Fire at Monsey Synagogue Likely Not Arson

NK members facing their opponents in Monsey in January (photo: theyeshivaworld.com)

An air of suspicion still surrounds reports of a synagogue fire in Monsey, New York on Sunday evening, the eve of Passover, despite initial police reports that appear to rule out arson. The synagogue, Bais Yehuda, is home to members of Neturei Karta, the anti-Zionist hassidic sect now famous for sending a delegation to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's conference on the historicity of the Holocaust. These suspicions were not entirely unfounded given the expressions of rage, the ostracism and harassment that the incident provoked. Just take a look at the comments on Yeshiva World News' post to get a sense of how vitriolic this issue has become in religious communities.