Stabbings at Moscow Shul - 01.11.2006
UPDATE: MOSCOW SYNAGOGUE ATTACK
Release Date: January 12, 2006
Contact:
Mark Levin
(202-989-2500)Earlier today, NCSJ Executive Director Mark B. Levin, spoke with Rabbi Yitzhak Kogan as he was on his way to the hospital to visit victims of yesterday’s heinous attack on congregants of the Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue in Moscow. Mr. Levin reassured Rabbi Kogan of the American Jewish community’s solidarity with his congregation and the Moscow Jewish community.
Rabbi Kogan’s son-in-law was injured in the attack and underwent five and a half hours of surgery. Rabbi Kogan stated that those still in the hospital remain in serious condition. He believes the attacker was not acting alone, although he could not identify which group(s) may be involved.
NCSJ joined Rabbi Kogan in urging the Russian government to provide better protection for Jewish institutions in Moscow and the rest of the country in the form of more professional and better trained security.
Also, U.S. Ambassador to Moscow William Burns called Mr. Levin today and said he will be meeting with Rabbi Kogan. He shared that the Embassy is urging the Russian authorities to follow through on their statements of condemnation with strong actions.
NCSJ will continue to keep you informed of events as they develop. Please visit our website www.ncsj.org for more information.
See related stories:
Neo-Nazi Stabs Jewish Activist in Moscow (July 13, 1999)
Rabbi's son foils bombing attempt at Moscow shul (July 30, 1999)
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PRESS RELEASE
Release Date: January 11, 2006
Contact:
Mark Levin
(202-989-2500)Skinhead Attacks Synagogue Worshipers in Moscow
NCSJ Calls on Russian Government to Increase Vigilance in Jewish Institutions
Washington, D.C. – NCSJ urges the Russian government to take swift action against the assailant accused of stabbing at least nine people in a Moscow synagogue today. NCSJ calls on the Russian government to provide adequate protection for Jewish institutions in Moscow and the rest of the country.
At 5 p.m. Moscow time a lone attacker stabbed at least nine people in the Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue in Moscow. All are being treated at a local hospital – four are in critical condition. Among the victims was the son-in-law of the Synagogue’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Yitzhak Kogan as well as one American and one Israeli visitor.
The attack occurred during evening prayer services in the Synagogue. During the attack, the assailant, who was described as being a skinhead, yelled, “I have come to kill you.” He is in police custody and according to reports; Russian prosecutors are treating this assault as a hate crime.
“NCSJ condemns the attack and calls for greater vigilance of religious sites,” stated Mark B. Levin, NCSJ Executive Director. “NCSJ extends condolences to all those affected by the outrageous incident.”
NCSJ: Advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, is the mandated central coordinating agency of the organized Jewish community for policy and activities on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews in the former Soviet Union.
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Moscow synagogue attacker mentally disturbed - experts
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) Forensic experts said Tuesday that a man accused of a knife attack on a central Moscow synagogue suffers from a mental disorder, a court official said.
The official said 20-year-old Alexander Koptsev suffered from schizotypical disorder, a chronic condition that renders him temporarily insane.
On January 11, 2006, Koptsev, 20, stabbed nine people in the synagogue with a hunting knife he had taken from his father.
Prosecutor Kira Gudim said it had been Koptsev's third attempt to attack a synagogue, after two previous attacks in late December and early January had ended in failure. Gudim said Koptsev had come to the conclusion that Jews were enemies of Russians after reading anti-Semitic books and Web sites, and had decided to kill Jews.
Moscow Prosecutor Alexander Zuyev said Koptsev, who stands accused of the racially aggravated attempted murder of two or more people, committing acts designed to denigrate a group of people on religious or ethnic grounds, and racially aggravated grievous bodily harm, now faces eight to 20 years in prison or even a life imprisonment if convicted.
On February 28, Koptsev pleaded not guilty at the Moscow City Court.
"The Criminal Code has been written by Jews and the Jewish mafia," he said. "Therefore, I plead not guilty."
