Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran and rising tensions in the Middle East, Moldova's Jewish community is reporting a troubling spike in antisemitic incidents. Over the weekend, dozens of graves at the Jewish cemetery in the capital, Chisinau, were desecrated. The city, formerly known as Kishinev, was the site of a notorious 1903 pogrom in which dozens of Jews were murdered and hundreds more injured.
The incident is part of a growing pattern that includes antisemitic slurs and threats directed at members of the local Jewish community, as well as graffiti bearing antisemitic slogans sprayed on the wall of a synagogue.
"The escalation in the Middle East is accompanied by a wave of antisemitic incidents across Europe, underscoring the urgent need for increased vigilance to protect Jewish communities on the continent," said Moldova's Chief Rabbi Pinchas Zaltzman. "The direct conflict between Israel and Iran is fueling global waves of hatred and antisemitism. Unfortunately, Moldova is not immune to this trend."
Swastikas were spray-painted on Jewish graves in Chisinau, in what community members described as a particularly grave act of vandalism. Photos of the desecration, shared by Moldova’s Jewish community, show the extent of the damage.
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The Jewish community has also expressed anger over the recent publication of a school history textbook containing controversial material about the Holocaust, which denies any Moldovan involvement in the events. The Chief Rabbi has called on authorities to swiftly halt the surge in antisemitism, to take all necessary steps to prevent vandalism against Jewish institutions, and to ensure the safety and protection of Moldova's Jews. He also urged efforts to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims and to prevent distortion of historical truth in educational materials.
"What we're seeing here—desecration of Jewish graves in Moldova and the distortion of Holocaust history in school curricula—is not only an attack on the Jewish community, but an attack on the fundamental values of any civilized society," Zaltzman concluded.