Odessa Jewish community condemns Russian drone attack on historic synagogue
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine's third largest city calls the destruction 'a wound to our community and our heritage'
The Odessa Jewish community has strongly condemned Sunday evening’s drone attack by Russian forces, during which the city’s historic Old Peresip Synagogue sustained significant damage and caught fire.
The Shahed-model suicide drones were launched after the sombre Tisha B’Av fast.
Chief Rabbi of Odessa, Rabbi Shlomo Baksht, said: “A day after we mourn the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, we now mourn a new and painful loss: +*the severe damage to the Peresip Synagogue in Odessa.
“Though it has not been in active use in recent years, it stood for generations as a house of prayer, memory, and holiness, housing ancient scrolls and sacred books. Its destruction is a wound to our community and our heritage.”
Refael Kruskal, vice president of the Odessa Jewish community and chief executive of charity Tikva, who led the evacuation of hundreds of Jewish children to Romania at the onset of the war, said: “When a house of worship is attacked, I expect the world to condemn this act of brutality.
“Senseless and aimless violence that targets religious sites and civilians crosses a moral red line—one that has been violated too many times. This must stop. Our communities, our children, and our sacred institutions deserve protection, not destruction.”
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis said he joined the “unequivocal condemnations voiced by the leaders of the Jewish community in Odessa.”
Calling it “a violent act that occurred at a chilling moment—immediately after Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple”, Goldschmidt added: “The targeting of an ancient house of prayer is not a random incident—it is further proof of the destructive nature of Russian aggression, aimed not only at Ukraine but also at its civilian population and Jewish communities.”
The Odessa Jewish community says it calls upon international leaders and human rights organisations to speak out urgently against “repeated acts of aggression”, adding that “the deliberate targeting of civilian and religious infrastructure must not be tolerated.”
No casualties have yet been reported.
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