ALL hate crimes are a “blasphemy against God”, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said, after an attack near a synagogue killed two people in Germany, on Wednesday.

Two people died and two more were left severely injured, after a gunman opened fire outside a synagogue in the eastern Germany city of Halle, in what police suspect to be far-Right attack.

Between 70 and 80 people were inside the synagogue celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when a man failed to break in to the building. The attacker then went on a “rampage”, killing a woman near a Jewish cemetery and a man in a kebab shop near by.

The German interior minister, Horst Seehofer, described the murders as an anti-Semitic attack.

“Based on current information, we have to assume that it was at least an anti-Semitic attack,” he said.

“According to the federal prosecutors’ office, there are enough indications that it was possibly a Right-wing extremist motive. They have taken over the investigations.”

Archbishop Welby said in a tweet on Thursday morning: “After the Halle synagogue attack on Yom Kippur, I pray for those grieving, and stand in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers against antisemitism. All hate crimes and their ideologies are a blasphemy against God and against humanity that is made in His image.”

In a statement, the Council for Christians and Jews said: “As Christians and Jews we stand together with the Jewish community in Germany and with the families of the two innocent bystanders, tragically caught up in the attack, regardless of their belief or background.

“The right to worship in freedom and peace is a fundamental right that must be ensured. We hope for justice, healing, and reconciliation for all communities in Halle.”