Shafrir synagogue shooting: As part of the Palestinian Fedayeen insurgency, three Palestinian militants who crossed into Israel from Egypt attacked the study hall of a synagogue while it was full of children and teenagers, killing 6 people, including 5 children.
Congregation Beth Israel attack: About 180 members were attending a Friday evening service to dedicate the new Zemurray Social Hall, and led by then-rabbi Saul Rubin and Rev. John Speaks and Dr. Franklin Denson of First Methodist Church, when 16‑year-old neo-Nazi firebombed the synagogue. He then non-fatally shot two synagogue members who went outside to investigate.[1]
David Marness (possibly right-wing extremism linked to the Minutemen organization)
A bomb planted in the rear wall of Congregation Shaare Tikvah, Temple Hills, Maryland severely damaged the kitchen, social hall, and classrooms, with damages estimated at $200,000. There were no casualties or injuries. Police arrested David Maness in February and found 38 pounds of dynamite and literature from the right-wing Minutemen organization in his home.[2][3]
Vandals broke into the building and attempted to firebomb the bima and ark, but the synagogue's alarm system alerted the Prince George's County Police, who arrived within minutes, thwarting the attack and minimizing the damage.
Marwan Hasan and Hesham Mohammed Rajeh (Palestinian nationalism)
1981 Vienna synagogue attack: Two Palestinian nationals entered the 155-year old Israelite Temple, posing as Jews, opening fire and threw grenades as attendees of a Bar Mitzvah. Two were killed and 18 were wounded. The assailants received life sentences.[7][8]
On Rosh Hashanah, the synagogue was attacked by a man with a submachine gun, seriously wounding four people. The attack was attributed to the Abu Nidal Organization.[9][10]
Great Synagogue of Rome attack: On Shabbat morning, as the families of the local Jewish community began leaving with their children from the back entrance to the synagogue, five elegantly dressed armed attackers walked calmly up to the back entrance of the synagogue and threw at least three hand grenades at the crowd, and afterwards sprayed the crowd with sub-machine gun fire. A 2-year-old toddler was killed and 37 civilians were injured. One of the assailants was identified as Osama Abdel al-Zomar, an alleged member of the Abu Nidal Organization.[11][12][13]
The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA)
In the summer of 1983, the Beth Shalom synagogue in Bloomington, Indiana was damaged in an arson attack. Unknown assailants had started a fire at the base of the Torah ark, from which it spread to the sanctuary before being extinguished, leaving tens of thousands of dollars of damage.[14] The group responsible was the white supremacist group, The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), which was linked to the Aryan Brotherhood and perpetrated multiple terrorist attacks across America in the early 1980s. The FBI suppressed the group following a siege of its rural Arkansas compound in the spring of 1985.[15]
1994 Brooklyn Bridge shooting: shooting attack on a van carrying Chabad-Lubavitch students crossing the bridge as part of an identifiably Jewish convoy of 20 vehicles carrying members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.[19]
Chris Lord, an individual associated with the Volksfront and American Front, fired ten rounds with an assault rifle into the temple, damaging the interior. The attacks were prompted by a newspaper article about several members of Eugene's Jewish community, including a lesbian. Community organizations responded by standing vigil outside the synagogue during Passover services. Lord and an associate were caught and convicted, and Lord was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.[20]
White supremacist Richard Baumhammers shot out windows at Congregation Beth El, Pittsburgh, and Congregation Ahavath Achim in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.[21]
2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting: At 11:30a.m. on 4 July 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41-year-old Egyptian national, approached the El Al ticket counter inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport, pulled out two Glock pistols, and started shooting at the 90 passengers standing in the line. Hadayet killed Customer Service Agent Victoria Hen and 46-year-old bystander Yaakov Aminov before being killed himself.[25][26]
Members of Volksfront (white supremacy and antisemitism)
