Dutch police probe suspected arson after explosion at Rotterdam synagogue

Audio By Carbonatix

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion which caused a small fire at the entrance of a synagogue in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam early Friday is being treated as arson, police said.

No one was injured in the blaze that started around 3:40 a.m. (0240 GMT) and died down quickly, police said in a message on X that appealed for witnesses to come forward. No details about the nature of the explosive was given.

Police later said four teenagers had been detained in a car near another synagogue in Rotterdam.

A Jewish organization in the Netherlands said in a message on X that an Islamist group posted a video online of the Rotterdam explosion and said the same group had earlier claimed responsibility for a synagogue attack in the Belgian city of Liege in the early hours of Monday. The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified.

Lawmakers and Jewish organizations condemned what they described as an antisemitic attack.

“This is the physical manifestation of antisemitism: after words and threats, actions now follow,” Chanan Hertzberger, the chairman of the Central Jewish Council, said.

“Antisemitism is no longer a fringe phenomenon in the Netherlands; it is manifesting itself increasingly brazenly. Now even right up to the doors of our houses of worship,” Hertzberger added.

Justice and Security Minister David van Weel voiced support for the Jewish community.

“We must not tolerate antisemitism, intimidation, and violence,” he said on X, adding that Jews “must feel safe in the Netherlands.”

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran on Feb. 28.

The Rotterdam attack came a day after a naturalized U.S. citizen, who was born in Lebanon, crashed a vehicle into a synagogue in Michigan in what the FBI called an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who was armed with a rifle, was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel, in West Bloomfield Township, near Detroit. The synagogue’s staff, teachers and 140 children at an early childhood center were not injured.