German Chancellor Olaf Scholz strongly condemned a firebomb assault on a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, saying “we will never accept when attacks are carried out against Jewish institutions.”

Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails early Wednesday at the Kahal Adass Shul in the center of the German capital, police said, as antisemitic incidents in the country have been rising in the wake of the war following the brutal Hamas assault on Israel a week and a half ago.

“Unknown persons threw two Molotov cocktails from the street,” the Kahal Adass Jisroel community wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Dozens of police officers were investigating in front of the synagogue in the city’s Mitte neighborhood, and the entire street next to the building was cordoned off and blocked for traffic.

The shul is part of a complex in central Berlin which also houses a pre-school and a community center.

Police said they were investigating “an attempted serious arson” in which two people approached the synagogue by foot at 3:45 a.m. and threw two Molotov cocktails, which burst on the sidewalk next to the building. The two people, their faces covered, ran away. There were also violent riots overnight by pro-Palestinian groups in several areas in Berlin. Several police officers were injured as they tried to control the crowd.

Heute Nacht (18.10.) wurde ein versuchter Brandanschlag auf unsere Gemeinde Kahal Adass Jisroel verübt. Unbekannte warfen dabei 2 Molotow-Cocktails von der Straße aus in Richtung unseres Gemeindezentrums in der Brunnenstraße in Berlin-Mitte. pic.twitter.com/tnh0UIV9mw

— Kahal Adass Jisroel (@KAJ_Berlin) October 18, 2023

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem & AP)