Jewish group reports 3 attacks in Russia in 2 weeks

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russia's Jewish community on Thursday reported three attacks in the last two weeks, including a raid on a synagogue and desecration of a memorial to Holocaust victims. In Ulyanovsk, a group of about a dozen young men painted swastikas Tuesday on the walls of a synagogue and cursed at members inside, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia said. In Volgograd, anti-Semitic slogans were scrawled on a memorial to Holocaust victims Sunday, the group said. Last week, several young men burst into a synagogue in Nizhny Novgorod, throwing religious books out a window and beating up a security guard, it said. All three cities are in western Russia. The federation said it was concerned about the rise in attacks targeting Jews, calling it part of "a recent surge in anti-Semitic manifestations" in Russia.