This is a list of anti-Semitic attacks and vandalism against synagogue buildings and property in Israel. Vandalism of synagogues is not uncommon in Israel.
In Tel Aviv on June 11, the Bnei Benjamin synagogue was torched and swastikas were daubed on the walls of the Great Synagogue.[1] On June 16, vandals rampaged through the Chidushei Harim yeshiva destroying tefillin, prayer books, bibles and copies of the Talmud, scrawling "down with the black parasites" on the walls.[2] In Jerusalem, a Chabad synagogue was ransacked and the Torah scroll was slashed and hundreds of prayer books were destroyed. The violence was instigated in retaliation for the destruction of multiple bus shelters by religious Jews[3] with one group calling itself Citizens Against Zealotry threatening to burn a synagogue for every bus shelter destroyed. MK Rabbi Avraham Yosef Shapira declared that "only in an anti-Semitic country could such acts take place."[4] Knesset Speaker Shlomo Hillel said the synagogue arson was reminiscent "of the worst experience of the Jewish people."[5] Israeli President Chaim Herzog called the synagogue attacks "domestic anti-Semitism."[6]
1997
October 7
In Jerusalem, vandals daubed swastikas and "damned wicked ones" at the entrance to the Harel Reform synagogue.[7]
October 12
In Kfar Sava, a Conservative synagogue was vandalised on Yom Kippur and had the mezuzah ripped off the doorpost.[7]
2000
June
In Beersheba, the Masorti Eshel Avraham Synagogue had its windows smashed. In Jerusalem, a blaze at the Conservative Kehillat Ya'ar Ramot synagogue damaged the main sanctuary, furniture and prayer books. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called it "an awful act that causes every Jew to shudder" adding that "it is seven times more shocking when it occurs in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Israel".[8]
2003
April
In Bnei Brak, six synagogues were set on fire; a seventh was sprayed with graffiti.[9]
May 22
In Jerusalem, the Mevakshei Derech Reform synagogue had its windows smashed.[10]
2005
January 26
in Beer Sheva, swastikas and "Death to the Jews, Heil Hitler" in Russian were painted on the wall of a synagogue.[11]
In Tel Aviv, considerable damage was caused to the Geulat Yisrael synagogue in the Shenkin neighbourhood. Windows were smashed and walls daubed with "If we don't march in Jerusalem – you won't walk in Tel Aviv".[13]
March 5
In Petah Tikva, swastikas and "death to Jews" was sprayed on at a synagogue.[14][15]
May 4
In Petah Tikva, approximately 20 swastikas are sprayed on the Holy Ark, Torah scroll and walls of the Great Synagogue.[16][17]
2007
March 10
In Haifa, Nazi swastikas and a drawing of a nude woman were scrawled on the wall.[18]
September 30
In Haifa, the sukkah of the Neve David synagogue was burnt down and prayer books were sprayed with "death to religious people". A witness said the culprits gave the Nazi salute while calling "Heil Hitler".[19]
November 7
In Bnei Brak, the Biala synagogue on Ezra Street had its property smeared in feces and doused with wine.[20]
2008
May 7
In Bnei Brak, a Holy Ark was sprayed with satanic graffiti and gasoline poured on the floor. Police said three other local synagogues had also been targeted.[21]
2009
March 8
In Haifa, the Neve Zion synagogue was set ablaze. A week earlier on March 3, the Heichal Shimshon synagogue in the same neighbourhood was set on fire and the Holy Ark and prayer books were damaged.[22]
August 30
In Haifa, the Naveh Shaanan synagogue was subject to an arson attack.[23]
November 8
In Ashkelon, vandals broke into the N’vei Dekalim synagogue damaging furniture, prayer books and alms boxes.[24]
In Tiberias, intruders smashed every window and ripped out antiquated metal bars of a historic building serving as a Chabad-Lubavitch center. $5,000 in cash was stolen along with silverware and computers.[26]
2011
March 25
In Netanya, the Reform Beit Yisrael synagogue was subjected to stone-throwing attacks by Haredi youths which continued for at least three consecutive weeks.[27]
April 14
In Raanana, a Reform synagogue had its windows shattered and was sprayed with graffiti for third time in recent months.[28]
October 8
In Jaffa, a synagogue was firebombed after two Arab cemeteries were vandalised.[29]
October 12
In Safed, "Death to Jews" was scrawled on four synagogues.[30]
December 30
In Ashdod, a synagogue wall was sprayed with swastikas and "Death to Haredim".[31]
2012
January 15
In Hemed, Torah scrolls were thrown on the floor and covered with mud.[32]
May 28
In Hamat Tiberias, the ancient synagogue mosaic was smashed and daubed with graffiti in protest of archeological digs at ancient gravesites. The head of the Eastern Galilee and Golan region of the Antiquities Authority said the vandalism "destroyed one of the most magnificent synagogues in the country," and that "the damage is irreversible, it's doubtful we will be able to see the mosaic like it was before... The mosaic floor was here for 1,600 years until these vandals destroyed so many years of history.”[33][34]
June 22
In Maor, vandals sprayed praise for Mohammed and Muslim prayers on the walls of a synagogue.[35]
2013
May 26
In Haifa, a synagogue was sprayed with swastikas, anti-Semitic graffiti and drawings indicating devil worship.[36]
