Law enforcement launches dual investigation as perpetrators face up to seven years in prison.
By JNS
The Maribor Synagogue, Slovenia’s smallest public cultural institution and a medieval-era Jewish heritage site, was defaced with antisemitic graffiti on Sunday night, the European Jewish Congress quoted synagogue director Boris Hajdinjak as saying.
The vandals spray-painted messages such as “Jews are the evil of the world” and “Death to the Jews, Glory to Slovenia” on the national cultural monument. Law enforcement has initiated a dual investigation, treating the incident as both property damage of cultural importance and incitement to hatred.
Perpetrators face possible prison sentences of up to five years for damaging cultural property, and an additional two years for incitement to violence or intolerance, according to the statement. Initial assessments estimate damage costs at €1,500 ($1,545).
The European Jewish Congress believes that the perpetrators are neo-Nazis and said that this was not the first time the synagogue was attacked. The organization characterized the incident as part of an escalating pattern of antisemitic attacks targeting smaller Jewish communities across Europe.
German Ambassador to Slovenia Sylvia Groneick and the embassy in issued a formal condemnation through embassy channels on Wednesday. The embassy emphasized that the synagogue plays a critical role in preserving Slovenian Jewish heritage.
Hajdinjak, addressing the broader implications for Slovenian society, said that the attack targeted not only the Jewish community but “the nation as a whole.” He highlighted the synagogue’s status as one of a few preserved medieval synagogues in Europe.
Local authorities continue their investigation into the vandalism while the site maintains its operations as an active cultural center and historical preservation site.
The synagogue was first mentioned in 1354, and is thought to have been built sometime in the late 13th century. In 1497, the Jews of Maribor were expelled, and the synagogue was subsequently turned into a Catholic church.
In 1785, during the anticlerical reforms of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, the church was confiscated, deconsecrated and converted into a military warehouse.
The building opened in 2001 as a museum and cultural-exhibition venue devoted to the history of the Jewish community of Maribor and Slovenia.