August 16, 2001, Ryazan, Russia
According to the head of the Jewish community, Leonid Reznikov, unknown arsonists tried to burn down the only synagogue in Ryazan, using wooden construction materials, which builders had left from restoration work. The first floor of the synagogue was gutted by fire. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze and no one was hurt. There were no combustibles inside the building and the electricity had been shut off.
About 2,000 Jews live in Ryazan, a Medieval town 110 miles southeast of Moscow. The synagogue was built in 1903, and was shut down by the Bolsheviks in 1930. Repair work was under way following the return of the building to the Jewish community last year. They had hoped to have it ready in mid September before the High Holidays.
Last year a gang of 15 chain-wielding youths rampaged through the rented premises of a Jewish school in Ryazan, threatening staff and pupils and smashing furniture and signs and the glass front door. Local authorities failed to denounce the incident, and allowed the perpetrators to go unpunished.
August, 2001, Tiraspol, Moldova
Security services arrested skinheads suspected of involvement in the bombings of the Tiraspol Synagogue in April and June. No one was injured in either incident.
August 1, 2001, Shepetovka, Ukraine
Police arrested two young men suspected of vandalizing Jewish tombstones in Shpetovka, Ukraine. One of the defaced tombstones marked the grave of Rabbi Pinkhas Shapiro of Korets, A Chasidic leader whose grave is visited by Jews from all over the world every year. One suspect is 23 years old and the other is a student at a local university. Both face charges under Article 212 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, which prohibits the desecration of graves and gravestones.
July 13, 2001, Kazan, Russia
Fire gutted a Jewish Day School for 550 children in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. Local authorities have refused to provide funds for the school's repairs and have banned the local Jewish community from restoring the building on their own. Mikhail Skoblionok, the head of the local Jewish community, said that Kazan city authorities claim that the school needs a major overhaul, even though independent experts have stated that the building only needs quick repairs. When the local community tried to fix the school's roof to prevent further damage from rain, two dozen assailants led by officials from the city construction department broke into the premises and took apart everything which had just been fixed.
July, 2001, Yekaterinburg, Russia
Dr. Mikhail Oshtrakh, president of the Jewish National Autonomy of Sverdlovsk Oblast, wants criminal charges brought against a local diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church for the re-publication and distribution of a book by the late Sergey Nilus, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which claims that there is a Jewish conspiracy to rule the world. The book was originally published in 1905 and has been largely discredited. However, it was published again in 2000 by the Dioptra St. Petersburg Orthodox Publishing House and the title page reads, "with the blessing of Archbishop Afanasy." It is sold in church kiosks, along with prayer books, icons and candles.
July, 2001, Moscow, Russia
Representative in the upper house of the Russian parliament, Nikolai Kondratenko, well known for his antisemitism, remarked during a debate on whether Russia should allow the import of nuclear waste that the bill was a Zionist conspiracy. "Let the Zionists send their children to hell," he said, "we Russians want to live." This was the second time in a month that he issued antisemitic remarks. Although his remarks are illegal under Russian law, as a member of the Federation Council, Kondratenko is immune from prosecution.
July, 2001, Kazan Russia
A suspicious fire caused extensive damage to the only Jewish Day School in Kazan, forcing the school to close for repairs. The previous week, antisemitic graffiti appeared at the local synagogue.
July, 2001, Almaty Kazakhstan
The Islamic movement, Hizb ut Tahrir distributed antisemitic leaflets in mailboxes and posted them in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. They criticize the governments of several Arab states for betraying Palestinian into the hands of "bloodthirsty Jews" and the "enemy of Islam, the U.S.A." They call for the recreation of a pan-Islamic Caliphate.
July 21, 2001, Kiev, Ukraine
The Kiev Monastery of the Caves, an important center of Russian Orthodoxy, published a brochure which accuses Jews of being devil worshipers. The brochure is a recent edition in a series of publications called "Light of the Caves," titled "Russian Orthodoxy, Statehood and the Pre-Christian Era." One quote states "...Russian Orthodoxy and Autocracy, which is called upon to preserve the wholeness of the church's teachings, opposed to the Kike religion of Satan."
2001, Borisov, Belarus
Neo-Nazi hoodlums have been harassing young Jews who are members of EZRA, a Jewish youth organization. EZRA met in a private flat on the first floor of a large building. There were swastikas on the walls and ceiling near the doorway, which re-appeared even after they were painted over. "Zhids live here," was written on the door. Electricity was cut. The neo-Nazis routinely gathered on Friday night to throw stones at the windows and swear at and threaten at those inside. These same youths have set fire to the local Jewish chesed, vandalized the Jewish cemetery and drawn Jewish symbols and words on the apartment doors where Jews live. Because the youths are under age 16, they cannot be legally punished - not that anyone is looking for them - and they continue with impunity. The Borisov branch of EZRA was closed because no one could guarantee their safety.
June 5, 2000, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Forty graves in the Jewish section of the Nizhny Novgorod cemetery were desecrated on the night of June 5th. Vandals entered the cemetery, which is located next to the Kanvino Jewish neighborhood in the center of town, in the middle of the night and smashed the headstones lining the main path. No one has claimed responsibility and the attackers have not been apprehended (see update below).
Eduard Chuprak, the head of the Jewish community met with senior officials and demanded that the authorities begin an investigation. The authorities have condemned the attack and made a commitment to cover the cost of repairs.
This is not the first vandalism in this Jewish section of the cemetery. In November, 1999, 20 graves were destroyed and in 1996, 120 headstones were demolished. In the past, the incidents took place on dates close to Hitler's birthday. The present attack is near the 33rd anniversary of the Six-Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem. To date, no one has been apprehended for any of these incidents and vandals probably feel they can act with impunity.
The Russian Jewish Congress sent a letter of protest to the Nizhny Novgorod authorities, demanding the arrest of those responsible and state that, "The desecration of graves has almost become a tradition in this town, and such incidents recur each year."
Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky, lies on the banks of the Volga River and is considered the third largest city in Russia. An estimated 15,000 Jews currently live there, out of a total population of 2.5 million.
Update: Eight Youths Detained for Vandalism at Jewish section of Nizhny Novgorod's Krasnaya Etna Cemetery
Nizhny Novgorod police detained eight underage youths for the desecration of the Jewish section of the Nizhny Novgorod cemetery on the night of June 5th. This is the first time that anyone has been apprehended for vandalism at the Jewish section of this cemetery. All are 9th grade students at one of the schools in the Leninsky district. Because they are underage, criminal proceedings cannot be instituted, but their parents can be held accountable. Last names were being withheld until the end of the investigation. Almost 40 graves were selectively defiled as the vandals chose only the most expensive monuments.
Telegrams of sympathy came from around the world, including Melbourne and New York. Some public organizations promised assistance and awards for the investigators, who had suspects in hand in two weeks. Twenty of the best inspectors of the city police were ordered to search for the criminals, and Pyotr Sibirev, the most expert detective in the region, acted as a consultant.
The teenagers do not seem to have any adult connection. Fueled by alcohol, they wandered into the unguarded cemetery. They offered no answer as to why they did it. Their parents were more concerned by the size of the compensation for the damage - around 10,000 rubles for each teenager - than they were about the obvious desecration of only Jewish graves.
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