(JTA) — No charges will be filed against an anti-Semitic mob that tore down a menorah in Moldova.
The prosecutor’s office in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau said it has found no evidence that a crime was committed, according to a report Wednesday by Jewish.ru, reported UCSJ: The Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union.
On Dec. 13, a group of about 200 fundamentalist Orthodox Christians chanted anti-Semitic slogans led by a bearded priest as it removed a large, metal menorah that had been set up in downtown Europe Square, and placed it upside down on Stefan cel Mare Square, at the base of a statue of King Stephen the Great. Neither police nor onlookers intervened.
A video clip of the incident, which clearly shows the faces of many of the participants, was posted on YouTube as well as on many other Internet sites.
Incitement to racial and religious hatred in Moldova is subject to a fine or imprisonment of up to three years.
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