A shop owner has sparked fury in Germany after installing a sign in his window saying ‘Jews are banned from here!’.
The announcement was followed by a disclaimer in smaller print that the owner is not anti-Semitic but ‘just can’t stand you’.
The owner, 60-year-old Hans Velten Reisch, told German media he was forced to take the poster down on Thursday by the local police, who are now investigating the matter.
When speaking to the press, Reisch denied accusations of anti-Semitism and cited the actions of Israel in the Gaza Strip as a reason for the sign.
‘I watch the news every evening. And when I saw what the Jews were doing in the Gaza Strip, I lost my temper and printed out the poster,’ said the shop owner for Bild.
The SHZ reported that Reisch claimed he cannot distinguish between Jews who ‘are for and against the attacks’.
However, according to Bild, the owner later admitted he should not have blamed all the Jews, only those agreeing with Israel, but their ‘hypocrisy’ made him do it.
‘They always say history shouldn’t repeat itself, but then they do it themselves,’ said Reisch.
The authorities are united in the poster’s interpretation and have started an investigation.
‘This is anti-Semitism in its purest form, and of course, there are direct references to the Nazi era, when Jews were boycotted and there were many such signs,’ said Felix Klein, the Federal Government’s Anti-Semitism Commissioner for Welt TV.
The police confirmed to the press that several people reported the sign to them, and Klein welcomed it as a sign that the community does not tolerate any form of anti-Semitism.
The public prosecutor has also started an investigation of the owner on suspicion of inciting hatred.
‘This is reminiscent of the darkest chapters in our history. The fact that something like this is happening again today should not leave anyone unmoved. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the signals of these horrific and repulsive excesses,’ said Daniel Günther, the Minister President of the state.
On Wednesday, before the Flensburg shop sign caused the state-wide outrage, the German Chancellor warned the public that the criticism of Israel is often being used as a cover-up for the ‘poison of anti-Semitism’.
