Almost one year ago, on the day of Yom Kippur, the world was shocked to learn of an unfolding attack by a heavily armed far-right extremist on the synagogue in Halle, Germany, while worshippers were praying inside.
Unable to gain access, the gunman then directed his violence outside. He killed two people, Jana Lange and Kevin Schwarze.
To mark the anniversary of the attack, mourn the deaths of the victims and push for concrete action to fight antisemitism, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) brought together Jewish community and government leaders in Halle for a small, socially distanced event at the synagogue on Tuesday, one day after Yom Kippur this year. The event came in advance of the October 9 calendar anniversary of the attack.
In a video message, Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and WJC Vice President Maram Stern, shared, “The attack on the Jewish community of Halle was possible because the security provided by the State was insufficient. It is a pity that Jewish facilities still have to be protected by the police. My deepest wish is for my children and grandchildren to see the day when such protective measures are no longer needed.”
Felix Klein, German Federal Commissioner for the fight against Anti-Semitism, recognized the real danger of right-wing extremism in the country today and shared that a German cabinet committee was recently established to address it, including setting aside 22 million euros for the protection of Jewish institutions.
“After the attack, nobody can deny the deadly dimension of anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism in Germany anymore,’’ he said.
He added: ‘’The federal government takes this threat very seriously. But protection is much more than only the protection of buildings. We need to protect the Jewish community in Germany as a whole in a holistic strategy. That means protecting them also in daily life, and that only works when we promote Jewish life in everyday culture. That is at least as important as the fight against hatred.”
Maram Stern recognized the efforts of German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in working to hold European Union member states accountable and developing a stronger shared commitment to what must be a global fight against antisemitism, and said that more action was needed.
“Why are the far-right parties still allowed to be as prominent as they are? Why is German politics not able to finish with all this? Something like this should never happen again, in Germany, or any other place,” he said.
Max Privorozki, President of the Jewish Community of Halle, reflected on how this year’s Yom Kippur was different from last year’s. “The most important prayer is Neilah, and last year, it was impossible to pray Neilah because we were all in the hospital or with the police. Yesterday, we prayed Neilah. To pray Neilah on Yom Kippur is the most important thing, and we did it yesterday, and I hope that the future will be better than we had last year.”
See the event on the following link: https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/halle