Koptsev's mother Tatiana said she was shocked by her son's actions. She said "he had gone nuts."
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Moscow Times - 03.01.2006
20-Year-Old Goes on Trial in Synagogue Stabbing Rampage
Alexander Koptsev, the 20-year-old suspect in the stabbings of nine men at the Chabad Synagogue on Jan. 11, speaking through the defendant's cage to his lawyer, Vladimir Kirsanov, on the first day of his trial in the Moscow City Court on Tuesday. Koptsev, who faces life in prison, pleaded not guilty.
A 20-year-old suspect, Alexander Koptsev, went on trial Tuesday in the stabbing of nine men at a Moscow synagogue in January.
Koptsev pleaded not guilty at the opening of the trial at the Moscow City Court, despite promised evidence that is to include videotape of the attack and the testimony of scores of eyewitnesses.
Koptsev faces life in prison if convicted of attempted murder, assault, and actions aimed at humiliating ethnic or religious groups.
Prosecutors have called on 35 witnesses to testify, Interfax reported.
Koptsev is accused of using a hunting knife to stab nine men at the Chabad Synagogue at 6 Bolshaya Bronnaya, near Pushkin Square, on Jan. 11. The synagogue's chief rabbi and others managed to wrestle him to the ground and held him until police arrived.
Witnesses have said that Koptsev shouted anti-Semitic slurs during the attack.
Investigators subsequently found items with swastikas and dozens of rounds of ammunition during a search of the Moscow apartment he shares with his parents.
Russia has seen a steady increase in violent ethnically and racially motivated attacks, with 28 people being killed and 366 injured in a record 179 attacks last year, according to Sova, a research center that tracks extremism.
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Synagogue Attack Accused Pleads Innocence, Rails at Court
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) A man accused of a knife-wielding attack on a central Moscow synagogue pleaded not guilty Tuesday in an outspoken attack on the Russian judicial system.
"The Criminal Code has been written by Jews and the Jewish mafia, therefore, I plead not guilty," Alexander Koptsev told the Moscow City Court.
On January 11, 2006, Koptsev, 20, allegedly stabbed nine people in the synagogue with a hunting knife that he had taken from his father.
Prosecutor Kira Gudim said it had been Koptsev's third attempt to attack a synagogue after two previous attacks in late December and early January had ended in failure.
The prosecutor said Koptsev had come to the conclusion that Jews were the enemies of Russians after reading anti-Semitic books and Web sites, and had decided to kill Jews.
According to Moscow Prosecutor Alexander Zuyev, Koptsev, who stands accused of the attempted murder of two or more people due to ethnic or religious motives, committing acts designed to denigrate a group of people due to their religion or ethnic background, and causing grievous bodily harm due to religious motives, now faces eight to 20 years in prison or even a life imprisonment if convicted.
Zuyev said forensic psychiatrists had found Koptsev "was sane while committing the crime." He added that the defendant was not a member of any extremist group.
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Jewish community, Moscow police to jointly fight anti-Semitism
MOSCOW (Interfax) -- Russia's chief rabbi Berel Lazar met with Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov on Friday to discuss ways to fight xenophobia in Russia.
One of the meeting's participants, CEO of the Russian Jewish Communities Federation Alexander Boroda told Interfax that "the sides have agreed to closely cooperate in the fight against this evil."
"The meeting mainly addressed the problem of the spiritual vacuum in society, which is filled by various extremist ideas," Boroda said.
"Jewish activists, for their part, are ready to do all they can to prevent such ideas from spreading," Lazar said, quoted by Boroda.
In addition, the meeting addressed the danger of spreading extremist, fascist and nationalist literature.
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Jewish community, Moscow police to jointly fight anti-Semitism
MOSCOW (Interfax) -- The Russian Jewish Communities Federation and the Moscow police have set up a joint working group to fight anti-Semitism, the Federation's press service told Interfax on Wednesday.
