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Chief Rabbi of Vinnytsia Attacked

23.09.2008, [10:06] // Jewish Communities //

Vinnytsia— Shaul Horovits, Chief Rabbi of the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, and his three-year-old son were attacked by a group shouting “Heil Hitler!” reported the Agency of Jewish News. RISU’s Ukrainian-language web page posted this story on 18 September, 2008.
The rabbi told the Jewish net portal that about 200 guests gathered for his son’s birthday. The Rabbi, his son and a guest from Canada came out of the house to buy a telephone card.

“We walked in the street, my friend from Canada wore traditional Chasidic cloths. Suddenly, shouts and anti-Semitic mottoes were heard. A group of young people shouted: ‘We will kill all the Jews!’ and ‘Heil Hitler!’ I wanted to protect my son, for he is very little, but they gave him a slap on the face. They also beat the guest from Canada,” said Horovits.

According to Horovits, bystanders did not help him but fled the scene. Horovits said only a man driving a Jeep stopped to help. After the incident, the Rabbi saw a police patrol and submitted an official complaint. The police arrested the youngsters immediately.

“We are not talking about drunk or crazy people. The youngsters looked absolutely normal. They just hate the Jews. It ended happily for us, because people in the Jeep helped us. We have lived here for 6 years and this is the first time this has happened,” Horovits said.

The mayor contacted the Rabbi and promised that the attackers would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The Jewish population in Vinnytsia numbers four thousand.

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