On Oct. 9, a gunman who appeared to be dressed in military-style clothing tried to gain access into a synagogue in Halle, a town in eastern Germany, by shooting at the locks in a way that can only be described as a rampage.
The people inside, gathering to worship Yom Kippur which is the holiest day of the year in Judaism, watched in terror as the cameras located outside of the building recorded the gunman. Although the man never gained access to the synagogue with 51 Jewish people inside, two passersby were killed and several more were severely injured when the gunman targeted a nearby kebab shop. The attacker, who has since been apprehended, also used hand grenades and firecrackers in the attack.
Germany is no stranger to antisemitism and has a very dark history that many people recognize as the most gruesome genocides of human history. During World War II, nearly six million European Jews were massacred by the German Nazi regime.
Even with its dark past, Germany’s oppression of Jews is on the rise. After many attacks across the country, German Jews were warned by government officials not to wear their kippahs in public. These warnings were motivated by the protection of German Jews against people like German politician, Bjoern Hoecke, who called Berlin’s holocaust memorial a “monument of shame”. (CNN)
Anti-Semitism, or hostility towards Jews, predates Hitler’s “final solution”, and even shows itself in the ancient world. Around the 1st Century BC, Roman authorities forced five million Jewish people to leave Palestine and claimed it as their own. While some were allowed to leave peacefully, others became victims of violence. Other examples for the unfair treatment of Jews are endless and continuing into today like the shooting in Halle.
Not just at home but all around the world, hate crimes and gun violence continue to be an issue and it is probably something that will never stop. It is crucial to be aware of the hate that is present all around us so we can use our own knowledge to be thoughtful about our actions and what we release into society. The attainability of peace on Earth is something that is highly debated and although it may not be, we can use what we know about hate and discrimination to act against it within minorities and oppressed groups of people.
Additional Sources:
コメント