Atop the Ashes of a Burnt Moscow Site, Ground is Broken for a New Synagogue

Russians, Israelis, Americans and Argentineans participated recently at groundbreaking ceremonies for an ambitious new building to replace a synagogue destroyed by fire late last year.

“Our goal is to create not just a synagogue but a community center,” said Rabbi Berel Lazar, the head rabbi of the synagogue, which is run by the Chabad movement of the Lubavitch Chasidim. “This is urgent, and we’re turning to Jewish people from all over the world for support.”

The Aug. 2 groundbreaking was attended by about 250 people, including Israeli Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Yisrael Lau; U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering; Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov; and Yaakov Elztain, an Argentincan entrepreneur who got his first business break in Russia and who has contributed about $1 million to a new building fund for the synagogue and community center.

The new building will rise from the site of the remains of the Marina Roscha Synagogue, which was built in 1926 and devastated by a fire late in December 1993.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. It is widely believed to have been caused by either arson or faulty wiring, but a final answer has not yet been provided by fire investigators.

“In the beginning, the city was trying not to have a fire investigation, but then there was pressure from abroad,” said Lazar. “Since then, the investigation has been going very slowly and with little result. The city feels that if they do too much investigating, it will bring out anti-Semitism” among members of the local community.

Lazar said the synagogue and community center, which he hopes will be completed within two years, will house a youth center, a gym and library, which will help attract young Jews.