Synagogue

After the attempted arson attack on a London synagogue, communities remain determined that ‘building higher walls’ will not stem rising tide of antisemitism“How good and how wonderful it is when friends sit together,” reads a quote from the Psalms painted high on the wall inside Finchley Reform Synagogue (FRS). For the congregation gathering in a cheerful hubbub before its Shabbat service on Friday evening, that felt like an especially apt sentiment.Three days after the synagogue was the victim of an attempted firebombing, hundreds of members made an extra effort to get together in determined if slightly nervy solidarity, joined by guests including local politicians, other faith leaders, police officers – and one particularly special group of neighbours. Continue reading...

Woman, 47, and man, 46, held on suspicion of arson endangering life after attempted Finchley attackA 47-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life after an attempted attack on a synagogue in Finchley, north London, as part of an investigation into what the Metropolitan police described as an “antisemitic hate crime”.The force said the woman was arrested at an address in Watford just after 4.45pm on Wednesday, while the man was arrested at 7.15pm in the Watford area. Both suspects remain in police custody. Continue reading...

Met says incident in Finchely is being treated as antisemitic hate crimeTwo suspects who threw bottles thought to contain petrol in an attempted arson at a synagogue in Finchley, north London, are being sought by detectives, the Metropolitan police said, adding that the attack was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.More details soon …. Continue reading...

Ayman Ghazali, naturalized US citizen from Lebanon, often consumed content linked to Lebanese group onlineThe assailant who attacked a synagogue in Michigan earlier this month was inspired by Hezbollah, the FBI said on Monday.Jennifer Runyan, head of the FBI’s Detroit field office, announced during a press conference that Ayman Ghazali, 41, had frequently consumed Hezbollah-related content online before the attack. In a video recorded before he drove his truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township – a north-western suburb of Detroit – on 12 March, Ghazali said he wanted to “kill as many of them as I possibly can”. Continue reading...

Israeli military also says on social media brother of Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was ‘eliminated in airstrike last week’Israel’s military claimed on Sunday that the brother of the recent Michigan synagogue attacker was a Hezbollah commander responsible for managing weapons in a unit that has launched “hundreds of rockets toward Israeli civilians”.In a statement posted on X, the IDF claimed that Ibrahim Mohamad Ghazali – brother of Ayman Mohamad Ghazali – was a Hezbollah commander within a specialized branch of the Badr unit. Continue reading...

Jewish and Arab American leaders decry violence at Temple Israel, but US-Israel war on Iran complicates healingJewish and Arab American leaders across Detroit and the US strongly condemned the 12 March terrorist attack on a Michigan synagogue and largely aimed to lower tensions against the backdrop of the US and Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Iran.But in Michigan, where large populations of Arab Americans and Jews live near one another, the complexities of the situation can be difficult to grapple with – and few people had easy or quick answers on how to move forward. Continue reading...

The FBI is probing a targeted act of violence at a US synagogue, with police maintaining presence outside the site as investigations continue into Friday's incident. Officials describe it as an assault on the Jewish community amid heightened global tensions. No arrests reported yet, but authorities heightened security at religious sites nationwide. Community leaders call for swift justice, linking it to rising hate crimes.