A large concrete block shattered the windows of a synagogue in Essen, Germany, in what is being investigated as an antisemitic attack, the Hebrew website N12 reported. A suspect was caught over the weekend on security footage throwing the block at the synagogue after being seen by Jewish community members wandering the area. The block landed in the office of the synagogue's rabbi, Chabad emissary Rabbi Shumel Aaronhov.
"We averted a great disaster because the windows are bullet proof," the rabbi said. "It was all of course reported to the local police, who came and examined security footage, where they also discovered that a similar event took place last week, when a large concrete block was thrown at the synagogue window – though back then it didn't shatter, so we didn't notice it until yesterday."He added that, "of course, the members of this usually quiet community are all shocked at this antisemitic incident... We expect the authorities to investigate and find those responsible for this and restore peace and order to the community."The rabbi said it was "quite disturbing" that the culprit or culprits were still free. Germany has seen a spike in antisemitic incidents in the past year.Most recently, in October, swastikas were painted over tributes to two victims of an antisemitic shooting attack that occurred last year at a synagogue in the city of Halle, Germany.