Russia 110720 Basic Political Developments
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A Near Misshttp://russiaprofile.org/culture_living/41097.html As Police Search for Culprits on Vandalism Charges, Darkei Shalom Resists Toughening Security Despite Repeated Attacks By Andrew Roth Russia Profile 07/19/2011 Security at the Darkei Shalom synagogue in northern Moscow was surprisingly light on Friday, just three days after unknown attackers attempted to burn down the Orthodox synagogue in northern Moscow. Rabbi Dovid Karpov was preparing to address the congregation for the first time since the attacks. Life is quickly returning to normal in the congregation, despite the second attempted firebombing of the synagogue in several years.As the search for the culprits continues, Karpov said the attacks show that the extremist community is becoming increasingly desperate, and that he will try to resist locking down the synagogue with heavy security measures. “We’re not going to simply create and stay in places just for Jews; we are not going to return to the times of the pogroms,” he said. Kostya, a heavy-set security guard at Darkei Shalom with a prominent tattoo covering his forearm, walked around the front of the small synagogue toward a corner facing the courtyard and the street. Standing just behind the fence, he reenacted the scene that took place in the early morning on July 12, when he had just finished his late night shift and was sitting in his car in the driveway. “They threw six bottles from here at that corner of the building; each of the ones that ignited hit with a bright flash of light. It all happened within two minutes. As soon as I realized what was happening, I ran out into the courtyard to chase them; but they had already taken off. There are a million places to hide around here. So I ran back to the building and we started throwing water from the windows to put out the flames,” he said, pointing up toward the scorch marks around the second floor window. “We knew that the building wasn’t in serious danger when we saw that none of the bottles had hit their target.” That, however, is a small miracle; the scorch marks stretch right up to the window on both the left and the right sides – a half meter in either direction and the second floor of the building could have been set ablaze. Reactions to the attack Tuesday morning were swift, but with little information about the attackers, police so far have had not reported any progress in the case. While authorities have so far called the attacks “acts of vandalism,” Jewish community organizations have complained that an attack on the synagogue clearly constitutes an act of extremism. “The only thing that worries us is that the incident, for the time being, is being interpreted as hooliganism by law enforcement. Attacks against churches in general cannot be considered hooliganism – in any case this action is aimed at igniting religious hatred,” said a statement from the Federation of Jewish Congregations of Russia. In the media, the attack was quickly cited as retaliation for the sentencing of a set of ultra-right nationalists led by Lev Molotkov, accused of 27 ethnically motivated murders, who received a life sentence on Monday. Heinous attacks against local synagogues and other religious institutions have taken place in Moscow in the past. Eight people were stabbed at Bolshaya Bronnaya synagogue in central Moscow in 2006. On New Year’s Day 2009, skinheads Anton Vasiliev and Konstantin Kucher went on a rampage across the Otradnoye neighborhood, throwing Molotov cocktails at the Darkei Shalom synagogue only after somewhat paradoxically drawing swastikas on the nearby Saint Nicholas Church. For inciting religious intolerance, along with murder, Vasiliev and Kuchkov were sentenced to 22 years and 13 years respectively. Karpov agreed that Monday’s court sentencing and attempted firebombing were connected, yet noted that growing waves of aggression in young people had formed it into meaningless violence against religious and government institutions. “I was at one of the meetings with them about a half year ago. These were people who, when you look at them from outside, seemed completely normal. But they have all these thoughts crawling around in their heads they’re thinking in their own language. That’s why you see attacks like swastikas on a church. The violence is not aimed solely at one group. It lacks direction,” he said. Karpov nonetheless called the attacks from outside the fence a “cowardly act,” which showed that extremists were scared to venture across the threshold of the synagogue. Asked whether he would consider installing additional security, including the type seen at synagogues like Bolshaya Bronnaya, he said that he did not see a need to do so. “Our security did what it was supposed to do,” said Karpov. “We rely on the government to provide protection for our synagogue, to battle xenophobia and anti-Semitism, and we ourselves should continue to practice our religion and go to the synagogue.” |