A bomb exploded at the Jewish Community Center in Frankfurt early Monday morning, causing an estimated half million dollars damage. There were no casualties and no arrests.
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl issued a statement a few hours later saying his government would take all necessary measures to protect Jewish institutions and property. Kohl’s statement followed a demand by Heinz Galinski, recently elected chairman of West Germany’s Jewish community, for better protection of Jewish institutions.
According to police, the attack occurred a few minutes after midnight Sunday, when unknown persons hurled a bomb into the yard of the community center, which is surrounded by a high concrete wall.
The building, which also houses a Jewish school, was specifically built to withstand terrorist attacks. All of its windows are fitted with special safety glass. Parts of the concrete wall and some windows were damaged by the blast, which community officials estimated at a half million dollars.
The office of the Saudi Arabian airline Alia, in Frankfurt, was also a bomb target early Monday, minutes after the Jewish center blast. Police did not say there was a connection between the two incidents but ascribed both to the latest events in the Middle East.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
