Wave of attacks on rabbis hits Europe

Itamar Eichner YnetNews

A wave of anti-Semitism and attacks against rabbis has been plaguing Eastern and Western Europe, and in just two weeks three rabbis in three different cities were harassed by locals.

The first incident took place in Berlin, Germany, when 36-year-old Rabbi Yehuda Teichtel was driving eight of his students in a minivan. Local police reported that two unknown persons in a Mercedes passed the van and blocked it from proceeding, crying insults of an anti-Semitic nature.

The driver of the vehicle then threw a molotov cocktail at the van, but luckily it did not explode and rabbi and students remained unharmed.

The second incident took place in Russia, when an anonymous man attacked the head rabbi of Vladivostok, Yisroel Silberstein, while the latter was walking through the center of town.

The man struck the rabbi on the head, knocking him unconscious. When he regained consciousness he stumbled home and called rescue services. Doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, and the police launched an investigation. In response Silverstein said, "The attack could have ended much worse."

The third incident took place a few days ago in the Czech Republic, when three skinheads attacked Rabbi Michael Yeruham, who has been living with his family in Prague for six years.

Yeruham was attacked as he was leaving a restaurant, which he had to inspect as part of his office as chief of kashrut in the Czech capital's Jewish community. "They called out anti-Semitic insults and pushed me," he recounted.

"One of them kicked me. I tried to defend myself; I was in the army and I still remember a bit of 'krav maga'. Then I returned to the restaurant and called for help. Meanwhile they threw two stones; one of them hit my foot and the other hit the door of the restaurant.

"We threw the stones back at them. They started to run but bumped into the Jewish community's security officers, who called the police. The men were arrested and confessed that they had come to hurt Jews."

The Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism (CFSA) in the Prime Minister's Office expressed its growing concern over the recent increase of events of this nature. One explanation for the trend is the global financial crisis, which provides anti-Semites with an excuse to blame Jews.

Other reports include threats on Jewish centers, the spraying of anti-Semitic slurs and swastikas on Jewish homes and synagogues, attempts to torch Jewish homes, and the desecration of Holocaust monuments.