Synagogue torched in northern Russia
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Synagogue torched in northern Russia

Russian Jewish Congress’ Northern Region said in a statement that the arson was the third assault on communal property since 2015

Arkhangelsk at night (Attribution: Engine9 at Russian Wikipedia/ (CC BY-SA 2.5) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode )
Arkhangelsk at night (Attribution: Engine9 at Russian Wikipedia/ (CC BY-SA 2.5) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode )

A synagogue in northern Russia was severely damaged in a fire that the local Jewish community said was caused by arsonists.

The fire consumed the entrance hall of the Northern Star Jewish community centre and synagogue in Arkhangelsk, the Russian Jewish Congress wrote. No one was hurt in the fire.

Anatoly Obermeister, who heads the Russian Jewish Congress’ Northern Region, said in a statement that the arson Sunday was the third assault on communal property since 2015, though the previous ones resulted in little damage.

“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. Firefighters arrived 15 minutes later, when the facade was already blazing,” said the report, which was based on security camera footage.

The report did not say whether the perpetrator could be identified.

The building targeted in the attack was inaugurated in 2018. Boasting three stories and a synagogue with 500 seats, it took four years to construct and cost nearly £2.3m ($3 m) raised from private donors.

Northern Star is Russia’s northernmost Jewish institution. Arkhangelsk is located approximately 750 miles north of Moscow at a latitude that is more than three degrees to the north of Anchorage, Alaska.

In April 2015, unidentified persons fired an air rifle on the building while it was under construction. They sprayed antisemitic graffiti on it. In 2016, a firebomb was hurled at the construction site.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: