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| Russia's Chief Rabbi condemns synagogue attacks
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Berel Lazar, Russia's chief rabbi, called on all Jews to go to synagogue not only "to express solidarity with [their] brothers in Khabarovsk and Astrakhan, but above all to ask God together to put reason into the minds of those who cannot distinguish good from evil, and grant them the understanding of the meaning of life and the sense of joy of one who brings kindness into the world."
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Moscow (EJP) --- Russia’s chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, said the country's Jewish community "is shocked" by attacks against synagogues in the Russian cities of Khabarovsk and Astrakhan over the last few days.
"It is a great pity that there still are people who think that they can solve their problems by throwing stones at the windows of holy buildings," Lazar said in a statement, the Interfax news agency reported.
It is particularly deplorable, he said, that these incidents occurred on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
In Khabarovsk, near the Russian border with China, the synagogue was attacked early last Friday by a group of young men who peppered the building with bricks and pieces of asphalt, breaking several windows, while chanting anti-Semitic slogans.
They ran away when security guards emerged from the building, and police officers called to the scene failed to catch them.
The chief rabbi of Khabarovsk, Yakov Snetkov, noted that the attack was not the first on the city's synagogue.
Last summer, it was damaged when unidentified attackers spilled gasoline by the temple's front entrance. No one was hurt in that incident, either.
A similar incident took place at a synagogue in Astrakhan, in southern Russia, last Thursday, when unknown attackers tried to set the building on fire but were foiled by a security guard, who extinguished the fires. No one was hurt, but the attackers smashed temple windows
The Russian Interior Ministry said it was investigating both incidents, but no arrests have been made. Criminal investigations have been opened in Khabarovsk on charges of hooliganism and in Astrakhan on charges of willful destruction of property by arson.
Mosque targeted with Molotov cocktails
A mosque in central Russia was also the target of unidentified attackers, who threw Molotov cocktails in the early hours of Sunday. The building did not catch fire, the head of a local Muslim organisation said.
A religious service was taking place at the time and there were worshippers in the room, but the bottles hit the window frame and bounced back without exploding, he said. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began this weekend.
While Muslim religious leaders are certain that the mosque attackers were nationalist skinheads, Jewish activists claim the incidents are another example of rising xenophobia and anti-Semitism in Russia.
The country has seen an increase in xenophobia and hate crimes in recent years.
A man who entered a Moscow synagogue last January with a hunting knife and stabbed nine people was last week sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Putin applauds Judaism
Lazar, the chief rabbi, called on all Jews, no matter how busy they were, to go to synagogue not only "to express solidarity with [their] brothers in Khabarovsk and Astrakhan, but above all to ask God together to put reason into the minds of those who cannot distinguish good from evil, and grant them the understanding of the meaning of life and the sense of joy of one who brings kindness into the world."
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to Russia's Jews on the eve of the Jewish New Year.
"For many ages, Jewish values have helped achieve noble goals of uniting people and strengthening trust and mutual understanding between them," Putin said.
"I'm convinced that Russia's Jews will continue to help the successful development of a dialogue between different ethnic groups and religions in our country," he added.
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