The arsonist, a man in his 60s, allegedly made antisemitic comments during his arrest.
The 60-year-old man arrested on suspicion of arson near the scene of the midday Hackney borough blaze reportedly made "a number of threatening comments, some of which were allegedly antisemitic."
Matthew Karelefsky, 46, was convicted last month of charges including attempted murder, arson and assault for the crime in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Midwood.
Las Olas Chabad seeks to raise a million dollars to rebuild the center.
Maintenance men were able to save the man's life, putting the fire out with a hose before emergency services arrived.
Since the October 7 massacre, hate crimes have more than doubled compared to the same time period in 2022.
A German-Iranian man was sentenced on Tuesday for attempting an arson attack against a synagogue in Bochum.
The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the fire as an anti-Jewish crime and is asking anyone with information to contact the NYPD.
Franklin Sechriest was caught on CCTV carrying fuel toward the synagogue moments before the fire and had also admitted to the attack in his journal.
Ohalei Keidar Detention Center activates state of emergency following arson incident involving crime organization leader
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