Jewish graveyard vandalised

German police are investigating the desecration of six tombstones in a Jewish graveyard near the northeastern city of Rostock…

German police are investigating the desecration of six tombstones in a Jewish graveyard near the northeastern city of Rostock.

Unknown vandals sprayed swastikas on the gravestones and, on the graveyard walls, the Nazi rallying slogan “Sieg Heil” and “S**t Jews”. Police in Rostock said they had a “good idea” who was responsible for the desecration on Monday.

Meanwhile, Berlin police are still hunting for four youths, believed to be of Arab origin, who attacked a rabbi last week.

Daniel Alter, one of the first rabbis ordained in Germany since the Holocaust, was stopped in the city’s Schöneberg neighbourhood and asked if he was a Jew. When he confirmed he was, the youths hit him repeatedly in the face and threatened to kill his daughter (6), who was with him at the time. The youths fled, leaving Mr Alter with a fractured cheekbone.

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Derek Scally

Derek Scally

Derek Scally is an Irish Times journalist based in Berlin