Three arrested for Molotov cocktail attack on synagogue in Sweden

Three people have been arrested after attacking a synagogue with Molotov cocktails in Sweden.

Police in the southern city of Gothenburg said they arrested three 20-year-old men on suspicion of attempted arson following the incident shortly after 10pm on Saturday.

The synagogue was open for a youth event at the time of the incident and around 20 to 30 people, including children, were believed to be inside.

One mother whose child was at the event said the group was forced to flee to the basement to escape when 20 masked men reportedly started “throwing burning objects”.

She said: “They ordered the young people to run down to the basement. My daughter says that it smells of gasoline. It is very unpleasant. We’ve been worried that something like this could happen.

“I received an SMS from her 20-30 minutes ago. She wrote ‘Mum, I’m starting to get scared’, and that 20 masked men were throwing burning objects.”

There were no reported injuries during the attack and guards had been hired to protect the event.

Dvir Maoz, a youth leader at the local Jewish Assembly, who was at the synagogue told the Expressen newspaper: “I was there to say hello to everyone when I suddenly saw a fireball come flying in the corner of the eye. I immediately realised that it was an attack”.

He said he alerted a guard who helped him take the children to the basement where he tried to keep them calm.

“They were afraid, none of them have experienced an attack before. We were there until about 11:30pm - when the police told us it was safe for us to leave”, he added.

A spokesperson for the Jewish Community in Gothenburg said: “There was a strong fire in the yard, but then it rained and the flames went out quickly”.

Although the motive for the attack has not been confirmed it follows other antisemitic incidents in Malmo and Stockholm.

In Malmo, on the Danish border, antisemitic chants were heard at a rally to protest against Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital while protesters set fire to the Israeli flag at a similar demo in Stockholm.