3 Arab men convicted of firebombing Swedish synagogue

Teens from the local Jewish community were attending a party inside the synagogue complex at the time of the attack.

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(JTA) — Three Arab men were convicted of the attempted arson of a synagogue in Sweden.

The three men — two Palestinians and a Syrian — were convicted and sentenced Monday in Gothenberg District Court. Two were sentenced to two years in prison and the third to 15 months.

They were part of a group of more than a dozen men who hurled firebombs in December at the Gothenburg synagogue hours after locals marched in the southern city against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Teens from the local Jewish community were attending a party inside the synagogue complex at the time.

One of the Palestinian attackers was a 22-year-old who had his asylum application rejected after the attack and will be deported after serving his prison sentence. The other two assailants had Swedish residency permits, according to The Associated Press.

The attack, which was classified as a hate crime, was caught on surveillance cameras, according to Aftonbladet. There was only minor damage to the building.

Following the attack, the teens waited for police and their parents in the synagogue basement for safety reasons.

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