First consultations, held on Tuesday, "outlined issues to be tackled by the group," among them tighter security at the Jewish community's facilities, the list of which is to be drawn up soon, the press service said.
The Federation will also regularly inform Moscow police about instances of anti-Semitism, and joint measures will be worked out to combat it.
The group will also work to improve restraints on extremist organizations and the nationalist ideas they profess and to curb their activities, the press service said.
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Jewish Telegraphic Agency - 01.17.2006
Poll: Russians see anti-Semitism as problem
(JTA) Almost three-quarters of callers in poll conducted by a Moscow radio station believe that anti-Semitism is a serious problem in Russia. Some 71 percent out of 5,251 callers agreed with the statement.
The poll was conducted by the Echo Moscow radio station last Friday night during a talk show devoted to the Jan. 11 stabbing attack in a Moscow synagogue that left eight people injured.
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Jewish Telegraphic Agency - 01.17.2006
Synagogue attacked in Russia
(JTA) A young man tried to attack worshippers at the synagogue of the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
The man, identified as a 19-year-old student of a local medical college, burst into the shul last Friday evening and demanded a meeting with the rabbi.
The man appeared to be intoxicated and wielded a broken glass bottle. When synagogue security tried to stop him he escaped and attempted to strike people inside the synagogue with his weapon. The attacker was wrestled down and handed over to police.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
According to local police, the man said he was inspired to act by the Jan. 11 stabbing incident at a Moscow synagogue, RIA-Novosti reported.
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Worries of Anti-Semitism Spread in Russia
By Henry Meyer
MOSCOW (AP) Pogroms and purges of Jews are a thing of the past in Russia, but as women scrubbed the bloodstained floors of Moscow's Chabad Bronnaya synagogue on Thursday, a day after a man burst in and stabbed worshippers, alarm spread over increasingly open anti-Semitism.
Jewish leaders warned official indifference is fueling a wave of hate attacks and called for a crackdown on aggressive nationalist and fascist groups that have mushroomed in recent years. Police should guard outside synagogues and other Jewish sites, they said.
"We expect government and law enforcement agencies to take real measures to ensure this doesn't happen again," Russia's chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, said. "If there is indifference, nothing will change."
Worshippers were somber at the synagogue in downtown Moscow, where the knife-wielding man shouting "I will kill Jews" slashed and stabbed at least eight people before a rabbi's son wrestled him to the ground.
"Until yesterday, I felt completely safe but things have gotten serious now," said Nadav Zavilinsky, a 21-year-old religious student who witnessed the attack.
Among the eight men wounded were an American, an Israeli and a Tajik, chief Moscow prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev said. Four of the victims remained in serious condition Thursday.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack denounced "this perfidious attack" and said the United States "expresses its sympathy to the wounded and their families." He also said the United States welcomed condemnation of the attack by the Russian government, "including its commitment to an investigation of this crime."
A million Jews live in Russia, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities, as the Jewish community has experienced a revival after a wave of emigration to Israel and other countries before and after the break up of the Soviet Union.
But hundreds of racially motivated attacks, including the occasional desecration of Jewish cemeteries and synagogues, have occurred in recent years in violence aimed at Jews as well as dark-skinned immigrants from former Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus Mountains region.
More than 40 people in Russia were killed in apparently racially motivated attacks last year, according to the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights. The group estimates that Russia is home to some 50,000 skinheads and numerous neo-Nazi organizations.
Rights activists say such groups are emboldened by mild prosecution of hate crimes and they complain that Nazi and other extremist literature is sold freely.
The suspect in Wednesday's attack, identified as Alexander Koptsev, 20, was reading a book about Jews betraying Russia shortly before the assault, his father told the Kommersant daily.
Two men assaulted two rabbis near another synagogue in Moscow in January but were convicted of assault and hooliganism, which carry lesser sentences than hate crimes.
Alla Gerber, head of the Holocaust Foundation, said anti-Semitism persisted within law enforcement ranks despite high-level condemnation.
