A 37-year-old Afghan man was arrested on suspicion of setting fire on Thursday afternoon to the Bergische Synagogue in Wuppertal, western Germany, three days before Yom Kippur.
Prosecutors said he had made antisemitic remarks at the scene, according to the German Press Agency (DPA).
The suspect is believed to have hurled two bags containing flammable liquid at the synagogue, poured the contents of a third bag near a side entrance, and then set ablaze the liquid.
Synagogue staff were able to extinguish the flames within minutes, while the arsonist fled the scene. No injuries were reported. Two women are believed to have witnessed the deed, DPA reported.
The suspect has a previous conviction for threatening a neighbor, the report cited prosecutors as saying.
The mayor of Wuppertal described the attack as “utterly despicable” and called on residents to show solidarity with the Jewish community.
Several Jewish organizations condemned the attack.
“The timing is particularly disturbing as Jewish communities prepare for the holiest day of the Jewish calendar,” European Jewish Congress, an organization representing 2.5 million Jews across Europe, said in a statement.
“Attacks timed around Jewish holidays are part of a pattern intended to spread fear and push Jewish life out of the public sphere,” the EJC continued.
“Jews must be able to enter a synagogue, practice their faith and celebrate the High Holidays safely and without fear,” it added.
An arson attack targeted the Bergische Synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany, just days before Yom Kippur.
— European Jewish Congress (@eurojewcong) September 18, 2026
A man threw several bags filled with flammable liquid at a side entrance and set them alight before fleeing. The fire was extinguished within minutes and no one was injured.… pic.twitter.com/weQAbaUDY9
U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun wrote on X that while the attack is an attempt to strike fear in the hearts of Jews who observe their faith, “It will not succeed.”
“Thank you to local authorities for swiftly arresting the suspect in the arson attack on the Bergische Synagogue in Wuppertal. Education cannot just be about the past; it must teach us not to hate in the future,” he added.
Der schreckliche Brandanschlag auf die Synagoge in Wuppertal erschüttert uns zutiefst. Gerade jetzt, in der Zeit der jüdischen Feiertage, muss unsere Antwort mehr denn je sein: mehr Licht, mehr Menschlichkeit, mehr Zusammenhalt.
— Yehuda Teichtal (@RabbiTeichtal) September 17, 2026
Jeder Einzelne ist aufgerufen, gegen Hass und…
Yehuda Teichtal, rabbi of the Chabad community in Berlin, said that the attack “deeply shocks us,” calling on every individual “to stand up against hatred and aggression and to be an ambassador of light and tolerance.”
The Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee called for security measures to be “urgently strengthened.”
The synagogue was also targeted in 2014. Three Palestinians were convicted after confessing to having hurled incendiary objects at the synagogue, according to DPA.
