Four teens arrested in Rotterdam synagogue arson claimed by group that said it attacked in Belgium

JTA – Dutch police arrested four teenagers on Friday in connection with an overnight fire at a synagogue in the port city of Rotterdam. 

The fire took place at around 03:40, causing an explosion that damaged the entrance of the building, photos show. No injuries were reported, and the fire went out on its own, police said. 

Later in the day, after a description of suspects in the arson went out, police dispatched near another synagogue pulled over a car they said had been “driving erratically”. Recognising the driver as matching the description, they arrested the passengers in the car – four males aged between 14 and 17 from Tilburg, about an hour away. 

“The police are conducting a large-scale investigation into this serious incident,” the Rotterdam Police said in a statement. “It is not yet clear whether the suspects had plans to detonate an explosive or set fire to another synagogue as well.” 

A group calling itself the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right claimed responsibility for the attack in Rotterdam in a video published on social media. The group also claimed responsibility for an attack on Monday on a synagogue in Liège, Belgium. It also said it had conducted an attack on a “Zionist” in Greece, where no violence against Jewish sites has been publicly reported this week. 

The group was not known before this week. Investigators have not confirmed the authenticity of the videos, or whether there is a direct connection between the attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

But watchdogs have noted that the videos first circulated on channels associated with a network of terror groups associated with Iran. The Iranian regime warned when the United States and Israel assassinated its leader on 28 February that it would retaliate sharply against US and Israeli targets; it has a long track record of doing so in Europe and beyond. 

“If confirmed as linked to the same perpetrators, this would mark the third attack on a Jewish institution in Europe this week attributed to the group, following earlier incidents including the bombing targeting a synagogue in Liège,” the European Jewish Congress said in a statement following the Rotterdam arson. “The repeated claims raise serious concerns about a coordinated network targeting Jewish communities across Europe.” 

The arson came the morning after a man originally from Lebanon attacked a synagogue in Michigan, in the United States. Last week, three synagogues in Toronto were hit by gunfire; no-one has been arrested in those incidents. 

Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten condemned the attack in her city. 

“There is no place in Rotterdam for antisemitism, intimidation, violence, or hatred toward religious communities,” she told Dutch news agency ANP. 

And the chair of the Netherlands’ Jewish advocacy group the Central Jewish Council suggested in a statement that he had almost expected an attack. 

“This is the physical manifestation of antisemitism: after words and threats, actions now follow,” said Chanan Hertzberger. 

The synagogue’s chairperson, Chris den Hoedt, showcased the damage on the Dutch broadcaster NOD. “This is material damage. But the emotional damage our community feels is bigger and longer-lasting,” he said. Gesturing to the door, he added, “We can repair this, but not the rest.”