Desecrations in Greece, arson in Germany

In Greece, a Holocaust memorial on the island of Rhodes has been damaged by unknown assailants:

The unidentified vandals used a heavy object in their attempt to smash the Magen David on one façade of the granite-made Rhodes monument, which was damaged and cracked.

In letters to the Justice Minister, the Board expressed the outrage and the concern of the Greek Jewry about the increasing number of anti-Semitic incidents in the country, urging all competent authorities and democratic citizens to react firmly against the phenomenon.

Last week, a Jewish cemetery in Salonica (Thessaloniki) was desecrated with neo-Nazi slogans and graves were damaged with molotov cocktails:

On the early morning of Friday, May 14th 2010 persons belonging to the nationalist/neonazi area, attacked the new Jewish Cemetery of Salonica (Thessaloniki). Besides the spraying of graffiti with stock antisemitic slogans like Juden Raus, Burn the Jews, Sieg Heil, Hitler and the depiction of the nazi swastika and the number 88 which is linked to the SS, they attempted to destroy  the jewish tombs using molotov cocktails as incendiary devices. Fortunately the damage inflicted was light, besides the graffiti filling the exterior walls and the walls of the auxiliary buildings inside the cemetery.

Three neo-Nazis have been arrested for the attack.

In Worms, Germany, a synagogue has fortunately escaped serious damage after an arson attack on Sunday:

Jewish institutions in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz are receiving increased protection following an arson attack on the synagogue in Worms.

Fires reportedly were set Sunday night at eight spots around the synagogue, which is one of the oldest in Germany, dating back to the year 1034. The Fire Department quickly extinguished the flames.

There was some damage; no one was injured.

Police reported finding eight copies of a letter at the scene that read, "Until you give the Palestinians peace, we will not give you peace."

According to a report on the Web site of Dom Radio, police could not confirm whether the letters had anything to do with the actual attack. The Associated Press reported that the letters were written in "bad German," suggesting that the perpetrator or perpetrators were of foreign background.

Political and religious leaders reacted with shock to news of the attack. State Prime Minister Kurt Beck of the Social Democratic Party told reporters that "an attack against a Jewish house of worship is crossing the line" and he vowed to use "all legal means to pursue" those responsible.