According to local law enforcement, the incident is being looked into “intensely.”
A religious leader in the city claims that swastikas have been used to set fire to and defile the Jewish sector of a prominent cemetery in the Austrian capital. The event comes after a spike in anti-Semitic incidents across Europe.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Oskar Deutsch, a prominent member of Vienna’s Jewish community, denounced the vandalism and arson, claiming that parts of the city’s central cemetery had suffered significant damage.
He stated, “A fire was started on the Jewish section of the central cemetery during the night.” “The ceremonial hall’s anteroom caught fire.” Outside walls were sprayed with Swastikas. There were no injuries. Police and the fire department are looking into it.
Deutsch posted pictures from the scene, which saw firefighters examining a highly smoke- and fire-damaged ceremony venue. On an outside wall, there were also what appeared to be rudimentary swastikas written in neon paint.
According to Gerald Schimpf, a local fire service spokesman, the fire appeared to start somewhere on Tuesday night, but by the time firemen arrived the following morning, it had largely put out on its own.
Later, the Vienna State Police announced that Austria’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution was “intensively investigating” the incident. Local media reports said that police suspected arson, citing the fact that flames looked to have sparked in multiple locations, despite the authorities’ declaration that the precise circumstances of the fire “are not yet known.”
In a statement, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that “anti-Semitism has no place in our society and will be fought with all political and legal means” and he “strongly” condemned the incident. He continued by expressing the hope that those responsible for the attack on the cemetery will be “identified quickly.”
The incident in Vienna comes amid reports of similar incidents that have occurred throughout Europe in recent weeks, during which Israel and Palestinian terrorists have resumed hostilities in Gaza. Numerous religious organisations have been compelled to evacuate or close due to fears of violent retaliation against Jews. Earlier this week, bomb threats forced the closure of several Jewish schools in Paris. The Anti-Defamation League has reported a roughly 400% increase in anti-Semitic incidents this month in the US, prompting Jewish organisations to issue warnings about an increase in anti-Semitism.
