A Jewish festival in the German city of Hamburg has been cancelled over fears of a terror attack.
Organisers of the Grindelfest received no specific intelligence of an imminent threat but felt they had to cancel anyway after a spate of recent knife attacks in the country.
On Saturday, a failed Syrian asylum seeker attacked a street festival in the city of Solingen, killing three people and injuring eight others. He had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State terror group.
“Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that, despite security and police support, we cannot guarantee safety. Just like in Solingen, we wanted to celebrate diversity—that greatly increases the risk of copycats,” the organisers of the festival in Hamburg said.
Local politicians described the move as an “indictment” of the city. Anke Frieling, deputy leader of the centre-right CDU in the Hamburg parliament, said, “I can understand the organiser’s motives very well, but right now it is important that such peaceful festivals for tolerance and diversity can be held safely in our city.”
Speaking to the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper, organiser Jimmy Blumm acknowledged they were “sending the wrong message and doing exactly what terrorists want to achieve,” but ultimately, Solingen changed everything. “We as organisers are responsible if something happens.” The paper said he was “visibly moved” during the interview.
Sonja Jacobsen, the chair of the local branch of the liberal FDP, which is part of Germany’s national government, said the cancellation showed “violent Islamism is the greatest threat to our free society.”
“The fact that the Grindelfest was cancelled makes me sad and thoughtful. If public Jewish life can no longer take place in Hamburg, that is an alarm signal,” Jacobsen said.
