Russian Synagogue Badly Damaged in Suspected Anti-Semitic Arson Attack

A synagogue in the northern Russia city of Arkhangelsk was terribly damaged in a fire the Jewish community believe was caused by an anti-Semitic arson attack according to the JTA.

The Russian Jewish Congress confirmed in a report that engulfed the entrance hall of the Northern Star Jewish community center and synagogue, but no one was hurt in the attack.

“At about 3:40 a.m. a perpetrator threw tires over the fence, then climbed over, quickly moved the tires closer to the building, doused them with a flammable liquid and set them on fire.” According to the report. The report did not was based on security footage at the synagogue and did not mention whether or not the perpetrator could be identified.

The Northern Star Synagogue was opened in 2018. A relatively large temple, it hosts three stories and over 500 seats. The synagogue took four years to construct according to JTA and cost nearly $3 million raised from private donors.

Northern Star is Russia’s most northen Jewish institution. Arkhangelsk is located approximately 750 miles north of Moscow.

This is not the first time the Jewish institution has faced anti-Semitic attacks. In another instance in 2015, unidentified persons fired an air rifle on the building while it was under construction and spray-painted anti-Semitic graffiti on it. In 2016, again the synagogue saw faced anti-Semitism when a firebomb was hurled at the construction site.

Source: https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/synagogue-torched-in-northern-russia