Austrian Public Broadcasting Service (ORF) , August 24, 2020
German original: https://orf.at/stories/3178632/
After the attacks on the Synagogue in Graz and the President of the Jewish Community Graz, Elie Rosen, a 31-year old Syrian man has confessed. This was communicated by Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer (OVP) on Monday. According to Nehammer, an Islamist motive exists. Corresponding evidence were found in the man’s apartment.
The man is said to be a refugee from Syria, who has been in Austria since 2013. The suspect was arrested on Sunday at 8.25 pm, according the interior minister. On the occasion, the weapon used in the attack – a foot of a chair changed into a baton, as well as a back bag filled with stones, were found in the man’s apartment, according to Nehammer.
“The man was questioned until the early morning hours, he fully confessed. Investigators assume an Islamist motive, corresponding evidence was secured in his apartment,” Nehammer said during a press conference at the ministry of the interior on Monday, which was also joined by Rosen and Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Community Vienna (IKG).
Attacks Against Other Facilities
The man also committed other damage to property, including a Catholic Church and the premises of the gay & lesbian non-profit Rosalila PantherInnen. It was announced that he is being held responsible for seven offenses in Graz. Nehammer called the incidents “appalling” and “absolutely unacceptable.” “What happened here is not just subject to crimonal law per se,” rather the basic rights and freedoms of the Republic of Austria have come under attack, including the freedom of religion, Nehammer said. Proceedings to to deny the man’s asylum status have been initiated.
It is a common goal for all of society to ensure “that Jewish life can be lived safely and in particular joyfully. As the federal government, we will do everything necessary to guarantee that.” Following the press conference, the minister’s office announced that all Synagogues will now be guarded by both uniformed and plain clothes officers. Nehammer emphasized that “we will have to do everything to protect the facilities.”
No Accusations Regarding Missing Police Protection
Upon being asked, Rosen did not want make “any accusations” because he did not immediately receive police protection after the previous property damages at the Graz Synagogue. “No, I would not have wished for that,” it was not foreseeable that such an attack on him personally would happen, he said.
The fact that the arrested suspect is a Syrian citizen shows that muslim anti-Semitism “is a very serious threat”, said Deutsch. But that doesn’t mean that fighting this form of anti-Semitism should be the sole focus. “There also exists a right and left anti-Semitism, and in all forms also an Israel-connected anti-Semitism, which has now violently manifested itself in Graz. In Graz, the perpetrator moved from words to action,” Deutsch said. Minister for the Constitution Karoline Edtstadler and Cultural- and Integration Minister Susanne Raab (both OVP) also expressed their shock over the incidents.
Criticism for the Authorites and the Government
The Conference of European rabbis criticized the actions of the Austrian authorities after the attack on Rosen. According to news service dpa, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt criticized the authorities for not ensuring safety immediately with an eye on previous events – more on that at religion.ORF.at.
Criticism also came from the Freedom Party (FPO): it called on the federal government to ensure the safety of Jewish facilities. “It is inexplicable to me why the protection was not bolstered immediately after the property damages had occurred, thereby preventing the violent attack on Elie Rosen,” said the speaker of the FPO parliamentary group, Herbert Kickl.
It seems necessary to publicly call “the whole spectrum of radical forces, and not just parts of it,“ said Kickl, who, at the same time denounced “political Islam and a wide part of the radical left spectrum, “where hatred against Jews is stirred up under the smokecsreen of critiquing Israel,” according to Kickl. He is missing the necessary resolve when it comes specifically to those spectra, which could be connected to the fact “that there exist certain links with the smaller government partner.”
“Nobody Can Feel Too Safe”
During a common appearance with Governor Herman Schuetzenhofer, Mayor of Graz Siegfrid Nagl (both OVP), Deputy Governor Anton Lang (SPO) and Vice Mayor Mario Eustaccchio (FPO) on Sunday, Rosen said that the members of the Jewish Community are very concerned: “we are a very small community that is very solidary, and it hopes that it will be supported by the city- and state governments, and that political signals will come – and the come.”
It is important to the members to have a feeling of being recognized and also wanted.” The President of the Jewish Community further said: “extremism does not stop: we are dealing with anti-Semitism and homophobia. The fact that something like this can slop and spread so quickly has to wake us up. Nobody can feel too safe. We have to counter any kind of hatred even more. We, the Jewish Community, are not blind here and do not see this affecting only us: the domino effect is tangible rather quickly.
Broad Solidarity
The attack on Rosen did not cause outrage just in Graz. From Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on down, representatives from politics and civil society expressed their solidarity. On Saturday evening some 30 persons participated in a picket at the Synagogue.
On Sunday evening, some 200 men and women came together for a solidarity rally – among them many local and regional politicians. The people marched from Graz main station to the Synagogue and sang “shoulder next to shoulder against racism.” The signs and posters read “Never again” and “never forget never again” – more on this at religion.ORF.at.