A rabbi was beaten in Moscow

On the evening of January 14, the president of the Magen League, Professor, Rabbi Alexander Lakshin was beaten in Moscow. Late in the evening he was returning from guests with his friend Rabbi Reuven Kuravsky and two small children. In the underground passage they were chased by six or seven young people aged 16-25 who were shouting anti-Semitic slogans. The rabbis were divided. R. Kuravsky and the children managed to escape, but the attackers managed to catch up with A. Lakshin, knocked him down and beat him. With injuries to the head, arm and spine, as well as multiple bruises and abrasions, he was taken to a medical center. According to doctors, A. Lakshin is in a state of moderate severity.

As a FEOR representative told Interfax , "there is no doubt about the anti-Semitic motives of the crime, especially since on the same evening, two hours earlier, a young married couple of religious Jews, also returning home, was attacked in the same passage."

Portal-Credo.ru adds that "repeated attacks on religious Jews have recently taken place in the area of ​​Maryina Roshcha, where the Moscow Jewish Community Center is located."

Since A. Lakshin is a US citizen, the American embassy in Moscow became interested in the course of the investigation.

On January 18, Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar (FEOR) made a statement regarding this incident. "In what happened, we once again see an outrageous

disregard for human life. The perpetrators attacked and severely beat several people dressed as religious Jews. What is especially scary is that they were not stopped even by the presence of the children, who, fortunately, managed to escape," the statement said.

B. Lazar demanded to find and punish the "non-humans" who committed this crime. He also drew attention to the fact that recently such antics have become commonplace in European countries. At the same time, he stressed that "crimes on ethnic and racial grounds cannot and should not be considered ordinary hooliganism." "The history of the 20th century proves that any connivance with anti-Semitism and downplaying its danger ultimately leads to the most terrible catastrophes, to the death of millions of people of all nationalities," said B. Lazar.

On the same day, the Russian Jewish Congress demanded that law enforcement agencies ensure the safety of all religious Jews visiting the Moscow Jewish Community Center in Maryina Roshcha. "There should be no place for xenophobia in a modern metropolis, where representatives of various nationalities and religions live. The direct duty of the police is to protect all Russian citizens, regardless of skin color and religion," the Congress said in a statement.

As Interfax reported with reference to the press service of the Moscow prosecutor's office, a criminal case has been opened on the fact of the attack on the rabbis under the article "hooliganism."

On January 20, information appeared about the detention of three suspects in this crime: one young man 22 years old and two - 19 years old. "Interfax" reports that they "are exposed by material evidence and detained until charges are brought." The materials of the initiated criminal case were sent to the prosecutor's office of the North-Eastern Administrative District of Moscow.

It should be noted that in this message of Interfax, in addition to A. Lakshin, there is a mention of "a resident of Lvov, Ilia Fomiuk," who, allegedly, also turned to the police in connection with the attack by hooligans shouting anti-Semitic slogans. Meanwhile, the Russian Courier newspaper is talking about 25-year-old Israeli citizen Eilie Fomiuk. It was he and his wife who were attacked by hooligans in the same underground passage two hours before the rabbi was beaten, as a FEOR representative told Interfax earlier.

Sources

• Moscow: MAGEN League president Rabbi Alexander Lakshin severely beaten in underpass // Portal-Credo.ru. 2005. January 16.
• Rabbi attacked in Moscow // Interfax. 2005. January 17th.
• The chief rabbi of Russia is outraged by the beating of his co-religionists in Moscow // There. January 18th.
• The Russian Jewish Congress demands to ensure the security of the community center in Maryina Roshcha // NEWSru.com. 2005. January 18. (With reference to Interfax.)
• Three suspects were detained in the attack on representatives of the Moscow Jewish Community Center // Interfax. 2005. January 20.
• Leonidova O. Drunk teenagers beat two rabbis // Russian courier. 2005. January 20.