German police arrest man suspected of trying to torch synagogue

German police have arrested a 32-year-old man suspected of trying to burn down a synagogue yesterday in what is believed to be an antisemitic attack, local media reports.

Security camera footage outside the Beith-Jaakov synagogue in the city of Giessen shows a man wearing a black backpack raising his arm in what appears to be a Nazi salute, according to reports. He then lit a pile of cardboard boxes stacked against the building and walked away.

The fire caused damage to the synagogue’s entrance but did not spread further. No one was injured.

Police told German media that the suspect appeared to have acted alone and that his motive remains under investigation.

The incident is part of a growing trend exemplified by the arson attack on a Mississippi temple in the US on Saturday, says Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association.

“There is no doubt that this was an antisemitic attack, following the same pattern of synagogue attacks we have seen over the past two years,” Margolin writes on social media. “In the last two years, 21 synagogues have been set on fire, and an alarming number of synagogues have been targeted.”

Margolin called on leaders to increase the security measures to ensure that Jewish institutions remain safe.

BREAKING: A man set fire overnight to a synagogue in Giessen, Germany ????????, then gave a Nazi salute.

Security footage shows him arriving at the synagogue, pouring a flammable liquid at the entrance, and setting it ablaze. After igniting the fire, he raised his arm in a Nazi… pic.twitter.com/cfIENxgVSm

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) January 14, 2026