VIENNA: WOMAN WITH KNIFE ATTACKS RABBI, YELLS ANTI-SEMITIC THREAT

Fri 27 November 2020:

A knife-wielding woman screamed ‘’slaughter all Jews’’ when she attacked a rabbi and ripped off his kippah on Thursday in Vienna.

The incident occurred Thursday afternoon when the woman, described as about 50 years old and wearing a gray coat, suddenly approached the rabbi and pulled the knife from her handbag.

Police searched the area but were unable to find the woman.

Austria’s top security official, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, condemned the crime as an ‘attack on Jewish life in Vienna’ and the case has been taken over by the agency that investigates acts of extremism and terrorism.

Nehammer said: ‘In addition to the increased protection of synagogues that has already been ordered, all measures are being taken to quickly clear up this apparently anti-Semitic attack.

‘There is no tolerance for anti-Semitism, no matter whether it’s politically or religiously motivated.’

Police said the rabbi told first responders he had suffered no physical injuries.

FILE PHOTO