Austrian media reported an act of vandalism committed against the main synagogue in the capital Vienna.
The identity of a 17-year-old girl who took part in the night of Friday to Saturday in removing the Israeli flag from the Jewish temple has now been established. The teenager has been detained, BTA informs.
Passers-by tried to arrest the three perpetrators, there was an exchange of blows, but they managed to escape.
A video shot by an eyewitness and shared on social media shows a man, apparently motivated by political motives, climbing on the shoulders of an accomplice and pulling down the flag placed above the synagogue door, while a girl standing next to them imitates a shooting with machine gun.
According to the police, before this act of vandalism, which took place at two o’clock in the morning, the suspects made anti-Semitic statements in establishments in the center of Vienna.
According to police, the teenager admitted to causing property damage, but denied the charges of incitement.
The girl stated that at the time of the act she was under the strong influence of alcohol, and she met the other two perpetrators of the act of vandalism shortly before the act and they motivated her to participate. The investigation of the case continues.
Vienna’s main synagogue is now under 24-hour security. Until now, the temple was guarded only during services.
Illustrative Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-covered-in-tallis-reading-a-holy-book-5976142/