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Photo: Raanan Azulai
Flames, Illustration
Photo: Raanan Azulai

Geneva synagogue destroyed by fire, no injuries

Police suspect arson responsible for blaze; Too early to determine whether act of anti-Semitism

Police said they suspected arson in a fire that destroyed a large synagogue in Geneva early on Thursday.

 

There were no injuries, a police spokesman said.

 

"Due to the extent of the fire that the firemen encountered when they arrived to intervene, we tend to think that it was a deliberate act," spokesman Philippe Cosandey said by telephone. "That is the hypothesis that the police technical teams are pursuing now."

 

Cosandey said it was too early to determine whether the attack could have been racially motivated, and police had not alerted the local community about the possibility of further danger.

 

Firefighting authorities were alerted at 5:18 am local time (3:18 GMT) and arrived to find the entire synagogue in flames.

 

The fire was under control by 6:15 am local time, according to the Swiss news agency ATS.

 

The synagogue was built in the early 1970s in the Malagnou suburb of Geneva and has played host to a youth and sports club as well as conferences and receptions.

 

City authorities were attempting to recover religious artefacts from the ruins of the fire, ATS said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.24.07, 11:06
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