3 arrested after firebomb attack on synagogue
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN — Swedish police arrested three people Sunday after a masked gang hurled Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in the port city of Gothenburg as it hosted an event on Saturday night.
The attack set the yard ablaze, but the building did not catch fire and no one was injured.
Authorities said the people gathered on the premises had fled to safety in the basement.
Police spokesperson Ulla Brehm said: “It might become a hate crime. The crime is attempted arson. But that may change during the investigation.”
The Police Authority’s commissioner, Dan Eliasson, told the Aftonbladet newspaper that the threat level against Jewish interests in Sweden had increased since President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Allan Stutzinsky, chair of the synagogue, who witnessed the fire, told a local newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, that about 10 young people who had gathered outside the gate began setting fire to objects and throwing them at the synagogue.
“They were masked and setting fire to things and then throwing them over the gate into the courtyard,” he said.
“There was an actual fire in the yard, but then a heavy rainfall came, and the fire was put out quite quickly.”
Brehm said Gothenburg officers received a call about the episode after 10 p.m. Saturday. She said the suspects were dressed in black and wearing hoodies.
“They ran away, and shortly thereafter we got hold of three of them,” she said.
Police arrested three men in their 20s on suspicion of arson, Brehm said, adding that they were looking for other suspects. Police did not release further details about the suspects.
Swedish leaders condemned the attack on the synagogue. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in a statement on Sunday: “There is no place for anti-Semitism in our Swedish society. The perpetrators will answer for their crimes.”
Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom tweeted: “The attack against the synagogue in Gothenburg and threat of violence against Jews in Malmo is deplorable and totally unacceptable. Anti-Semitism, threats and violence have no place in our society.”