The Jewish community of Chernivtsi, Ukraine, was shaken on Thursday evening after a man set fire to the famed Sadigura synagogue known as the “Kloiz Kadisha,” causing significant damage to one of the most important buildings in the world of Hasidism.
According to local community reports, the suspect, described by community representatives as a mentally unstable man, entered the synagogue in the Sadigura (Sadhora) neighbourhood when the guard briefly stepped away from the gate. He is alleged to have started a fire inside the building before police, who were called to the scene, arrived and arrested him.
A preliminary investigation has indicated that about a month ago, the same man allegedly attempted to set fire to a local church, community leaders said, suggesting a broader pattern of disturbed behaviour rather than a targeted attack on Jews.
No injuries were reported, but community members said the blaze caused heavy damage to parts of the historic structure’s interior. Engineers, conservation experts and representatives of the local authorities are expected to assess the full extent of the damage in the coming days.
“This is a very painful and distressing incident,” said Chernivtsi’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein, who also serves as Chabad’s emissary in the city. “The synagogue is one of the most important buildings in the Hasidic world.”
At the same time, Glitzenstein stressed that the attack should not be read as a sign of rising antisemitism in Chernivtsi itself.
Ukraine's Sadhora synagogue: A 19th-century hasidic center
“In Chernivtsi, we do not feel antisemitism,” he said. “There is extensive security around Jewish institutions, and efforts are made to neutralize any sign of antisemitism. All residents here live in brotherhood and peace.”
His comments reflect a nuance that has often emerged in recent years across Eastern Europe: even when Jewish sites are harmed, local Jewish leaders sometimes distinguish between isolated, individual acts and broader societal hostility.
The Kloiz Kadisha is not just a local synagogue but a site of major historical and spiritual importance for Hasidim worldwide. The building stands in Sadhora, once a separate town and now a district of Chernivtsi in the Bukovina region of western Ukraine.
In the 1840s, Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin, one of the towering figures of 19th-century Hasidism, established his court there after fleeing persecution in the Russian Empire.
The Sadhora synagogue was built in a romantic style with Moorish elements and red brick, giving it an appearance closer to a palace than a typical Eastern European shul.
Contemporary accounts and later historians describe a vast prayer hall, high arched windows and an imposing façade that became a model for other Hasidic courts, including in Chortkov and Vizhnitz.
For four generations, the rebbes of the Sadigura dynasty held court there, and Hasidic biographers have long referred to the kloiz as one of the largest and most magnificent synagogues in the Hasidic world.
World War I effectively ended that chapter. In 1914, with fighting approaching the region, the Sadigura court left Sadhora for Vienna, and the once-flourishing Jewish community of the town and its grand synagogue declined sharply.
Under Soviet rule, the building was confiscated and used for secular purposes, including as a factory space, and later stood largely derelict.
Restoration and renewed pilgrimage
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Jewish descendants, Hasidic groups and local partners began pushing to save the site. A major restoration project, supported in part by international donors and philanthropists connected to the Ruzhin–Sadigura dynasty, was completed in the mid-2010s.
The renewed synagogue, with its restored interior and gleaming exterior brickwork, was rededicated around 2016–2017 and once again became a place of prayer and pilgrimage.
In recent years, Sadigura Hasidim from Israel, Europe and North America have travelled to Chernivtsi to pray in the kloiz and visit the nearby graves of the rebbes, while local Jews have used the building for holiday events, including large Sukkot gatherings.
The fire, therefore, touches not only a local community but also a global network of Hasidim and heritage activists who have invested heavily in preserving the remnants of Jewish life in Bukovina.
The incident comes at a time when Ukraine remains at war following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and when Jewish heritage sites across the country have had to contend with both physical risks and limited resources.
Ukrainian authorities have publicly pledged to safeguard religious sites of all faiths, and in many cities, local officials have worked closely with Jewish communities to protect synagogues, cemeteries and monuments.
Rabbi Glitzenstein’s insistence that the Chernivtsi community does not perceive a wave of antisemitism is consistent with recent reports from Jewish organizations that have highlighted a revival of Jewish life in the city, including new educational programs and holiday celebrations, even amid the broader instability of war.
“This place has already survived wars, regimes and decades of neglect,” one community member said. “We are sure that with God’s help, and with the support of Jews around the world, the Kloiz Kadisha will be repaired and will continue to stand as a beacon of Torah, prayer and Hasidic heritage.”
Ukrainian police have opened a criminal investigation into the arson. Community leaders expressed hope that the case will be handled swiftly and transparently, and reiterated their confidence that authorities remain committed to protecting Jewish and other religious sites in the region.