Ukraine: Pig's head thrown at synagogue
Local residents protest three floor Chabad synagogue being built in Sevastopol, claim mass grave on grounds. Protest organizer: ‘Chabad cult of hateful Zionists.’ Several days ago, members of Jewish community find pig's head at site
A pig's head was placed on the threshold of a construction site slated for a three-story Chabad synagogue in Sevastopol, Ukraine. Members of the local Jewish community said that many residents have opposed construction of the neighborhood synagogue, claiming that the site was situated on remnants of a mass grave of non-Jewish Ukrainians
who died in World War II.
On Wednesday, the Zarusskiy.org news website reported that the head of the pig had been discovered by members of the Jewish community on Monday. The three floor building on which construction began in 2012 will be able to accommodate 400 worshipers. It is scheduled to open in 2014.
Related stories:
According to Jewish news agency JTA, the head of Habad in the coastal city of Sevastopol, Rabbi Binyamin Wolf, has yet to comment on the incident.
Protest over the construction of the synagogue arose from residents' claims that the construction site is a mass grave of non-Jewish Hungarians killed in World War II by the fascist regime. In late October, residents demonstrated in front of the synagogue site. Vladimir Tionin, one of the organizers of the demonstration, told website 15minut.org: “Chabad is a Zionist sect full of hate... We are not against other religions.”
In elections held a year ago in the Ukraine, the extreme right anti-semitic Svoboda party (Freedom) was significantly strengthened. Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Penta think tank, told Reuters at the time, “Svoboda is the biggest sensation. The Ukrainian political borsch (soup) has got a bit more spicy. There will be more pepper, but how it is going to taste is another question.” He said the significant support won by the anti-Semitic party reflected the public's protest against the country’s political establishment.
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
