Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Social media
This civilian site in Ukraine was hit by a Russian Shahed-136 drone strike in 2022
(JNS) — A historic synagogue in Odessa, Ukraine, was damaged in a Russian drone attack this week when a direct hit caused the shul to catch fire.
Russia launched a swarm of Shahed suicide drones at the port city overnight Monday, sparking massive blazes and inflicting significant damage to civilian buildings. No injuries were reported.
The Jewish community condemned the attack, which occurred a day after Jews observed the fast of Tisha B’Av.
The Old Peresip Synagogue (also known as the Nahalat Eliezer Synagogue) was built in 1898 following the growth of Odessa’s Jewish community along with the city’s growing economy and rise in cultural prominence.
The synagogue closed in 1920, reopened in 1954, and was the city’s only active synagogue until 1989. Much of the synagogue was already in ruins, following the collapse of its sanctuary in 1992.
“Just one day after mourning the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, we now mourn a new and painful destruction — the severe damage to the Peresyp Synagogue in Odessa,” lamented Chief Rabbi of Odessa Shlomo Bakst, according to Ynet.
“Although it hasn’t been in regular use in recent years, it stood for generations as a house of prayer, memory and sanctity, housing ancient scrolls and holy books. Its destruction is a wound to our community and our heritage,” Bakst said.
Rabbi Refael Kruskal, deputy president of the Jewish Community of Odessa and CEO of the Tikva Organization, said, “When a house of worship is attacked, I expect the entire world to denounce such cruelty. Indiscriminate violence targeting religious sites and innocent civilians crosses a moral red line — one that has been violated repeatedly. It must stop. Our communities, our children and our sacred institutions deserve protection, not destruction,” Ynet reported.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, was quoted in the report as saying: “I join the unequivocal condemnations voiced by the leaders of the Jewish community in Odesa.
“This is a violent act that occurred at a chilling moment — immediately after Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. The targeting of an ancient house of prayer is not a random incident — it is further proof of the destructive nature of Russian aggression, aimed not only at Ukraine but also at its civilian population and Jewish communities,” Goldschmidt said.
The Russo-Ukrainian War has raged since 2022, when Moscow invaded its neighbor.
Russia has maintained a significant albeit reduced military presence in Syria, where Israel repeatedly acted militarily, going after terrorists and weapons shipments. Although Moscow has also been a key supplier of arms to Iran, Israel has no interest in antagonizing Russia.
Israeli-Ukrainian ties have recently warmed, with Kyiv announcing on July 24 the recognition of the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman as a national heritage site, a decision that is expected to lead to increased security at the site for Jewish worshippers.
A day earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, marking the most senior Israeli diplomatic visit to Ukraine since early 2023.
“We discussed the importance of tightening bilateral relations between our nations, the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran,” Sa’ar wrote on social media about the meeting, which he said was “good and friendly.”
According to the World Jewish Congress, Ukraine is home to the fourth-largest Jewish community in Europe and the 11th-largest in the world, with about 45,000 self-identified Jews.