"I was shocked at what happened yesterday, but not surprised. Anti-Semitism is a traditional problem in Russia, and it is flourishing now in a general climate of xenophobia," Gerber said.
In what was seen as a step forward, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged anti-Semitism as a problem when he attended ceremonies in January marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.
But just before the Auschwitz commemorations, a group of nationalist Russian lawmakers called for an investigation aimed at outlawing all Jewish organizations, accusing Jews of fomenting ethnic hatred.
While the authorities ignored calls by human rights groups to prosecute the legislators, they investigated whether an ancient Jewish text incited religious hatred after a complaint from two nationalist activists.
Later Thursday, Moscow police chief, Vladimir Pronin promised to deploy officers to help protect synagogues. Lazar and Pronin also agreed in a meeting to set up a joint working group to monitor xenophobic propaganda and extremist groups, Lazar's office said in a statement.
The rabbi of the synagogue targeted in Wednesday's attack, Yitzhak Kogan, said Jews in modern Russia face a new threat.
"There is no more anti-Semitism on the state level, as we saw in Soviet times, but instead we have a lot of freedom for anti-Semitic groups in Russia, and the incident yesterday was one of its manifestations," Kogan said.
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Moscow Times - 01.13.2006
List of Synagogues in Suspect's Home
By Nabi Abdullaev and Kevin O'Flynn
Police on Thursday searched the apartment of the 20-year-old man detained in the stabbing of eight men at a Moscow synagogue and found a list with the addresses of three synagogues, items with swastikas and dozens of rounds of ammunition.
Unlike most xenophobic attacks, Wednesday's incident sent strong waves through the country's political establishment and beyond.
The suspect, Alexander Koptsev, had no criminal record and appeared to have acted alone when he burst into the Chabad Synagogue at 6 Bolshaya Bronnaya Ulitsa, near Pushkin Square, on Wednesday evening, a prosecutor said.
Koptsev's father said his son had been depressed after his sister died last year and had been reading a book that portrayed Jews as betrayers of Russia.
Koptsev used a hunting knife to stab eight men -- including an American, an Israeli and a Tajik citizen -- until he was wrestled to the floor by the synagogue's chief rabbi, Yitzak Kogan, and other people.
Five of the injured remained hospitalized Thursday, two of them in critical condition, Interfax reported.
Investigators found 64 rifle cartridges and a list of three Moscow synagogues, including the Chabad Synagogue, while searching the Koptsev family's apartment, media reports said.
Moscow City Prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev said nationalist literature and "items with the Nazi symbol on them" were also found among the suspect's belongings. He did not elaborate.
Koptsev told investigators Thursday that he had been looking for "information of a nationalist nature" on the Internet, Zuyev said.
"Now, we have collected enough evidence to charge him, and we will do so soon," Zuyev said late Thursday afternoon. "Then we will ask a court to sanction his arrest."
Koptsev faces charges of attempted murder, assault and "actions aimed at hurting ethnic and religious dignity," which could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Zuyev said Koptsev had never been in trouble with the law before and did not belong to an extremist organization.
He said the suspect would undergo a psychiatric examination but had not been registered as having psychological problems in the past.
Koptsev's father, whose name is also Alexander, said his son was "a quiet homebody" and suggested that he had snapped. "Last year, Sasha suffered a deep psychological trauma after his sister died of cancer," he said in an interview published in Kommersant on Thursday.
"My son has never been a member of any religious or political organization," he said.
Koptsev said his son had had trouble holding down a regular job and spent his free time playing computer games. He said his son's favorite was "Postal," a gruesome game in which a postman goes berserk and kills everyone he encounters with an arsenal of weapons, including a knife.
The father also recalled that he had recently seen an anti-Semitic book on a table in his son's room. "Sasha said the book was about how Yids sold Russia," he said.
Zuyev said investigators seized the book during the search and that experts found that the book carried multiple statements aimed at inciting ethnic and religious hatred.
