Three synagogues in Russia have been vandalized this month, along with a Jewish center. In the early evening of April 6, somebody scratched onto the door of a synagogue in Orenburg a Star of David and a swastika, according to UCSJ’s Orenburg monitor Igor Savelzon. Police refused to record the incident as a crime. A few days later, vandals painted the words “Throw Israel into the sea” on the walls of the local Chesed, along with a swastika and Star of David. In another part of the city, somebody painted on the walls of an apartment building a man throwing a Star of David into a garbage can, accompanied by the words “Let us cleanse our native city!”
On April 12, the words “Jews go home!” were written on the walls of a building in Yoshkar-Ola (Republic of Mari-El) which is shared by local Jewish organizations, according to an April 18, 2002 report posted on the Russian Jewish web site Sem40.ru. Police promised to investigate, but at the time the report was filed, no officers had visited the scene of the crime, and the hateful words remained on the walls.
On April 14, the windows of the Rostov synagogue were broken, the first such incident in four years, according to an April 15, 2002 report by Sem40.ru. The next day, local Jews publicly celebrating Israel’s independence day were confronted with the depressing sight of broken glass in their synagogue. According to the author of the Sem40.ru report:
“The local law enforcement agencies were alerted about the incident, however, it appears that the local police officers will not take active measures to arrest the vandals, as is often the case in similar incidents. According to some sources, Rostov antisemites are preparing yet another attack on the local synagogue.”
In Perm, somebody wrote “Death to the Jews” on the walls of the synagogue on the night of April 22, along with a swastika, according to a report by NTV’s web site. A local Jewish leader was quoted in the report saying that a week before, synagogue guards had driven away skinheads who attempted to enter the synagogue.
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