Report: Ukrainian synagogue firebombed in Black Sea city

Son of Nikolayev’s chief rabbi says two Molotov cocktails were thrown at synagogue empty of worshipers in the early hours of Saturday.

By JTA
Synagogue in Ukraine firebombed (photo credit: HTTP://Z-CITY.COM.UA/)
Synagogue in Ukraine firebombed
(photo credit: HTTP://Z-CITY.COM.UA/)
The main synagogue in the Ukrainian city of Nikolayev reportedly was firebombed.
The synagogue was empty of worshipers when it was firebombed early Saturday morning, according to the Chabad-affiliated Shturem.org website.
Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the door and window, the report said, citing Yisroel Gotlieb, son of the city’s chief rabbi, Sholom Gotlieb.
A passer-by put out the fires with a fire extinguisher, according to the report.
The attack was recorded by the synagogue’s closed circuit television security camera and uploaded to YouTube.
Nikolayev, a Black Sea port city of approximately 500,000, is located in southeastern Ukraine about 70 miles from Odessa.
The Giymat Rosa Synagogue in Zaporizhia, located 250 miles southeast of Kiev, in eastern Ukraine, was firebombed in late February.
Last week in eastern Ukraine, fliers calling on Jews to register with pro-Russian separatists and pay special taxes were distributed in Donetsk.