Jacob Laskey, his brother Gabriel Laskey, Gerald Poundstone, Jesse Baker, and one other man, all members of the Volksfront, drove to Beth Israel with the intent of intimidating the congregants. While a service with 80 members attending was taking place, the men threw rocks etched with Naziswastikas through the synagogue's stained glass windows, then sped off. The men were caught, pleaded guilty, and were convicted. They served sentences ranging from a 6‑month work release term and five years probation, to eleven years and three months in federal prison for the ringleader, Jacob Laskey.[27][28]
As part of a string of attacks against synagogues and other religious institutions in the San Fernando Valley, a Molotov cocktail thrown through window at Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Encino, California. Farshid Tehrani was arrested for carrying our five arson attacks in 11 days between 26 April and 6 May. In October, he was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.[29][30]
Gillespie videotaped himself describing his plan to firebomb the temple with a Molotov cocktail and cause as much damage as he could. He said, "I will film it for you viewing enjoyment, my kindred. White power." Surveillance footage caught Gillespie in the act of throwing the Molotov cocktail at the building. Gillespie filmed himself while the temple was burning. The damage was limited to a brick wall and glass window. He then sent a letter to the congregation in hopes of inciting a holy war. Gillespie was arrested 15 days later in Russellville, Arkansas and extradited back to Oklahoma. In 2005, Gillespie was tried, convicted and sentenced to 39 years in prison. [31][32][33]
Two Palestinians, one Syrian migrant, unidentified others (Islamic extremism, anti-Israel)
After marches protesting the United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, more than a dozen hurled firebombs at the Gothenburg Synagogue while teens from the local Jewish community were attending a party inside. No one was injured and there was no major damage to the property. On 25 June 2018, two Palestinians and one Syrian migrant were convicted for participation. Two were sentenced to two years in prison and the third was sentenced to 15 months.[35][36]
A member of the synagogue in N. Miami Beach, FL, 68, was shot in the legs, as he was unlocking the front doors of the synagogue prior to a religious service. The suspect, Carlints St. Louis of Hallandale drove up in a black Chevrolet Impala, and shot him multiple times.[38]
Monsey Hanukkah stabbing: Five people were stabbed during Hanukkah festivities at the home of a rabbi (which was being used as a synagogue) in Monsey, New York.[41]
First attack: two unidentified assailants. Second (thwarted) attack: a 30-year-old man wearing a Palestinian scarf (Police stated that the man arrested was shouting inflammatory and anti-Israel slogans)
There were two attempted attacks on the Jewish Community Centre in Berlin's Mitte district; the first involved Molotov cocktails being thrown at the building, causing no injuries or damage, and the second involved a man wearing a Palestinian scarf and shouting anti-Israeli slogans, who was thwarted when he forced his way to the entrance despite a police cordon.[43]
Unidentified vandals set a fire and sprayed swastikas on external walls overnight in the Jewish section of the Vienna Central Cemetery. The entrance lobby to a ceremonial hall was burned for the first time since the 1938 Kristallnachtpogrom by the Nazis, but there were no injuries. The attack was condemned by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.[44][45][46]
A vandal poured fuel on the synagogue's door, setting the building on fire. No serious damage was reported and no one was in the building at the time. Videos of the incident were shared by news outlets in Azerbaijan, against whom Armenia has fought several wars. The following day, Armenian authorities opened an investigation.[47]
Arson attack on a synagogue in the city of Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. German police have offered a cash reward for information about an arson attack.[48]
A 29 year old Algerian man threw a bomb through the synagogue's window, lighting the building on fire. After throwing a knife at responding police, the man jumped off of the synagogue's roof and was shot by police. Damage inside the synagogue was significant.[49]
A Greek, Afghan, and Iranian were arrested by Greek officials for arson, gun possession, and robbery after two of the individuals rode near a synagogue and threw flammable material, causing fire.[50]
2024 Melbourne synagogue attack: An arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne by two masked perpetrators. One person was injured in the attack.
