in the last two or three, the situation has deteriorated very much,” Mr Rosen said at the time.
“We’re not just talking about right-wing antisemitism,” he said and added: “All studies show a high proportion of left-wing and Muslim antisemitism.”
Graz has also become well-known as a hotbed for radical Islamic extremism in recent years and was labelled a “stronghold” for radicals in 2017.
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According to experts, at least 11 out of the city’s 20 mosques had links to radical Islamic theology in 2017, and many were under surveillance by local police and security services.
In 2017, a 25-year-old Bosnian living in the city was arrested after plotting to commit a terrorist act similar to illegal migrant Anis Amri’s 2016 attack in Berlin when he killed a dozen people by driving a truck into the crowded Christmas market.
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