Vienna’s main Jewish cemetery was hit by an arson and vandalism attack on Wednesday, as antisemitism continues to rise in Austria and across Europe in the wake of the Hamas assault on Israel.
Vienna police confirmed that shortly after 8 am, the city’s fire department was called out to Vienna’s central cemetery to deal with a blaze in the Jewish ceremonial hall where funeral services are held.
The site in the south-east of the city contains two Jewish cemeteries: the old cemetery and the newer, working cemetery, where the ceremonial hall, opened in 1928, is located.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. Pictures shared by Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Community of Vienna, showed that a room adjacent to the main chamber of the ceremonial hall had been burned out.
