BERLIN: German authorities on Tuesday raided the homes of 17 people in the state of Bavaria accused of spreading antisemitic hate speech and threats targeting Jews online.
\nAccording to the Bavarian criminal police, the suspects were 15 men and two women, aged between 18 and 62, German news agency dpa reported. Police questioned the suspects and confiscated evidence from their homes, including cell phones and laptops, the agency said.
\nThe suspects were said to have celebrated the attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, and were accused of spreading hate speech against Jewish people on social media, using symbols of banned terrorist organizations, dpa reported.
\nThe police operation focused on Bavaria\u2019s capital city of Munich where nine of the accused resided. Further searches were carried out in the Bavarian towns of Fuessen and Kaufbeuren as well as in the counties of Passau, Fuerstenfeldbruck, Berchtesgadener Land, Coburg, Aschaffenburg and Hassberge.
\nOne suspect allegedly sent a sticker in a WhatsApp school class chat showing a clown with the words \u201cGas the Jews.\u201d Another person, a German-Turkish dual citizen, allegedly posted on his account that \u201cthe Jewish sons\u201d deserved nothing more than to be \u201cexterminated,\u201d dpa reported.
\nAnother suspect, a Turkish citizen, is accused of posting a picture of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks with the caption \u201cI could kill all the Jews, but I left some alive to show you why I killed them.\u201d Next to it, he posted a Palestinian flag, the caption \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and an emoji with a victory sign.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, antisemitism has an impact on the daily life of many Jews in Germany,\u201d Michael Weinzierl, the Bavarian police commissioner against hate crime told dpa, \u201cthe terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel also has an impact on their lives in Germany,\u201d
\nWeinzierl said it was important to show Jews and Israelis living in the state \u201cthat we stand behind them here in Bavaria, that we protect them here and also protect them from hostility.\u201d
\nLast month, Germany\u2019s chancellor and president strongly denounced a rise in antisemitism in the country in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
\nGermany has strict rules against hate speech. Raids in connection with the publication of banned symbols such as swastikas and other Nazi symbols are not uncommon. The denial of the Holocaust, in which the Nazis and their henchmen murdered 6 million European Jews, is also banned.
\nThe Israel-Hamas war erupted after the militant group\u2019s surprise attacks on Israel killed about 1,200 people. Israel\u2019s retaliatory strikes on Gaza have so far killed more than 12,700 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN: German authorities on Tuesday raided the homes of 17 people in the state of Bavaria accused of spreading antisemitic hate speech and threats targeting Jews online. According to the Bavarian criminal police, the suspects were 15 men and two women, aged between 18 and 62, German news agency dpa reported. Police questioned the suspects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-369373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n