North London synagogue attacked
Jewish Chronicle | 30.04.2002 19:58
Jewish leaders are seeing the desecration of a Noth London synagogue as a sign that a European anti-Semitic wave has crossed the Channel and is affecting Britain.
A swastika was scrawled on the rabbi's lectern at Finsbury Park Synagogue, and talitot and kipot were spread over the floor and Sifrei Torah were desecrated. The attackers also defecated in the synagogue's entrance.
Jeremy Newmark, the official spokesman for the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks, said: "This is the first incident in the country that resembles what's happening on the Continent. In terms of desecration, this is one of the most disturbing attacks we have seen."
The vandals forced their way into the synagogue late on Saturday night. They smashed at least 20 windows and ransacked the building, tossing personal possessions to the ground.
A can of green paint was thrown at the Ark, where the sacred Torah, or biblical scrolls, are kept, and the floor was strewn with sand. The Israeli flag, stamped on and covered in paint, lay on the floor yesterday beneath a pile of talitot and ripped sidurim.
The rabbi's talit and holy books were desecrated. Some members of the Jewish community blame radical Muslims for the attack, while others blame far-right extremists. The man regarded by many as Britain's most militant Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri, was banned last week from preaching at his local mosque in Finsbury Park, just a short distance away.
Police are understood to have ruled out robbery as a motive, since the synagogue's silverware was not stolen but scattered across the floor. "We will act swiftly and decisively against those who carried this out," said a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police.
The Community Security Trust, in charge of protecting British Jewry from violence and intimidation, said: "The scale and wantonness of the damage and the inclusion of the swastika shows the malicious intent of those who did this."
A swastika was scrawled on the rabbi's lectern at Finsbury Park Synagogue, and talitot and kipot were spread over the floor and Sifrei Torah were desecrated. The attackers also defecated in the synagogue's entrance.
Jeremy Newmark, the official spokesman for the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks, said: "This is the first incident in the country that resembles what's happening on the Continent. In terms of desecration, this is one of the most disturbing attacks we have seen."
The vandals forced their way into the synagogue late on Saturday night. They smashed at least 20 windows and ransacked the building, tossing personal possessions to the ground.
A can of green paint was thrown at the Ark, where the sacred Torah, or biblical scrolls, are kept, and the floor was strewn with sand. The Israeli flag, stamped on and covered in paint, lay on the floor yesterday beneath a pile of talitot and ripped sidurim.
The rabbi's talit and holy books were desecrated. Some members of the Jewish community blame radical Muslims for the attack, while others blame far-right extremists. The man regarded by many as Britain's most militant Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri, was banned last week from preaching at his local mosque in Finsbury Park, just a short distance away.
Police are understood to have ruled out robbery as a motive, since the synagogue's silverware was not stolen but scattered across the floor. "We will act swiftly and decisively against those who carried this out," said a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police.
The Community Security Trust, in charge of protecting British Jewry from violence and intimidation, said: "The scale and wantonness of the damage and the inclusion of the swastika shows the malicious intent of those who did this."
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