Arson attacks on synagogue and Jewish-owned shop in Swiss city of Lugano

A synagogue and a Jewish-owned clothing store in the southern Swiss city of Lugano erupted in flames early Monday morning in what police believe are connected cases of arson. An explosion ripped through a library at the back of Lugano's synagogue late Sunday night and the ensuing fire caused considerable damage. Shortly after midnight, a fire broke out at a clothing store, less than a kilometer from the synagogue, police said. Its owners are members of the Italian-speaking city's Jewish community. They suspect a connection between the fire in their shop and the earlier burning of the synagogue. An apartment in a neighboring suburb was also set alight, local police said, adding that all the fires were almost certainly caused deliberately. No one was injured in any of the incidents. Police suspect that the buildings were deliberately set ablaze because of the circumstances of the fires, they said. Some of the buildings had also been broken into. Elio Bollag, head of Lugano's Jewish community, said he was horrified by the attack on the synagogue, which was completely unexpected. It was the first arson attack on a Jewish institution in Switzerland in decades.