According to German newspaper Bild, a Jewish businessman, wearing a kippah, was attacked by refugees from Syria and Afghanistan at a ferry and train station on the island of Puttgarden. The attackers verbally identified him as a ‘Yahud’ (Jew in Arabic). They threw him to the ground, stepped on his hand and took his shoulder bag that contained money, a cellphone and other valuables.and knocked him down before kicking and robbing him.
Police later arrested the alleged attackers, a 30-year-old Syrian and 19-year-old Afghani, aboard a train heading to a refugee shelter in Neumünster, Germany. The assailants were released with the requirement that they report for a court hearing when called.
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While the German-Jewish community has been largely in favor of absorbing Middle Eastern migrants, its leadership has also cautioned that the influx could also prove a catalyst for increased anti-Semitic activity.
Police said they called the victim “Jew” in Arabic, threw him to the ground, stepped on his hand and took his shoulder bag that contained money, a cellphone and other valuables.
The 30-year-old Syrian and 19-year-old Afghani were arrested aboard a train heading to a refugee shelter in Neumünster, Germany. They reportedly had wanted to travel to Denmark on Friday but were turned back for lack of proper identification papers.
German Jewish leader Josef Schuster said recently that while openness to refugees is admirable, care must be taken to defuse and eradicate the anti-Semitic indoctrination that some Arab refugees might have brought with them from their home countries.
In November, Josef Schuster of the Central Council of Jews in Germany called on Berlin to impose limitations on the number of migrants being granted asylum in the country, telling Die Welt that quotas are necessary in light of the fact that many of the refugees expected to arrive in Germany this year “come from places where hatred of Jews and intolerance are an integral part of the culture.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
