Secular Jews Blamed for Synagogue Fire

An apparent attempt by militant secular Jews to burn down a Tel Aviv synagogue early Wednesday in retaliation for a campaign by Orthodox Jews of burning public bus shelters displaying swimsuit advertisements has heightened tensions between religious and secular Jews in Israel, prompting an emergency meeting of senior Cabinet ministers.

Police said that the Bnei Benjamin Synagogue in south Tel Aviv was damaged by a small fire ignited by a can of kerosene. They said a note found at the scene signed “People Against the Ultra-Orthodox” warned that one synagogue would be set ablaze for every public bus shelter destroyed by the religious Jews, who view the swimsuit advertisements as sexually provocative.

Books Damaged

The Associated Press, quoting Israeli army radio, said the sexton of the synagogue, Rahamim Meir, estimated the loss at $6,500 and said that religious books, chairs, the air conditioner and the roof were damaged.

David Sharabi, a caretaker who lives next to the synagogue, said he was awakened by a neighbor when the pre-dawn blaze began and extinguished it within minutes, the army radio reported.

An anonymous caller phoned the army radio station claiming responsibility for the attack. He said he had been among those who caught the synagogue’s rabbi, Shmuel Cohen, vandalizing bus shelters. Authorities did not say whether Cohen was suspected in the bus shelter vandalism.

Prime Minister Shimon Peres met with ministers involved in police and religious affairs to discuss the growing polarization between the two communities. An aide to Peres said the ministers agreed that the government should “take every possible means to end the violence from both sides,” and that stronger police measures will be recommended.

Peres said Wednesday night that the government will encourage pluralism in Israel, but that no one, “religious or nonreligious, will be permitted in this country to act outside of the framework of the law or against it.”

He added, “We shall try to make a double effort to stop violence, if necessary by force, to bring an accommodation without trying to quiet a single voice.”

While Peres was meeting with members of his Cabinet, political leaders expressed shock at the apparent arson directed by Jews at a synagogue, and they warned of an open secular-religious war. Israeli President Chaim Herzog said the arson attack was reminiscent of pre-World War II attacks on Jews in Europe, which motivated the founding of the Jewish state.

While telling a visiting delegation of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Brith that he hoped Wednesday’s attack was an isolated incident, Herzog added, “When you create an atmosphere in which lunatics can operate, then you have created a very dangerous atmosphere.”

Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek called the wave of attacks on bus shelters by ultra-Orthodox militants a “civil rebellion” and urged the government to take forceful action. “The rebellion can be put down as it would in any modern state,” Kollek said on state-run Israeli television, adding that security forces should deal with Orthodox extremists as forcefully as they do with Arabs.

Vandalism Charges

Kollek criticized the release Tuesday of 10 Orthodox Jews charged with vandalizing bus shelters. He said, “In my opinion, these people should be arrested and kept far away from Jerusalem, where their families cannot make things easier for them. They should have suitable punishment for the things they are doing.”

Six bus shelters in central Jerusalem were set afire early Tuesday, and seven near Haifa were burned early Wednesday. In recent weeks, more than 60 have been burned and more than a dozen Orthodox Jews have been arrested, although most have been released.