Regional police said that an explosive device went off just outside a synagogue in the central Russian city of Tver in the early hours of Monday, ripping a hole in its metal door and partially damaging its entrance hall. "Nobody was hurt in the explosion. The entrance to the synagogue was partly damaged. The shock wave broke windows in nearby 10 apartments. Crime experts, representatives of the prosecutor's office and the Emergency Situations Ministry are still working at the scene," a local law enforcement source said. Police said the incident had been classified as an act of hooliganism linked to political, racial or religious hatred and that a criminal case had been opened.
A local leader of the Tver Jewish community, Vladimir Spivak, said one resident had suffered a light injury in the explosion and was taken to a hospital. The blast caused an outcry among the country's Jewish communities. “The explosion is a culmination of numerous attacks against practicing Jews," Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities said in a statement. “Anti-Semitic writings have appeared on the walls of the synagogue, anti-Semitic leaflets have been circulated in the city and some 140 graves were vandalized in the Jewish part of the local cemetery in 2009,” the statement said. The federation voiced hope that the bombers will be detained, tried and duly punished because "the impunity of the vandals inevitably leads to worse consequences."
Jewish leaders also linked the blast with the anniversary of the start of World War II in Russia, where it is known as the Great Patriotic War, which the country marks on Tuesday. "The blast is not only an offence for the Jewish population but a terrible reminder of World War II victims," the Moscow Jewish Religious Community said in a statement. Religious and hate crimes are a relatively frequent occurrence in Russia.
EJP
