UPDATE ON ATTACK ON MOSCOW SYNAGOGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 000262 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI RS SUBJECT: UPDATE ON ATTACK ON MOSCOW SYNAGOGUE REF: A. MOSCOW 152 ¶B. 05 MOSCOW 3190 Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. For reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. In the aftermath of the January 11 attack on a Chabad synagogue in Moscow (ref A),a prosecutor reported finding ammunition, a list of synagogues and nationalist literature in the home of the attacker. The prosecutor said the attacker was not a member of an extremist organization, although media quoted one source as saying that was not the case. Amidst disagreements about the need to strengthen legislation against extremism, the Duma planned to consider the issue. Visiting the synagogue for a prayer service on January 13, the Ambassador met with its chief rabbi, Itzaak Kogan, and other Jewish leaders. The Ambassador stressed that the USG is working on many levels to encourage the GOR to make strong statements condemning extremist activity and to more actively counter extremist sentiment in Russia. The fact that the prosecution has filed hate crime charges against the attacker is important, although civil society activists remain concerned that the GOR might eventually opt not to press those charges. END SUMMARY. . HATE CRIME CHARGES -------------- ¶2. (U) On January 13 Moscow City Prosecutor Anatoliy Zuyev confirmed that Aleksandr Koptsev, who attacked the synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya two days earlier, would be charged with crimes motivated by ethnic and religious hatred as well as other charges. Zuyev also announced that a search of Koptsev's home had uncovered ammunition, a list of synagogues, nationalist literature and "items with the Nazi symbol on them" in the attacker's apartment. Zuyev stated that the attacker was not a member of an extremist organization, although at least one press report cited an anonymous individual's claim that Koptsev was part of a Moscow extremist organization called Blood and Honor. That report is unconfirmed. ¶3. (C) Protestant Bishop Sergey Ryakhovskiy, a Public Chamber member, told us January 13 that he had been in contact with Berl Lazar, one of two Chief Rabbis of Russia, about ensuring that the prosecution would continue to press the hate crime charges. Ryakhovskiy said that he and Lazar, concerned that prosecutors might drop those charges and focus only on other charges, were considering asking a prominent legal rights NGO to track the case. ¶4. (U) Meanwhile, debate emerged over whether current legislation should be strengthened in response to the attack. Following Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov's January 12 comments that such a change in legislation might be necessary, Duma Security Committee Chair Vladimir Vasilyev argued that existing laws provided sufficient grounds to combat extremism. The issue was scheduled for discussion at a January 13 plenary session. . AMBASSADOR VISITS SYNAGOGUE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador visited the Chabad synagogue on January 13 to participate in a prayer service. He met with the synagogue's Chief Rabbi, Itzaak Kogan, as well as Rabbis Boruch Cunin and Yosef Aronov. Expressing the USG's sympathy to the victims of the attack, the Ambassador also said that he had raised our concern in meetings on January 12 with various GOR officials. He stressed that the USG would continue to strongly encourage the GOR not only to make high-level statements condemning extremism but also to work more actively to prevent future incidents. Kogan described to the Ambassador past attacks on the synagogue, as well as other attacks on Moscow's Jewish community. Cunin expressed hope that USG would actively address the issue with the GOR, and the Ambassador assured him that the USG was very engaged. ¶6. (SBU) Cunin took the opportunity to note his continued concern about the Schneerson Collection (ref B and previous). He noted that he hoped once more to mobilize the U.S. Congress on the issue. ¶7. (U) The Israeli Embassy in Moscow reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom expressed concern about the incident. An Israeli Embassy spokesperson also said that the Israeli Embassy "is waiting for the Russian authorities to take resolute measures to ensure the Jewish community's security." ¶8. (SBU) According to the press, police increased security at synagogues throughout Russia. The press also reported that following a meeting with Rabbi Lazar, law enforcement MOSCOW 00000262 002 OF 002 authorities took other steps to combat extremism, including improving the mechanism to track distribution of hate crime literature. Consulate Yekaterinburg reported that, according to the local press, police stepped up security at Yekaterinburg's synagogue. During the Ambassador's visit to the Chabad synagogue, there was no visible Russian police presence. COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) Although it is still unclear whether the attacker was a member of an extremist organization, it is increasingly clear that he read extremist material and expressed anti-Semitic sentiments. The prosecution's decision to pursue hate crime charges against the attacker is encouraging; civil society activists plan to track the case closely to ensure those charges are not dropped. The Foreign Ministry's January 11 statement about the incident, as well as Procurator General's Ustinov's commitment to personally oversee the case, was useful. BURNS