(JEWISH GROUP) Rome synagogue and plaque memorializing terror victim vandalized

The walls of a Rome synagogue and a plaque dedicated to the memory of a two-year-old victim of terrorism were vandalized, Italian Jewish organizations reported on Monday.

The memorial plaque commemorating Michael Stefano Gaj Taché, on the wall of the Beth Michael Synagogue, was defaced with black spray paint, according to photographs shared by the Jewish Community of Rome, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and the Union of Young Jews of Italy.

The toddler was murdered in an October 9, 1982, terrorist attack on the Great Synagogue of Rome by Palestinian terrorists associated with the Abu Nidal group. According to The New York Times, the attackers threw grenades and fired submachine guns at worshipers as they left Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret services, wounding 34.

“Free Palestine” was spray-painted nearby, on the wall of the Monteverde Vecchio neighborhood’s synagogue.

Jewish Community of Rome president Victor Fadlun said in a video statement that the community had confidence in the police, but the desecration of the memorial and synagogue came amid a “climate of intimidation” and “antisemitism in general.”

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