The Catholic Bishop of Essen, Franz-Josef Overbeck, has denounced last week’s anti-Jewish protests near the Gelsenkirchen synagogue while expressing his solidarity with the Jewish community.
“There is no place here in the Ruhr area for anti-Semitism,” Overbeck said. “Together with the Christians of the Ruhr diocese, I stand by their side!”
According to police, some 180 people marched through central Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday evening in a spontaneous rally against Israel. When the group arrived at the Georgstrasse synagogue it was halted by a police blockade but continued chanting anti-Jewish slogans.
As dramatic as the current events between Israelis and Palestinians are and as urgently as the people there need prospects of peace, it is “completely inappropriate to bring the Holy Land conflict here,” Bishop Overbeck stressed.
A member of the Initiative against Anti-Semitism Gelsenkirchen holds a placard reading ‘fight antisemitism – No matter where it comes from – #never again’ during a vigil in front of the synagogue in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, on May 14, 2021. Germany vowed “unwavering” protection of its synagogues after scattered demonstrations over the escalating conflict in the Middle East saw protesters shout anti-Israeli slogans and burn Israeli flags, and around 180 people shouted anti-Israeli slogans at a march in Gelsenkirchen in the evening of May 12, 2021. (INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
The Gelsenkirchen protest followed on other protests and arson attacks against synagogues in Bonn and Münster and the former synagogue memorial in Düsseldorf in recent days, the bishop noted. “These events are sad examples of the challenges Jewish life faces again today,” he said.
Whether for Islamist or other motives, “our state and all parts of our society must put an end to a rise in anti-Semitism with all our might,” the bishop said. “We must do everything in Germany to make our Jewish compatriots feel safe.”
Münster Police dispatched officers to a local synagogue last Tuesday after receiving calls from witnesses who said that a group of “about 15 Arab-looking men” had gathered near the synagogue shouting and burning an Israeli flag.
In Bonn, other young men were arrested after burning an Israeli flag and throwing rocks at the synagogue’s windows.
Overbeck also praised the decisive action of the Gelsenkirchen police, which prevented an attack on the synagogue and promised action against the members of the group for sedition and disturbing the peace.
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