1958 – March 16: An explosion caused severe damage to the school wing of Temple Beth El in Miami, Florida.[51]
1958 – March 16: Bombing of Jewish Community Center in Nashville, Tennessee at 8:07p.m., claimed by segregationists of the Confederate Union. The front of the unoccupied building was damaged by dynamite, including broken windows and the front door, but the center reopened two days after the bombing.[51][52]
2002 white supremacist terror plot: Felton, the mixed-race son of a civil rights activist, and his girlfriend Chase planned to build a fertilizer bomb like one used in the Oklahoma City bombing and attack landmarks associated with American Jews and African Americans to incite a racial holy war. Felton and Chase were convicted for the plot on 27 July 2002. Felton received 21 years and 10 months in prison.[57][58]
July 2005
Synagogues, Israeli consulate, U.S. military facilities
Kevin James, Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson, Hammad Riaz Samana (Islamic extremism)
2005 Los Angeles bomb plot: A group of ex-convicts formed the radical Islamic group Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh from inside prison. The group, led by James, planned to rob gas stations in southern California and attack "enemies of Islam."[59][60]
James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams, Laguerre Payen (antisemitism, anti-Americanism)
Bronx terrorism plot: Cromitie, Williams, Williams, and Payen planned to bomb the Riverdale Temple and nearby Riverdale Jewish Center. They were also to fire Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles at military planes at Stewart Air National Guard Base.[61][62]
During the 2008-2009 Gaza war, 25-year-old Mohammed Alkaramla, a native of Jordan, mailed a letter threatening to blow up a Jewish high school if Israel didn't withdraw troops from Gaza. In July 2010, Alkaramla was found guilty of one count of making threats against the school. He was sentenced to 25 months in prison in November 2010.[63][64]
2011 Manhattan terrorism plot: Ferhani and Mamdouh purchased weapons and bombs in a sting operation as part of a plot to attack unspecified synagogues, a church, and the Empire State Building. In December 2012, Ferhani pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy and terrorism-related weapons possession charges and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. Mamdouh pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5 years in state prison.[65][66]
Pueblo synagogue plot: Self-described neo-Nazi Richard Holzer planned to detonate what he believed were explosives to blow up Temple Emanuel. Holzer was unknowingly in contact with FBI Online Covert Employees, was arrested, and admitted to planning to blow up the synagogue. Holzer pled guilty to federal hate crime and explosives charges in October 2020 and was sentenced to 19.5 years in prison in February 2021.[67][68][69]
Mahler and Brown were arrested at Penn Station after posting on social media that they wanted to "shoot up a synagogue and die." Brown was arrested with an illegal firearm, a large hunting knife, ammunition, and a Nazi armband. The online threat was first noted by the Community Security Service, which alerted authorities.[70][71] Jamil Hakime, who drove Mahler and Brown to purchase the gun pled guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in July 2023.[72]
On November 1, 2022, Omar Alkattoul from Sayreville, New Jersey, used social media to send a manifesto with a threat to attack a synagogue based on his hatred of Jews. He admitted he had researched how to obtain a gun and about mass shootings. Alkattoul pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on 14 November 2023.[75][76]
Twenty-year-old Seann Patrick Pietila was arrested by the FBI for threatening to conduct a mass killing at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East Lansing. A search at his home uncovered weapons, ammunition, Nazi paraphernalia, and military manuals. Pietila pled guilty in November and was sentenced to a year and one day in federal prison and ordered to pay $160,000 in restitution in March 2024.[77][78][79]
Synagogue attacks
Nineteenth century
The 1834 Safed pogrom, involving the mass violence against Jews perpetrated by local Arabs and Druze, featured attacks on local synagogues and the desecration of synagogue ritual objects.[80][81] Thirteen synagogues, along with an estimated 500 Torah scrolls, were destroyed in the course of the attack.[81] Attacks on Jews hiding in synagogues also took place.[82]
Following the Second World War, notable attacks on synagogues include the 1949 Menarsha synagogue bombing that took place on August 5, 1949 in the Jewish quarter of Damascus, Syria. The grenade attack claimed the lives of 12 civilians and injured about 30. Most of the victims were children.[9] A simultaneous attack was also carried out at the Great Synagogue in Aleppo.[10][85] Other bombings from this period include the 1957-58 USA synagogue bombings. A series of violent attacks that took place between November 11, 1957, and October 14, 1958. In total, there were five bombings and three attempted bombings of synagogues, seven in the Southern United States and one in the Midwest United States. There were no deaths or injuries. These events took place during an increase in antisemitic activity in the United States, both nonviolent and violent, after U.S. Supreme Court established that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional with Brown v. Board of Education in May 1954.[86] (See also, 1958 Atlanta synagogue bombing). That same decade saw the 1956 Shafrir synagogue shooting in Kfar Chabad, Israel. The attack which was carried out by Palestinian terrorists on April 11, 1956.[11] Three Palestinian attackers who crossed into Israel from Egypt attacked the study hall of a synagogue while it was full of children and teenagers.[14][87][15] Six people (five children and a youth worker) were killed.
