Latest news with #JewishLife
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Germany summons Iranian ambassador over alleged spying on Jews
Germany has summoned the Iranian ambassador after the arrest of a man suspected of spying on Jews in Berlin for Tehran, possibly as part of an attack plot. 'We will not tolerate any threats to Jewish life in Germany,' the foreign ministry posted on X on Tuesday announcing the summoning of the envoy, Majid Nili Ahmadabadi. It said the allegations against the suspect arrested in Denmark, a Danish national identified only as Ali S in line with German privacy rules, must be 'thoroughly investigated'. The man was arrested in the eastern Danish city of Aarhus last Thursday, German federal prosecutors said earlier, 'strongly suspected of having worked for an intelligence service of a foreign power'. 'In early 2025, Ali S received an order from an Iranian intelligence service to collect information on Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals in Berlin,' the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement. He allegedly spied on three properties last month 'presumably in preparation of further intelligence activities in Germany, possibly including terrorist attacks on Jewish targets'. After his extradition from Denmark, the suspect will be brought before an investigating judge at Germany's federal court of justice, the prosecutor's office said, adding that the case against him was based on findings by the German domestic intelligence service. Foreign minister Johann Wadephul, speaking after visiting a synagogue on a trip to Odesa, was quoted by German media as saying that, if confirmed, the case 'would once again demonstrate that Iran is a threat to Jews all over the world'. Justice minister Stefanie Hubig condemned what appeared to be an 'outrageous operation', adding in a statement that 'the protection of Jewish life has the highest priority for the German government'. German news outlet Der Spiegel said Ali S had photographed buildings including the headquarters of the German-Israeli Society in Berlin, which fosters cultural and scientific cooperation between the two nations, and a site where the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, is said to occasionally stay. Ali S has Afghan roots and is believed to have been working for the Quds Force, an elite branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Der Spiegel said. Schuster described the arrest as a 'final signal to all those who still play down the hate and annihilation fantasies of the mullah regime against Israel and Jews around the world'. The Iranian embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations as 'unfounded and dangerous accusations' that it said appeared designed to distract from Israel's recent attacks on Iran. Germany has stepped up already tight security at Jewish sites across the country since the Hamas attacks on Israel of 7 October 2023. Last September, police in Munich shot dead a man armed with a rifle after an exchange of fire near the Israeli consulate. Investigators said they believed the suspect had been planning a terrorist attack against the site. During last month's 12-day war between Iran and Israel, Germany's chancellor Friedrich Merz, a staunch supporter of Israel, said the country was prepared for possible Iranian attacks against Israeli or Jewish targets on German soil. Germany's relations with Iran have been historically tense although it is one of three European powers engaged in diplomacy with Tehran over its nuclear programme.
LBCI
2 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Berlin summons Iranian ambassador over arrest of alleged spy
The German foreign ministry said Tuesday it had summoned the Iranian ambassador in Berlin after a man was arrested in Denmark on suspicion of spying on Jews in Germany. "We will not tolerate any threat to Jewish life in Germany," the ministry said in a post on X, adding that the allegations needed to be "thoroughly investigated." AFP
News24
2 days ago
- Politics
- News24
Berlin summons Iranian ambassador over arrest of alleged spy
Iran's ambassador to Germany was summoned after a suspected spy was arrested in Denmark. The man allegedly scouted Jewish sites in Berlin on orders from Iranian intelligence. Germany warned it won't tolerate threats to Jewish life and is investigating possible terror links. Iran's ambassador to Germany was summoned by the foreign ministry on Tuesday after the arrest in Denmark of a man suspected of spying on Jewish targets in Berlin for Tehran. 'We will not tolerate any threat to Jewish life in Germany,' the ministry said in a post on X announcing the summoning. It added that the allegations needed to be 'thoroughly investigated'. The Danish suspect, identified only as Ali S, was arrested in the city of Aarhus by local police on Thursday, the German federal prosecutor's office said in a statement earlier on Tuesday. The man was 'strongly suspected of having worked for an intelligence service', they said. READ | Iran unleashes 'wave of repression' after Israel war - activists Ali S had, in early 2025, 'received an order from an Iranian intelligence service to collect information on Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals in Berlin'. To this end, he allegedly scoped out three properties in June. The suspected reconnaissance work was 'presumably in preparation for further intelligence activities in Germany, possibly including terrorist attacks on Jewish targets', the statement said. Speaking on a visit to Odesa in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that, if confirmed, the incident 'would once again underline that Iran is a threat to Jews all over the world'. According to German weekly Der Spiegel, the suspect had taken photos of buildings, including the seat of the German-Israeli Society in Berlin. Investigators believe Ali S was working on behalf of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Der Spiegel reported. Germany has been on high alert for possible attacks against Jewish people since the Palestinian militant group Hamas's assault on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza. In September, German police shot dead a young Austrian man known to have had ties to radical Islam as he was preparing to attack the Israeli consulate in Munich. German authorities have also been on alert for potential Iranian espionage activity on their soil. A German-Iranian national was jailed in late 2023 over a plot to attack a synagogue in the western German city of Bochum in 2022. Authorities said the plot was planned with the help of 'Iranian state agencies'.
CBS News
03-04-2025
- CBS News
Dallas rabbi arrested for alleged indecency with a child, officials say
A rabbi who served as the director of Jewish Life at a Dallas school has been charged with indecency with a child, officials said. Dallas police arrested 43-year-old Yizhak Meir Sabo and charged him with indecency with a child, sexual contact on Tuesday, April 1. Sabo was employed at the Akiba Yavneh Academy at the time of his arrest. Officials with Akiba Yavneh Academy, a modern Orthodox, co-ed, early childhood through 12th-grade college-preparatory school in Dallas, confirmed Sabo was arrested by Dallas police for indecency with a child. According to AYA, the school found out about the allegations on March 27 and alerted parents, staff and the community that day. AYA said Sabo was placed on administrative leave and law enforcement and Child Protective Services were notified as soon as the school became aware of the allegations. "The allegations were shocking and serious, and the conduct described antithetical to our school's culture and values," AYA said in a statement. The school also said the police "emphasized" that the allegations do not involve any students or staff within the early childhood program or lower school. The school said it is also conducting its own investigation into alleged misconduct. Sabo's bond is listed at $100,000.
