Orenburg Youth Arrested in Connection With Synagogue Vandalism on Hitler's Birthday

(April 26, 2006)

A 15 year old youth has been arrested in connection with the April 20, 2006 vandalism of a synagogue in Orenburg, according to an April 26, 2006 report by the Russian Jewish web site Jewish.ru. The incident took place on the 117th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth-traditionally a time of increased racist and antisemitic violence in Russia. A group of youths smashed the building's windows and screamed antisemitic slogans at around 7PM that evening. No worshippers were present inside at the time and the synagogue has no video security system, but witnesses were able to identify the detained youth from mug shots. Despite clear evidence that the incident was a hate crime, police are so far treating it as an incident of “ordinary hooliganism.”

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