A mass brawl occurred near the Moscow Choral Synagogue on the evening of March 20. Several people were attacked as they were leaving the synagogue, witnesses told Beware the News.
In the video posted by the Telegram channel, shouts can be heard: “What is happening to the Russian world?” And “One Russian for every Kitay-Gorod.” An eyewitness reported that one of the attackers threatened to “stab” the person leaving the synagogue. He added that after the fighting, “the attackers headed toward the metro.”
One eyewitness said: “Then I spoke to those who were attacked. The people who left the synagogue were attacked because they were wearing the skullcap. Maybe it is related to the war in Iran.”
The press service of the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow reported on March 21 that police had received a report of a fight near the synagogue on Bolshoi Spasoglenishevsky Street, but by the time the squad reached the synagogue, “the participants in the incident had left the scene.”
“At the moment, practical search activities are being carried out to identify and detain participants in the illegal action. Their actions will be evaluated in accordance with the law,” the Moscow police press service said.
Alexander Brod, a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) and a member of the Presidium of the Council on Interethnic Relations, told TASS that he would approach the leadership of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow with a call for a speedy investigation into the incident. “Armed national conflicts abroad should not have a negative impact on the peoples of Russia and should not provoke strife,” he said, adding that “not all Jews in Russia and Israel approve of the actions of the United States and Israel in the Middle East.”