Swastika graffiti and fire: Suspected arson attack at the Jewish cemetery in Vienna

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Jewish gravestones at the Central Cemetery of Vienna

Photo: Digitalpress / Shotshop / IMAGO

On Wednesday night, a fire broke out in the Jewish part of the Central Cemetery in Vienna. As the president of the Jewish Community in Vienna writes on X, formerly Twitter, the anteroom of the ceremonial hall is said to have burned out.

In addition, unknown persons are said to have sprayed swastikas on the outer walls, wrote Oskar German, who held the office in 2012.

Only the outbuilding was affected by the fire. Around 20 firefighters were on site from eight o'clock. The fire had apparently already gone out on its own. "All that was left to do was to extinguish embers and remove smoke and ventilate the rooms," said a spokesman for the Vienna Fire Department. ORF.at. No one was injured. The police have started an investigation.

After Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel, demonstrations with anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli slogans also took place in Austria. The president of the Jewish Community of German called for such demonstrations to be banned.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer condemned the alleged attack on Platform X: "Anti-Semitism has no place in our society and will be fought with all political and constitutional means," he wrote.

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