Major Attacks Against Synagogues rise globally

[bellanaija]

BOOK INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TICKETS LOCAL FLIGHTS HOTELS BOOKINGS WORLDWIDE AND MORE AT CHEAPEST RATE EVER! CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHT AND RECEIVE YOUR FLIGHT TICKET INSTANTLY

Loading...

A synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh on Saturday, which left 11 people dead, is “likely the deadliest” such attack in US history, an American civil rights group said.

Here is a list of major attacks on synagogues around the world over recent years, and of attacks on other places of Jewish community life.

Tunisia

On April 11, 2002, 21 people died in a suicide attack on the Ghriba synagogue, on the island of Djerba, in the south of the country. Among the dead were 14 Germans, five Tunisians and two French citizens. A tank truck driven by a Tunisian and filled with inflammable gas blew up outside the synagogue, which is the oldest place of Jewish worship in Africa. The attack was claimed by al-Qaida.

Turkey

On Nov. 15, 2003, vehicles filled with explosives were used against two synagogues in Istanbul, Neve Shalom and Beth Israel, killing 30 and injuring 300. Five days later, the British consulate and an HSBC building came under attack. A Turkish cell of al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the four attacks, which claimed a total of 63 lives.

Israel

On Nov. 18, 2014, an attack by two Palestinians against a synagogue in western Jerusalem claimed five: three Israeli-Americans, one Israeli-Briton and a Druze policeman. The Har Nof neighborhood, where the attack took place, is considered to be a bastion of the ultra-orthodox Shas party. The attack was the first against a Jewish place of worship in Jerusalem. Both attackers were shot dead by police.

Denmark

On Feb. 14, 2015, a Danish citizen of Palestinian origin, having pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, opened fire on a cultural center in Copenhagen, which was hosting a freedom of speech conference, and killed a filmmaker.

Later that night, he also killed a 37-year-old Jewish man who was standing guard outside a synagogue where a bar mitzvah was being held.

The attacker was then killed in a shootout with police.