Firebombs hurled at synagogue in Sweden
Gang of 21 masked men throw Molotov cocktails in Gothenburg, with students led to the basement for their safety until security forces arrived
More than a dozen men hurled firebombs at a synagogue in Gothenburg in southern Sweden, hours after locals marched in the city against the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
No one was injured in the attack Saturday night, which ended without injury, the online edition of the Expressen daily reported.
Dvir Maoz, the World Bnei Akiva youth movement’s emissary in Gothenburg, told JTA that the attack happened a little after 10 p.m. while youths from the local Jewish community were attending a party inside the synagogue complex. Looking outside from inside the synagogue lobby area, he said he saw in the corner of his eye “a ball of fire” approaching the building. “The guards saw it in the security cameras and called police right away. The children were stressed, it was the first time they had ever experienced a terrorist attack near them.”
A mother whose daughter was inside the synagogue at the time of the attack, told Expressen GT that she received a text from her saying ‘Mum I’m getting scared.’
The children’s parents were called to take them home after police arrived at the scene and scanned the area to make sure it was safe to come out, he said. The culprits had already left by the time police arrived. The building did not sustain any substantial damage that he could see, Maoz added.
As they waited for police to arrive, the children were taken down to the basement floor for safety, Laila Takolander, a member of the local Jewish community, told the Expressen daily.
Jewish Assembly chairman in Gothenburg Allan Stutzinsky, witnessed the attack and said: “
There were tens of masked people throwing burning objects into the courtyard.
“At the party held in the center next to the synagogue, there were about 30 young people.”
A police spokesman said: “There are several molotov cocktails that have been thrown against the synagogue.
“It’s about bottles and gasoline. Now we are waiting for technicians and searching for perpetrators.”
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