Suggesting that the suspect is mentally unbalanced would be an easy way for the government and the public to dismiss the attack, warned Borukh Gorin, a spokesman for the Russian Federation of Jewish Communities.
"To blame this on lone mad people is dangerous because these mad people could explode the whole country," he said at a news conference.
He also called "hasty" Zuyev's statement that Koptsev did not belong to an extremist organization. "Such hasty conclusions put me on guard," he said.
Terry Davis, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, lumped the attack together with the recent murders of dark-skinned foreign students in several Russian cities, calling the incidents a worrisome trend.
Senior members of both houses of parliament, including Dmitry Rogozin, head of the nationalist Rodina party, condemned the stabbings and called for authorities to work harder to prevent further xenophobic attacks. State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said deputies might consider toughening the law on extremism.
Jewish leaders said authorities had shown leniency toward extremist groups and that that had led to the recent escalation in xenophobic attacks. "This is the result of what we have seen in Russia over the last few months," Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar said at the news conference, referring to the murders of foreign students and other dark-skinned people in St. Petersburg, Voronezh and other cities last year and in 2004.
He said xenophobia was growing because of "the propaganda of extremism and fascism, which is conducted openly and for which no one has yet been held accountable."
Extremist literature is sold widely across the country, and courts usually classify skinhead attacks as hooliganism, not racially motivated crime.
In November, about 3,000 young nationalists marched through central Moscow under xenophobic banners.
Xenophobic rhetoric flows freely in the Russian media, and that raises the specter of more attacks, said Alla Gerber, head of the Holocaust Foundation. "Authorities don't care to undercut extremism, courts do not see racial hatred, and no one makes any effort to introduce a project -- be it a television show or a publication -- that would teach tolerance," she said.
The country's human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, called on the government to establish a program to teach tolerance, according to a statement on his web site.
It remained unclear how the hunting knife was brought through a metal detector into the synagogue. One account said the detector went off but a guard let Koptsev in after Koptsev pointed to a large metal belt buckle. Another account said Koptsev fought his way inside, wounding a guard with the knife.
Koptsev spent the night at the Sklifosofsky First Aid Hospital, where he was treated for injuries and a cut on the neck sustained when he was wrestled to the floor and held until police arrived.
Kogan, the rabbi, was the only person at the synagogue authorized to comment about the attack, and he could not be reached for details on Thursday.
Police posted patrols outside synagogues across the country.
"Where we had no armed guards, they have now appeared," Gorin said. "Police are patrolling every synagogue and every [Jewish] community center."
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Euro-Asian Jewish Congress - 01.12.2006
EAJC Outraged by Slaughter at Synagogue
The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) expressed its outrage in connection with the armed attack that took place at the Bolshaya Bronnaya synagogue in Moscow on Wednesday.
“It is impossible to tolerate this state of events any longer. We consider this anti-Semitic act yet another link in the campaign of terror against ethnic and religious minorities organized by extremist circles in the Russian capital and bolstered by the permissive attitude on the part of the government and law enforcement agencies,” stated Alexander Mashkevitch, president of EAJC and member of the Governing Council of the World Jewish Congress.
The Jewish leader stressed that his organization will be demanding that the Moscow government and the Office of the General Prosecutor take immediate measures to guarantee the safety of religious minorities in the city.
“We will also be waiting for an open trial leading to adequate punishment for the perpetrator,” Mashkevitch emphasized.
The attack took place on Wednesday at approximately 5:30 p.m. Muscovite Alexander Koptsev, 20, rushed into the synagogue, armed with a knife, during religious services, and seriously wounded 10 people. Among the victims were Isaac Kogan, rabbi of the Moscow synagogue, as well as citizens of the United States, Israel and Tajikistan.
Translated by Judy Turkeltaub, NCSJ
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Federation of Jewish Communities - 01.12.2006
STATEMENT BY THE FEDERATION OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF RUSSIA - VAAD OF RUSSIA
Russian Jewish organizations and communities have reacted with deep outrage and pain to the bloody attack perpetrated by a vicious anti-Semite against the Jewish congregation at a Moscow synagogue on January 11, 2005. Only thanks to a chance occurrence were there no deaths .
