Ulyanovsk – unknown persons tried to break into the Jewish community building, but after failing they defaced the front of the building: damage was caused to the signpost with the symbols of the Jewish community; a lamp of a memorial monument, the inauguration of which took place during the international 2011 festival of Jewish culture in Ulyanovsk was shattered.
The leader of the Jewish community Igor Devkerov, referred to the incident:
“Unfortunately, this was not the first attack on us. I am glad that this time no one got hurt and that it happened at a fairly ate hour, and that the children, who visit the community often, were not scared. It is sickening for me to talk about people who are capable of such despicable acts. A person that shatters a lamp is not just a hooligan that steals a light bulb in a staircase. For our community, this memorial is a national and religious symbol. It is especially dear to us because together with S.J. Morosov, Russia’ chief Rabbi, the spiritual leader of all the Jews in the country, Berl Lazar, participated in the opening of the memorial.
Those people, for whom defacement of the community signpost is an ideological position or some kind of a prank, don’t just break a panel with an inscription. Their actions hurt every Jew in our town: our elderly and or children, our young girls and mothers. It is very easy to spit on the community signpost, but to take responsibility and to understand that this is not just a stone wall but there are hundreds of people for whom the community is a second home – for this, I regret to say, the sense of the “night fighters” did not suffice. I am convinced that the culprits will be persecuted very shortly and hope that the law enforcement bodies and the public at large will treat the investigation of this event with the utmost seriousness.
