Germany Condemns Anti-Semitic Disruption of Online Holocaust Memorial

The German government has condemned an anti-Semitic incident that took place during an online Holocaust memorial event organized by the Israeli Embassy in Berlin.

Unknown persons interrupted the online meeting with Holocaust survivor Zvi Herschel late Monday by shouting anti-Semitic slogans and displaying pictures of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Berlin police confirmed that a criminal investigation has been opened.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters Wednesday that the incident was “a disgrace, a despicable act.”

Seibert said the government expressed its deep regret to the embassy and to Herschel, who lost most of his family in the Holocaust. Herschel, who was born in 1942 in the German-occupied Netherlands, survived after being taken in by a Dutch Protestant family.

“The vast majority of Germans and the German government are firmly resolved to stand up to any form of anti-Semitism in our country,” Seibert added

Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, said on Twitter that the event had to be briefly paused due to the disruption.

Israel marked Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday.