On Sunday, a man who was wearing a Bundeswehr (German army) uniform attacked a 26-year-old  Jewish student outside the Hohe Weide synagogue in Hamburg, with a foldable shovel. The victim was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries to the head but not life-threatening.

The student wore a kippah and was “clearly recognizable as a Jew,” the state prosecucor said.

After the attack on a young Jewish man in front of a synagogue in Hamburg on Sunday, the President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, Charlotte Knobloch, called  for effective policy measures against anti-Semitism in society.

In order to restore Jewish people’s confidence in their security in Germany, “the recurring cycles of outrage after such attacks” are not enough. The attackt – which occurred one year after another anti-Jewish attack in Halle – made it clear that Jewish institutions in Germany still needed protection, Knobloch said.

On Sunday, a man who was wearing a Bundeswehr (German army) uniform attacked the 26-year-old  Jewish student outside the Hohe Weide synagogue in Hamburg, with a foldable shovel. The victim was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries to the head but not life-threatening.

The student wore a kippah and was “clearly recognizable as a Jew,” police said.

His assailant was restrained by the synagogue’s security personnel and was later taken into custody by Hamburg police. Germany’s DPA news agency reported the 29-year-old suspect was carrying a piece of paper with a swastika in his pocket.

Police said the man,  a 29-year-old German with Kazakh roots, was accused of causing grievous bodily harm and appeared to be acting alone. A police spokesperson said the motive for the attack was still under investigation and that the suspect was “extremely confused” leaving investigators unable immediately to question him.

Members of the city’s Jewish community were at the synagogue celebrating the holiday of Sukkot.

The chairman of the Jewish community in Hamburg, Philipp Stricharz, spoke of a “terrorist attack” because such acts fueled fear “whether one can really reach our Jewish facilities to celebrate festivities without injuries or harassment”.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas denounced the attack as anti-Semitic and called on people to show more civil courage.

“This is not an isolated incident, this is disgusting anti-Semitism and we must all oppose it!” Maas wrote in a tweet.

“The hatred of Jews is a disgrace for our country,” said Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht.

Charlotte Knobloch spoke of a “completely uninhibited and violent hatred of Jews that is breaking out more and more”. Hate and intolerance prepared the ground for such attacks across all social spheres, including political parties like the far-right AfD. “The normalization of anti-Semitism on the Internet and in public space is making hatred of Jews more and more socially acceptable. That must change,” she said.

According to the Hamburg Interior Authority, Jewish institutions are given special protection on public holidays. A spokesman said the police presence in front of the synagogue was increased on Sunday for the Sukkoth festival of tabernacles. The entire protection concept was reviewed almost a year ago after the far-rightwing extremist attack on the Halle synagogue. The protection of the facilities will be coordinated closely with the Jewish community.

“As we mark the one-year anniversary of the Yom Kippur attack in Halle, Germany, which left two dead, I am saddened to learn that once again, this time on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a German Jewish community is confronting a violent, antisemitic act of terror,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said in a statement.

“We must ask ourselves, and German local and national authorities must address the question – why does this keep happening? Why is anti-Semitism thriving, and why does anyone believe there is room for such hate?” Lauder added. “Our young people must not learn from those who hate. The German government must take responsibility in strengthening education so that the next generation understands that hatred of any kind is never permissible. The long-term viability of Jewish life in Germany depends on it.”