“If rabbis in the U.S. and Europe continue to support the Aliyev regime, then we will burn synagogues in other countries” threatened the terror group
The only synagogue in the Armenian capital Yerevan was vandalized with spray paint and attacked with a Molotov cocktail, late Monday night.
There have been conflicting reports over the group responsible for the attack, with Azerbaijani media pinning it on the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), and Israeli media saying it was a group called Young Fighters for the Freedom of Armenia (YFFA).
The YFFA group stated the synagogue attack was “in retaliation to Israel and world Jewry’s support of Azerbaijan.” While ASALA said “Jews are sworn enemies of the Armenian state and the Armenian people.”
“Jews are the enemies of the Armenian people and the Jewish state sells weapons to the (Azerbaijani President) Aliyev regime,” wrote YFFA members in a statement posted on Telegram, according to the Israeli Kan Public Broadcaster.
“This is a warning, if rabbis in the U.S. and Europe continue to support the Aliyev regime, then we will burn synagogues in other countries,” the YFFA statement continued.
The ASALA statement also threatened synagogues worldwide, saying “this is a warning: Our successful operation on October 3 in Yerevan is just the beginning.”
In response, Yerevan’s small Jewish community said, “We must not give in to provocations aimed at stirring up conflict between Armenians and Jews,” as quoted by Kan.
“Now we must all mobilize to help the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh“, added the Jewish leaders.
Calling it a “provocation,” one of the leaders of the Armenian Jewish community said the incident was “a gift to the Azerbaijanis who maintain that there is anti-Semitism in Armenia.”
Today, Armenia’s Jewish population is estimated at around 200.