Attacks on synagogues continued in the subsequent decades. In the case of the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing, which occurred on October 3, 1980, a bomb exploded outside Rue Copernic synagogue, a Reform synagogue, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The synagogue was full of approximately 320 worshippers.[88][89] Four people were killed in the blast.[90] According to investigators, the bomb had been set to detonate after prayers concluded and as worshippers were leaving the building. However, the service had started several minutes late and therefore there were few people in the vicinity of the bomb.[90] The 1981 Vienna synagogue attack was a terror attack that occurred on August 29, 1981, in the Stadttempel of Vienna, Austria. The attackers were two Palestinian terrorists of the Abu Nidal Organization.[16] The mass shooting and grenade attack killed two people and wounded 18 others attending a Bar mitzvah service.[91][92] Two months later, the 1981 Antwerp synagogue bombing occurred on October 20, 1981, when a truck bomb exploded outside a Portuguese Jewish synagogue in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, in the diamond district of Antwerp. The explosion took place shortly after 9:00 AM on a Tuesday morning, a few minutes before Simchat Torah religious services were to begin.[17] Three people were killed and 106 wounded.[19] The following year saw the Great Synagogue of Rome attacked by armed Palestinian terrorists on October 9, 1982. A 2-year-old toddler, Stefano Gaj Taché, was killed in the attack, while 37 civilians were injured. The attackers used a combination of hand grenades and sub-machine gun fire.[25][93][26] This period also saw the 1986 Istanbul synagogue massacre, which occurred on September 6, 1986, at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul's Beyoglu district, and resulted in 22 deaths.[29] Reportedly, a pair of terrorists entered on the men's side of the mechitza and opened fire on the crowd with machine guns. They then doused the bodies of the dead and injured with gasoline, which they lit on fire.[94][30]
The following decade saw the 1991 Sydney synagogue attacks, a series of events occurring between January 26 and March 28, 1991. Five synagogues in Sydney, Australia, were targeted by arsonists. Four synagogues were significantly damaged and one attack thwarted by a security guard. The attacks resulted in the permanent closure of one synagogue, the injury of the security guard.[31][32][95] In 1999, the Sacramento synagogue firebombings, an attack on three California synagogues, occurred on June 18, 1999. The attackers were white supremacist brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams who were later involved in other hate crimes and subsequently arrested for the murder of a gay couple.[33][96]
Twenty-first century
Attacks on synagogues continued into the twenty-first century. The 2002 Lyon synagogue attack occurred on 30 March 2002, involving a group of masked men using two cars to conduct a vehicle-ramming attack in Lyon, France. After ramming the synagogue, the cars were set on fire. The attack caused severe damage to the synagogue.[97][98][99][100] The Lyon attack was one of a series of pro-Palestinian attacks on French synagogues and other Jewish targets. The series of attacks included attacks on synagogues in Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg.[101][99] The 2002 Djerba synagogue bombing was a terror attack on the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, carried out by Al-Qaeda.[35] The attack occurred on 11 April 2002, involving a natural gastruck fitted with explosives which drove past security barriers at the ancient El Ghriba synagogue.[36] The truck detonated at the front of the synagogue, killing 14 German tourists, three Tunisians, and two French nationals.[102] More than 30 others were wounded.[38][39][40] Following this, the 2009 Caracas synagogue attack occurred on 31 January 2009 at the Tiféret Israel Synagogue in Caracas, Venezuela's oldest synagogue. The attack occurred amid a rise in tensions prompted by the 2008–2009 Gaza War, after Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel and Israel responded by expelling Venezuelan officials from the country.[43] The attack involved a group of 15 attackers who broke into the synagogue and occupied the building for several hours.[44] Security guards were tied up and gagged and the gang destroyed offices and the repository where the holy books were stored. They daubed the walls with antisemitic and anti-Israeli graffiti.[45] They also stole a database that listed Jews who lived in Venezuela.[103]
The following decade saw the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack, a terrorist attack on the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem, occurring on 18 November 2014. Two Palestinian men attacked synagogue congregants with axes, knives, and a gun, killing four worshippers, injuring eight others including a Druze Israeli police officer who later died of his wounds.[104][46][48][49]
1 2 Martin Sicker (1999). Reshaping Palestine: from Muhammad Ali to the British Mandate, 1831–1922. Greenwood Publishing Group. p.13. ISBN978-0-275-96639-3. However, the insurrection soon lost its original purpose and turned into bloody rioting and excesses directed against the Jewish population. The rioting was most severe in Safed, where assaults and vandalism forced many Jews to flee to the nearby village of Ein Zetim or relocate to Jerusalem. During the attacks, some 500 Torah scrolls were destroyed in Safed alone. The rioting continued until a contingent of Druze troops from Ibrahim's army arrived to halt the violence. The governor of Safed and thirteen of the ringleaders were taken captive, summarily tried, and put to death.
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Report of an arson attack on an Australian synagogue (1920)
Wiesbaden synagogue set alight (1938)
Plaque marking the destruction of Great Choral Synagogue of Riga (1941)
Site of the Shafrir synagogue attack in Kfar Chabad (1956)
Site of the Antwerp synagogue bombing (1981)
Monument for the victims of the Great Synagogue of Rome attack (1982)
