Armenia’s sole synagogue is said to have been targeted by an arson attack, prompting officials in the former Soviet republic to launch an investigation, according to a report.
The Times of Israel reported:
Videos from social media on Wednesday showed a person pouring burning fuel on the door of the Mordechai Navi Jewish Centre, which serves the small Jewish population in the capital Yerevan. […]
Rima Varzhapetyan, the president of Armenia’s Jewish community, said that the synagogue had not been seriously damaged and that no one was in the building at the time.
“On November 15, the police received a call that unknown persons wanted to set fire to the doors of the building at 23 Nar-Dos Street in Yerevan,” Armenian law enforcement said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “An investigation has been launched.”
Azerbaijani Ambassador to Germany Nasimi Aghayev shared video of the alleged attack on X:
A synagogue in Yerevan, Armenia, which is the country’s only synagogue, was burned last night. Alarming rise in #antisemitism in Armenia makes its small Jewish community quite vulnerable. According to @ADL study, Armenia is the 2nd most antisemitic country in Europe. pic.twitter.com/mbXQzTXhkQ
— Nasimi Aghayev🇦🇿 (@NasimiAghayev) November 15, 2023
Joel Lion, who serves as Israel’s non-resident ambassador to Armenia and Moldova, condemned the attacks in a statement obtained by the Times of Israel.
“I call on the government of Armenia to condemn all forms of antisemitism, to fully investigate this crime, and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he stated.
The purported attack comes as antisemitic attacks have skyrocketed around the world following Hamas’s unprecedented terror attack on Israel, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people and wounded thousands more. In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched extensive military operations in Gaza with the objective of eliminating the Palestinian terror organization in the strip.
