A German regional court has ruled that Palestinians who used Molotov cocktails in July 2014 to torch a synagogue were not influenced by anti-Semitism

A Wuppertal judge has upheld a lower court’s 2015 ruling that Palestinians convicted of arson against the city’s synagogue did so merely to “criticize Israel” and “bring attention to the Gaza conflict.” Fire damage caused by 31-year-old Mohamad E., 26-year-old Ismail A. and 20-year-old Mohammad A. (full names withheld by German authorities) totaled almost $850. The court went on to cite Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in the summer of 2014 — and the criminals’ consumption of alcohol — as the apparent impetus for the crime. This is not the first time that Wuppertal’s court system has made national news in a story linked to Islam. Its district court judges ruled in November 2016 that gangs of men who harangued citizens in 2014 while wearing “shariah police” vests did not break any laws.