Va’ad of Russia believes that this incident is the consequence of many years of complacency on the part of all branches of the Russian government towards extremism. This complacency has led to the inaction of law enforcement agencies, inattention to demonstrations and public concern, and finally the persistent failure to punish radicals, among them anti-Semites. This situation has turned members of national and religious minorities into a high-risk group. They have become hostages both of violent chauvinists and idle authority.
A system of measures for guaranteeing the safety and security of this at-risk group should be introduced by the government immediately. In conjunction with the representatives of minority groups, a systemic struggle against extremism should be carried out.
The state authority should openly admit that at present it does not have control over the state of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations. We insist that political assessment and policy prescriptions be based not on individual acts, but on the dangerous tendency toward extremism existing in the country, which threatens a significant number of its citizens.
Counteracting extremism, chauvinism, racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism should become a prioritized program in the country, together with the four programs concerning these phenomena that have already been approved, so that all citizens of the country can be convinced that a crime of this nature will not go unpunished.
The state should join forces with human rights organizations, mass media, and other institutions of civil society, so that through public debate and educational programs at all levels, a lasting aversion to all forms of human hatred can be established in our society. Without a firm and proactive policy addressing the explosive sphere of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations, Russia does not have a future.
Translated by Judy Turkeltaub, NCSJ
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Federation of Jewish Communities - 01.12.2006
Letter: FJC Executive Director Avraham Berkowitz
Dear Friends,
Yesterday an anti-Semitic man forced his way into the Chabad Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue in the center of Moscow and mercilessly stabbed eight people with the intention to kill them simply because they are Jews.
I was present at the horrible scene of blood and carnage, but what I want to remember is the site of the bravery and courage of Yosef Kogan, the 18-year old son of the Synagogue's Rabbi Yitzchak Kogan, who wrestled the knife-wielding attacker to the ground and held him there until police detained him. As a result, Yosef saved many lives. Thank G-d that all of the victims are now receiving treatment in local hospitals and we continue to pray for their full recovery.
I want to thank many of you who took the time to call and write e-mails to show your concern and solidarity. It means very much to us that people of good will around the world and in Russia are united with us in combating the scourge of anti-Semitism.
Today I am very sad because of what happened, but it has strengthened our resolve to continue our efforts in providing a life support to the reviving Jewish Community of Russia and beyond.
We keep the images of over 200,000 Jews across the FSU celebrating Chanukah with us just two weeks ago as a guidepost for the freedoms we must work so hard to protect. We will work together with civil society, law enforcement agencies, the Russian government and concerned citizens to never allow such manifestations of evil to ever occur again.
Sincerely,
Avraham Berkowitz
Executive Director
Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
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Jewish Telegraphic Agency - 01.23.2006
Russia may increase religious-site security
(JTA) The Russian government may be prepared to bring the religious sites of St. Petersburg’s main faiths under partial police protection.
Representatives of the St. Pet
Jewish Telegraphic Agency - 02.03.2006
Alleged synagogue attacker fit for trial
(JTA) Medical experts in Russia concluded that a man who attacked worshippers in a Moscow synagogue is fit to stand trial.
The decision contradicts earlier claims by his family that Alexander Koptsev was mentally ill.
On Jan. 11, Koptsev went on a knife-wielding rampage in the Bolshaya Bronnaya Street Synagogue in Moscow, injuring eight people.
The ruling cleared the way for official charges to be pressed against Koptsev, who could receive life in prison if found guilty on one of the two counts.
Koptsev is also charged with actions aimed at humiliating an ethnic or religious group. Police earlier dismissed speculation that Koptsev was a member of any ultranationalist groups or skinhead gangs. But some postings on Russian ultranationalist Internet forums claim that the man had frequented neo-Nazi gatherings in Moscow.
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