Police officers block a street in Hagen, Germany, on Sept. 15. Photo: Henning Kaiser/picture alliance via Getty Images
German police on Thursday detained four people in connection with an alleged plot to attack a synagogue in the western city of Hagen, AP reports.
The big picture: The arrests coincided with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, and come two years after a German right-wing extremist attacked a synagogue in the eastern town of Halle, killing two.
- The 2019 attack is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in the country’s post-war history, AP notes.
Driving the news: Foreign intelligence services tipped off German security officials about the threat, AP reported, citing Der Spiegel.
- A 16-year-old — one of the four people detained — allegedly said in an online chat that he was planning to attack a synagogue with explosives.
- The police also searched several homes in Hagen before detaining four, per AP.
- A service planned for Wednesday night at the synagogue in Hagen was canceled due to the threat.
What they're saying: "It is intolerable that Jews are again exposed to such a horrible threat and that they cannot celebrate the start of their highest holiday, Yom Kippur, together," German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said.