A woman with Jewish roots in Berlin came home to find a Star of David drawn on the entrance to her apartment building on Thursday evening, as reported in the Berliner Morgenpost.
The 28-year-old told the Morgenpost that she didn't want her real name published because since the event she now fears for her safety for the first time, something she didn't think was possible in Germany.
The event frightened and shocked the woman as she wasn't sure if the person entered her building and found her apartment which has a mezuzah on the door.
"I was incredibly shocked and frightened when I got home on Thursday evening," she told the Morgenpost.
She was unsure who it could have been and how they had found her, she felt it could have been anyone a neighbor, deliveryman, postman, the options were endless.
She searched the area to make sure that it wasn't just random graffiti, she checked the surrounding area for similar markings on other buildings and doors, but she didn't find any. It was then that she decided to call the police.
Police offer platitudes
She said that the police officers on the other end of the call were very "nice and understanding", although she followed this up by saying that they offered little help except telling her to remove the graffiti to prevent further targeting. This was due to Berlin Police being overstretched and having little spare capacity to help.
The Berlin Police confirmed that an investigation into hate incitement has been opened at the Police State Security Criminal Office, which is a branch of the police that deals exclusively with political crimes.
There have been numerous anti-Jewish hate crimes in Berlin since Hamas's terror attack last weekend, according to the Morgenpost, with police increasing their presence near Jewish institutions in Berlin as a result.
“To date, there has been no call or email from the police, no discussion of my risk situation,” she told Morgenpost.
The woman is worried she may have become a target for Hamas sympathizers because she wears a Star of David openly and regularly as well as posting about "pro-Israel" demonstrations and solidarity rallies on social media.
She said she felt shocked that many of her German friends took the sign naively, telling her maybe it was someone showing solidarity with Israel because the Star of David is the national symbol of Israel. She plainly rejected this interpretation as clearly wishful thinking.
Several German newspapers highlighted that drawing Stars of David on Jewish people's homes and businesses was one of the main tactics of the Nazis.