Some synagogues are more sacred than others

Many thanks to the person who sent me this link to the Hackney Gazette report set out below.

Jewish Conflict

AN orthodox Jewish synagogue in Stamford Hill has been attacked and vandalised - not by anti-semetic thugs, but by fellow Jews who regard its leaders' outspoken condemnation of Israel as a betrayal.

Rising tensions over the forced evictions by Israeli troops last month of Jewish settlers from occupied Palestinian territory as part of the Middle East peace process has sparked a backlash among Stamford Hill's orthodox Jewish community.

Windows at the synagogue in Alkham Road were smashed after bottles were hurled at them last Thursday evening and the front of the building was covered with red spray paint.

The synagogue belongs to Neturei Karta, an ultra-orthodox sect opposed to the Zionist political movement that established the state of Israel as a national homeland for Jews.

The sect claims that the concept of a sovereign Jewish state is contrary to the teachings of the torah (Jewish law) and has led to the bloodshed in the Middle East.

In recent years it has staged the public burning of the Israeli flag on street corners in Stamford Hill.

This isn't the first such incident by any means. Incidents like this contrast with the expressions of horror at the fact that Gaza's Palestinians destroyed synagogues as symbols of zionist oppression. They also belie the claim that Jews cannot destroy synagogues. But where was the Community Security Trust when it was needed?

Also posted to Lenin's Tomb