Nearly 88 years after German police officer Wilhelm Krützfeld stopped Nazi rioters at gunpoint from burning down the New Synagogue on Oranienburger Street in central Berlin during Kristallnacht in 1938, the same building will host an event Thursday organized by the International March of the Living under the banner "Not on Our Watch." The gathering will draw a direct connection between the events of the past and the rise in antisemitism and attacks on Jewish institutions today, while examining ways to prevent further violence.
Senior police and law enforcement officials from Germany, other European countries and the United States will attend the event, which will feature testimonies from Holocaust survivors and victims of contemporary antisemitism. Approximately 100 police officers will form a living tribute honoring Krützfeld's courage and heroism.
The gathering will also present findings from a report by the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry, which documented 244 incidents targeting synagogues, Chabad centers and worshippers in their immediate vicinity across 34 countries between October 7, 2023, and October 21, 2026. The number of incidents increased each year during the period covered by the report, with a 56% rise this year compared with the previous year.
The incidents included shootings, arson attacks, physical assaults, vandalism, threats and foiled plots. According to the report, the United States recorded the highest number of incidents, with 86, followed by Canada with 34, including at least 10 attacks on the Shaarei Torah synagogue in Toronto. Britain recorded 24 incidents, including the killing of two Jews outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, followed by France with 17, Australia with 12 and Germany with 11.
Suspects in attacks and planned attacks included neo-Nazis, Iranian operatives or Iranian-funded terrorist organizations such as Hamas, as well as groups such as ISIS that recruited young people radicalized through social media. The report also found that most attacks on or near synagogues occurred on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, when the perpetrators knew larger numbers of Jewish worshippers were likely to be present.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin, Germany
(Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)
Jochen Kopelke, federal chairman of the German Police Union, is expected to address the gathering. Kopelke participated in this year's March of the Living, which was dedicated to combating antisemitism, and lit a torch during the ceremony. His remarks are expected to address antisemitism in Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's warning that Jewish life in the country is no longer safe, and recent elections in which far-right and far-left parties gained strength.
Among the participants will be George Shefi, 94, one of the last surviving eyewitnesses to the November 1938 pogroms. Shefi will travel from Israel to Berlin, the city where he experienced Kristallnacht as a 7-year-old boy. He hid inside his home during the violence and, when he emerged, discovered that the synagogue housing his school had been burned to the ground.
George Shefi, 94, one of the last surviving eyewitnesses to the November 1938 pogroms
(Photo: Ziv Koren)
George Shefi, 94, one of the last surviving eyewitnesses to the November 1938 pogroms
Shefi's mother and sister were murdered at Auschwitz. Having volunteered for many years with the Israel Police, he was awarded Germany's Federal Cross of Merit in 2025 in recognition of his commitment to Holocaust remembrance education.
"It is important for me to return to the city where I was born and tell senior police officials what happened," Shefi said. "My message is clear: Learn from what happened and commit yourselves to ensuring that it never happens again. Sadly, Jews around the world are still not safe. The same hatred of Jews continues to exist."
A synagogue burns on Kristallnacht in Germany
(Photo: Getty Images)
Revital Yachin Krakowski, CEO of March of the Living in Israel, said: "At a time when Jews, synagogues and Jewish institutions are attacked every day, we have chosen to bring senior law enforcement officials together inside a synagogue in Berlin to learn, remember, fight antisemitism and commit to protecting Jewish life.
"The current reality is unacceptable. We hope the message from this gathering reaches police forces around the world: There is no place for antisemitism and hatred in any society that aspires to security, stability and a safe future."
Avi Cohen Scali, director-general of the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry, said the new antisemitism figures are unacceptable. "Eighty-eight years after Kristallnacht, the figures we are releasing point to an unacceptable reality: Synagogues around the world are once again becoming targets of shootings, arson attacks and antisemitic violence," he said.
"Two hundred and forty-four incidents in 34 countries are not merely a statistic, but a serious warning sign for every sovereign nation. We call on governments and law enforcement authorities around the world to increase protection for Jewish institutions."