Interfax - 01.04.2005

Russian chief rabbi concerned over synagogue arson attempt
 
MOSCOW - (Interfax) - Russian Chief Rabbi Adolf Shayevich has expressed concern over an arson attempt at a synagogue in Saltykovka in the Moscow region. 

"Impunity that surrounds similar actions encourages extremists to desecrate Jewish cemeteries and synagogues," Shayevich told Interfax on Tuesday. 

The arson was committed early in the morning on January 1, Shayevich said. A woman residing in a nearby house was first to notice the flame, and so she woke up the people, who stayed at the synagogue for the Sabbath. 

Nobody was injured, and the fire was extinguished before it could have spread onto the entire building. The flame, however, fully destroyed the synagogue's terrace. 

Moscow regional police are investigating the incident, said chief of the Saltykovka Jewish religious commune Isidor Vaizer.