Terrorists Burn Shul in Armenia, Calls Chabad ‘Espionage Net’

The synagogue “Mordechai Navi”, situated in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, was burned on November 15th. The perpetrators of the attack – Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) terrorist group published an antisemitic statement, proclaiming that the synagogue is the center of Chabad, “which entangled most countries of the world in its web”. Using old antisemitic tropes, the terrorists claim that the Chabad “masters are based in the United States and in occupied Palestine. From there all Chabad agents receive instructions”.

This is the second ASALA’s attack on the synagogue in the last two months. The first one was “motivated” by the close relations between Israel and Azerbaijan, the second arson is a “reaction” to the Israel’s operation in Gaza. “This second operation was carried out in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements against Zionism”, the statement says. ASALA also announced its new threat: “if the armed attacks of the Zionist regime on the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem and the seizure of the property of the Armenian Church do not stop, our next operation will be outside Armenia”. This alludes to the situation in Jerusalem where the Israeli company has leased the Armenian Patriarchy land to build a hotel.

After the first attack on the synagogue Armenian government proclaimed it will protect the Jewish community. But the guards and cameras in the vicinity of the building did nothing to stop the terrorists.

ASALA has a long history of alliance with Palestinian factions in Lebanon – PLO and later PFLP. They have trained together and together fought against Israel.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora the level of antisemitism in Armenia is raising radically. It might be influenced by the Iranians, who consider Armenia its close ally.