May 29
In Bat Yam, windows were smashed and swastikas were daubed on the walls of the Ha’Ohel synagogue. The warden, who suffered a panic attack, said "for how long must we feel that we are still in exile? This is the fourth time in a month." A month earlier crosses and the phrase "brothel" was scrawled on the walls.[37]
July 30
In Netanya, ten Torah scrolls were burnt by a thief attempting to cover his tracks in a synagogue on Nordau Street.[38]
August 23
In Ramat Eshkol, inside a synagogue belonging to Bnei Akiva, the Torah scroll had been flung to the ground and graphic images sprayed on the walls.[39]
December 31
In Tel Aviv, Nazi slogans and swastikas are spray-painted at the Gr"a synagogue.[40]
2014
January 10
In Ezer, vandals broke off the Torah Ark door and tore the Torah scrolls which had been thrown on the floor.[41]
January 30
In Raanana, a Reform synagogue was sprayed with quotes from the writings of Moses Maimonides on heretics.[42]
May 12
In Jerusalem, the entrance sign to the Masorti Moreshet Yisrael congregation was daubed with swastikas.[43]
November 30
In Tel Aviv, the words "In a place where the Jewish State bill will be legislated books will be burned," were painted on the wall of the International Synagogue. Believing that left-wing activists were behind the attack, the rabbi called it a "clear act of anti-Semitism."[44]
2015
May 31
In Ra'anana, anti-Semitic graffiti was daubed on the Ahavat Reim Synagogue. The vandals also desecrated Mezuzah parchments by using their own blood to paint crosses and swastikas on them before plastering them on the walls of the synagogue. The police chief called the incident a "heinous desecration of religious symbols."[45]
July 23
In Jerusalem, the Pitchei Olam synagogue on King George Street was daubed with swastikas and the curtain of the Holy Ark was burnt.[46]
July 26
In Bnei Brak on Tisha B'Av, the Beis Chabad was vandalized and the Holy Ark was set alight.[47]
November 25
In Arad, a severed pig's foot was hung near the entrance of a recently inaugurated Haredi synagogue.[48]
2016
Letter to MK Gilad Erdan from MK David Azulai asking that the perpetrators of the desecration of a synagogue in Arad be brought to justice (13-Dec-2016)
January 12
In Tel Aviv, anti-Semitic graffiti were scrawled on the walls of a synagogue in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood.[49]
July 6
In Bnei Brak, a synagogue was set on fire damaging prayer books.[50]
October 13
In Katamon, in a repeat attack, black crosses were sprayed on the external walls of an Iranian Orthodox synagogue during Yom Kippur.[51]
November 24
In Raanana, a Reform synagogue was sprayed hate graffiti and death threats were left in envelopes on its doorstep held down by a knife addressed to prominent Reform leaders.[52]
December 12
In Arad, anti-religious activists stormed the central Ashkenazi synagogue disturbing prayers of the Hasidic community.[53] A speaker at an emergency meeting called by MK Yaakov Litzman said "It is inconceivable that something that would not be done to Jews in enemy states, such as Iran, should be done to Jews here in Israel."[54] The incident led to tens of thousands of people protesting in Bnei Brak,[55] Jerusalem[56] and Ashdod.[57]
2017
April 12
In Petah Tikva, a swastika is sprayed next to a synagogue on the first day of Passover.[58]
May 20
In Meah Shearim, the Chabad synagogue was trashed and had various liquids smeared over the walls.[59]
June 3
In Petah Tikva, two synagogues, (one on Sokolov Street, the other on Usishkin Street), were sprayed with swastikas.[60]
June 21
In Nahlaot, swastikas were daubed inside a synagogue next to the Holy Ark.[61]
2018
March 8
In Ramat Beit Shemesh, black paint was poured all over the floor of the women's section and pamphlets containing speeches given at a recent prayer rally were ruined.[62]
May 15
In Netanya, a Masorti synagogue was targeted four times having its windows smashed and leaving members feeling scared and vulnerable. One said "we came to Israel to escape persecution and to practice and live our Jewish faith. It is hard to believe that this is happening to us in Israel.[63]
August 14
In Petah Tikvah, the Mikdash Moshe synagogue was vandalized with Nazi graffiti.[64]
September 12
In Rehovot, eggs were thrown on multiple occasions at women outside the Kretshnif synagogue.[65]
November 3
In Beit Shemesh, the Beis Mordechai synagogue had its mezuzah ripped off and windows smashed.[66]
November 9
In Ramat Hasharon, a pig's head was hung over the entrance to the Sukkat Shaul synagogue.[67] MK Moti Yogev said his father "would not have believed he would see such an anti-Semitic sight in the State of Israel."[68]
November 26
In Ashkelon, two synagogues were daubed with satanic symbols in the space of a month.[69]
2019
January 26
In Netanya, "Hail Satan" was sprayed on the walls of the Orthodox MacDonald synagogue and prayer books were burnt.[70] The same night, Reform congregation Natan-Ya was flooded, damaging the structure, furniture and prayer books. The rabbi commented that "if this would happen in the States there would be a much bigger outcry."[71]
January 28
