A bottle containing a flammable substance was hurled at a synagogue in Warsaw on Wednesday, police said, prompting condemnation from Polish political leaders.
Polish President Andrzej Duda called the attack "shameful". "There is no place for antisemitism in Poland! There is no place for hatred in Poland!" he said on X.
Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich told Reuters that nobody was hurt in the incident, which took place around 1 am (2300 GMT on Tuesday). Police said they had not yet established a motive for the attack.
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![Damage to the outer wall of a Warsaw synagogue after a firebomb was hurled at it (Photo: Israeli embassy in Poland ) הנזק שנגרם לבית הכנסת](https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/picserver5/crop_images/2024/05/01/r17m1jJfC/r17m1jJfC_0_167_1600_901_0_x-large.jpg)
![Damage to the outer wall of a Warsaw synagogue after a firebomb was hurled at it (Photo: Israeli embassy in Poland ) הנזק שנגרם לבית הכנסת](https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/picserver5/crop_images/2024/05/01/r17m1jJfC/r17m1jJfC_0_167_1600_901_0_x-large.jpg)
Damage to the outer wall of a Warsaw synagogue after a firebomb was hurled at it
(Photo: Israeli embassy in Poland )
Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since war erupted in Gaza last October following an attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants and Israel's subsequent military offensive.
"We were informed overnight about an incident involving a bottle containing a flammable liquid being thrown onto synagogue grounds," a police spokesperson said.
Schudrich said the incident had left marks on the building, adding further details would be made available during a meeting with local, national and church officials later on Wednesday.
Images on social media showed what appeared to be burn marks on an outer wall of the synagogue building, next to a window.
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![Damage to the outer wall of a Warsaw synagogue after a firebomb was hurled at it (Photo: Sergei Gapon / AFP) הנזק למבנה החיצוני של בית הכנסת](https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/picserver5/crop_images/2024/05/01/SyeFJbokGC/SyeFJbokGC_0_313_3000_1688_0_x-large.jpg)
![Damage to the outer wall of a Warsaw synagogue after a firebomb was hurled at it (Photo: Sergei Gapon / AFP) הנזק למבנה החיצוני של בית הכנסת](https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/picserver5/crop_images/2024/05/01/SyeFJbokGC/SyeFJbokGC_0_313_3000_1688_0_x-large.jpg)
Damage to the outer wall of a Warsaw synagogue after a firebomb was hurled at it
(Photo: Sergei Gapon / AFP)
Israel's ambassador to Poland, Yacov Livne, said the synagogue was the only one in Warsaw to have survived World War Two and the Holocaust. "Outrageous antisemitic attacks such as this cannot be tolerated today. The perpetrators must be found and punished," Livne wrote on X.
Polish President Andrzej Duda called the attack "shameful". "There is no place for anti-Semitism in Poland! There is no place for hatred in Poland!" he said on X.