Russia asked to show ‘zero tolerance’ for antisemitism by community leaders after attack on Moscow Jewish community centre

Police have detained a drunken attacker who shouted antisemitic slogans and caused damage to a Jewish centre in Moscow.

After local community leaders expressed concern at the attack in the Russian capital, local police were praised for their prompt response and warned that there must be zero-tolerance for antisemitism.

According to the Moscow-based SOVA Centre which – among other activities – monitors antisemitic activity in Russia, local eyewitnesses heard the attacker shout anti-Jewish slogans while attempting to break into the Chabad-run Shamir Community Centre. When he failed to get in, he vandalised a name-plate, pushed over a decorative menorah and caused minor damage to a car.

Members of the Jewish community told SOVA monitors that on hearing the antisemitic shouting, they locked their doors and called the police.

Although community leaders observed that such attacks are frequent elsewhere in the world, they insisted that such incidents had not occurred in the community since the early 2000s. Jewish organisations in Russia will be monitoring the progress of the investigation.

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Image credit: Shamir Community Centre