Authorities had received a “a very serious and concrete tip” that an attack on the shul in the town of Hagen could take place on Yom Kippur, the minister, Herbert Reul, said.
Officers tightened security around the building on Wednesday evening and searched it for bombs but found nothing dangerous, Reul, interior minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, told a news conference.
He said the shul had called off its Yom Kippur minyan. The tip-off had included details of the timing of an attack, he added.
Earlier on Thursday, police in Hagen said they had arrested four people as a result of their investigation into the threat and had searched various buildings.
Reul said one of those detained was a 16-year-old from Hagen with Syrian roots.
Germany has seen a rise in antisemitic violence in recent years, mostly carried out by the far-right.
In 2019, a right-wing extremist launched an armed attack on a shul in the eastern town of Halle, shooting dead two passers-by. Then, police faced criticism for being slow to attend the scene, though they eventually arrested the attacker, who is now serving a life sentence for the murders.
Algemeiner Staff. (c) 2021.
{Matzav.com}