In Kiryat Yovel, furniture and prayer books were damaged at the Siach Yisrael synagogue and the Torah scrolls were thrown to the floor and doused in acid.[72] Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon said "I've never seen something like this. Four Torah books thrown on the ground, they simply defiled them... Such a thing can't be in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel. We know these solely from dark periods in the Diaspora." Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Aryeh Stern referred to it as a "heinous crime similar to what was witnessed at the hands of the wicked Nazis during the Holocaust."[73]Shas chairman Aryeh Deri said "It's hard to believe how such a despicable, anti-Semitic pogrom could happen in a synagogue, here in the land of Israel." The French Ambassador expressed her shock by saying "The vandalization of the hall in memory of Jonatan Sandler, one of the victims of the anti-Semitic terror at Toulouse in 2012, is a disgrace."[74]
May 10
In Bnei Ayish, a synagogue was set on fire and sprayed with graffiti.[75]
May 15
In Lod, vandals caused widespread damage to an Indian-Jewish congregation.[76]
June 9
In Bnei Brak on Shavuot night, a pack of delinquent Haredi youths stormed the Dorog Bais Medrash injuring 20 hasidim and causing considerable damage by letting off a fire extinguisher. They also targeted the Antania synagogue and the Machnovka Bais Medrash, stealing items and breaking fixtures in every building.[77]
June 11
In Bnei Brak, four Torah scrolls were stolen from the Tiferes Shimon synagogue and other holy books were left on the floor.[78]
July 28
In Ashkelon, an Ethiopian synagogue received a threatening letter with swastikas.[79]
In Bat Yam, anti-religious graffiti was sprayed on the wall of Heichal Yaakov, the town's oldest synagogue.[81]
December 22
In Modi'in Illit, the Holy Ark had been broken into and suffered fire damage. Silverware from the Torah scrolls was stolen.[82]
2020
May 12
In Yerucham, the Holy Ark of the Tiferes Yisrael synagogue was destroyed and Torah scrolls desecrated. A similar incident occurred at the B’levav Shalem yeshivah.[83]
2021
March 30
Two synagogues in Ramat Gan had chametz intentionally left by their front door during Passover. A loaf of bread was found stuffed in the front door handle of one, while pieces of bread were scattered around the entrance of the other.[84]
April 5
Two arson attacks against synagogues in Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan took place within 15 minutes of each other, one having its Holy Ark set alight.[85]
May 11–19
Ten synagogues in Lod were burned in arson attacks by Arab rioters.[86]
August 31
In Bnei Brak, swastikas were daubed on the side of two synagogues. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called the vandalism "a despicable act of evil."[87]
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References
↑ Swastikas Deface Israeli Synagogue, New York Times, June 16, 1986. "Vandals smeared swastikas on a Tel Aviv synagogue today and ransacked two religious schools overnight, as the conflict between Orthodox militants and secular Jews reached new depths of bitterness."
↑ Grolier Society (1987). Encyclopedia Year Book. New York: Grolier Society. p.445. Secular extremists vandalized Tel Aviv Synagogues in retaliation for the defacement or burning down of Jerusalem bus shelters by ultraorthodox Jews who objected to advertisements for women's swimsuits.
↑ Clifford Goldstein (April 1, 1987). "War Between the Jews". Liberty. 82 (4: July–August 1987). Religious Liberty Association of America: 16. In retaliation for the defacing of the shelters, secular extremists began a wave of vandalism against Orthodox synagogues and yeshivot (religious schools). Anti-Orthodox slogans were painted upon the wall of an ultra-Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem, and arsonists attempted to burn down one in Tel Aviv. In Jerusalem the Habad synagogue was ransacked by vandals, who broke into the holy ark, slashed a Torah scroll, and destroyed hundreds of prayer books. In the Hidushei Harim Yehsiva in Tel Aviv, vandals destroyed prayer books, Bibles, copies of the Talmud, and religious articles. Other schools across the country also were vandalized. Swastikas were painted upon the wall of a Tel Aviv synagogue. A note left behind by a group calling itself Citizens Against Zealotry said that a synagogue would burn for every bus shelter destroyed. "Words fail me to express the shock all of us felt in the face of the attempt by a hooligan, or hooligans, to set fire to a synagogue," said former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres." […] "Israelis were shocked over the synagogue attacks, which were uncomfortably reminiscent of the anti-Semitism of the Diaspora. "I came to Israel to get away from this type of thing," said one old Jewish woman. "I never imagined that it could happen here." Former prime minister Peres said that "the people will never forgive these acts." Rabbi Avraham Shapira, an ultra-Orthodox MK, called for legislation that would make such acts punishable by life in prison and declared that "only in an anti-Semitic country could such acts take place."
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