TAJIKISTAN: UNKNOWN ASSAILANT SETS SYNAGOGUE ON FIRE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 001621 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/ICI/CI, DS/IP/SCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/29/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC KIRF KDEM TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: UNKNOWN ASSAILANT SETS SYNAGOGUE ON FIRE REF: DUSHANBE 986 DUSHANBE 00001621 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: THUSHEK, CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, STATE, STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) SECRET/NOFORN SIPDIS ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: An unknown assailant set Dushanbe's synagogue on fire August 18 by throwing a Molotov cocktail through a first floor window. Fortunately, a neighbor sounded the alarm and the fire was put out before it was able to spread and engulf the entire building. Dushanbe's Fire Department has officially acknowledged that the fire was deliberate and will investigate. In the days leading up to the fire, a series of strangers visiting the synagogue and a break-in at the rabbi's residence indicate the fire may have been well-planned and orchestrated by an undeclared group. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) According to Rabbi Mikhail Abdurahmonov, on Friday, August 18 at 10:00 pm, an unknown person or possibly a group of people walked up to Dushanbe's only synagogue, snuck behind a protective wall and threw a Molotov cocktail (a bottle with fuel and packed with paper lit on fire) through a window into a small prayer room. The bottle broke the window, completely burned the curtains, charred a large section of the prayer room's wall and damaged a table and chair. Fortunately, a vigilant neighbor, alarmed by his dog's barking, alerted synagogue officials and authorities. The fire department put out the fire and stopped it from spreading. Synagogue members had finished Friday night prayers earlier in the evening at approximately 9:00 pm and left the room vacant. Friday night is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath and prayers are always held after sunset. No one was hurt. ¶3. (C) Police and fire department officials investigated the fire the same night and returned three days later to assess the damages. They have officially concluded the fire was a deliberate act and not an accident, but have no leads on who is responsible for the fire. According to the congregation's rabbi, officials also told him not to tell anyone about the fire, explaining that nothing should ruin the government's Independence Day celebrations, planned for September 8-9. No media reported the news and post may never have known about the incident, had an American citizen not visited the synagogue August 17. ¶4. (C) Police promised to investigate the fire, but have no leads yet. Several days prior to the incident, police went door-to-door in the neighborhood occupied by several Jewish residents, and told them to beware of suspicious packages lying around. They warned that some people may try to cause problems leading up to Tajik Independence Day, September 9. Specifically, they instructed Rabbi Abdurahmonov to refuse entry to any strangers into the synagogue, even if they claim to be Jewish. EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FIRE ¶5. (C) Several days prior to the fire, someone broke into Abdurahmonov's residence, locked his dog up in a small room and broke a window. Nothing was stolen from his house. The rabbi said the break-in was designed to intimidate him. ¶6. (C) Rabbi Adburahmonov informed EmbOffs of a series of visitors to the synagogue in the weeks before the fire. The first suspicious visitor was a Tajik male who asked detailed questions about the building's layout and prayer times. He DUSHANBE 00001621 002.2 OF 003 attempted to take photographs of the synagogue, but when confronted by synagogue staff, he claimed to be a journalist. When asked for his documents, he ran away. ¶7. (C) The second visit involved two Tajik men and one male who the rabbi presumed to be "a foreigner." The staff, noticing the third male had a darker complexion than the average Tajik, asked where he was from. The two men replied jokingly that he was from Lebanon. The third male did not speak during the visit, so his origins could not be determined. They were interested in the layout of the synagogue, times of prayer, and entered the small prayer room that was later the site of the fire asking about it. ¶8. (C) A third visit was by a stranger asking for Gourevitch's phone number. Gourevitch is a rabbi based in Tashkent who has been attempting to assist the Dushanbe synagogue resolve its forced relocation problem with the government (reftel). In a small town where the rabbi knows everyone in the Jewish community, and strangers rarely visit the synagogue, suspicious visitors stick out. ¶9. (C) Concerned about future attacks, members of the synagogue community now guard the building on a 24-hour basis. In Abdurahmonov's years at the synagogue, this is the first act of vandalism that he can recall. ¶10. (C) COMMENT: Up to this point, Tajikistan's population overall has not overtly displayed feelings or acts of anti-Semitism. Conspiracy theories from locals include a response to the events between Israel and Lebanon and an action by the GOTI in order to more quickly move the synagogue out of the neighborhood where the new Presidential Palace is being built (REFTEL). ¶11. (C) It is doubtful the fire is related to the land dispute between the government and the synagogue, as the issue has been going on for years. Knowing that the international community keeps a watchful eye on the synagogue, government officials would not want to risk an international religious freedom incident prior to Tajikistan's Independence Day or the November presidential election. ¶12. (C) the series of visits prior to the fire by strange men indicate an organized group may have conducted pre-operational surveillance of the site and planned the fire. The motivation for setting the synagogue on fire is unclear. Typically, if the act were politically motivated, for example to protest Israel's attacks in Lebanon, the perpetrator would have issued a public statement, or made his goals clear. ¶13. (S/NF) The GOTI's response to this event is equally puzzling. The Ministry of Security (MB) would normally investigate acts of terrorism, political violence, or any possible threat in the lead-up to Independence Day. Not wanting to publicize such an event before Independence Day is in line with the Tajik way of doing business, but this does not explain the MB's failure to investigate this case. It is possible that a low-level Fire Department official made the decision independently believing it to be consistent with the GOTI's desire to keep events such as this out of the public eye. ¶14. (C) Although a week has passed without additional incidents, the activity leading up to the fire shows a pattern consistent with a terrorist operational cycle: pre-operational surveillance, planning, rehearsal, attack, and escape. This one incident shows that the small Jewish community in Tajikistan may need to be more vigilant in case these same individuals are DUSHANBE 00001621 003.2 OF 003 planning to carry out additional attacks. Likewise, the Embassy will remain vigilant concerning the overall security climate and our own safety in Tajikistan. END COMMENT.HUSHEK