Tver, Russia – A homemade bomb went off in the small hours of Monday near a synagogue in Tver, 170 kilometers northwest of Moscow, a local law enforcement source told Interfax.
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“Nobody was hurt in the explosion. The entrance to the synagogue was partly damaged. The shock wave broke windows in nearby buildings. Crime experts, representatives of the prosecutor’s office and the Emergency Situations Ministry are still working at the scene,” the source said.
A criminal case will be opened when experts determine the power of the bomb, the size of the damage caused to the building and other circumstances of the incident, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Russia said the bomb was not the first incident targeted against the synagogue.
“The attempt to undermine the building of the synagogue in Tver shocked the entire Jewish community in Russia. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident. The explosion is a culmination of numerous attacks against practicing Jews,” a federation statement received by Interfax-Religion said.
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.”