Firefighter (stock image)
Firefighter (stock image)iStock

A house in Monsey managed by a leader of the radical anti-Zionist Neturei Karta movement was destroyed in a fire Wednesday, Lohud reported.

The blaze broke out at around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday morning at 15 Old Nyack Turnpike, with firefighters called soon afterwards.

One person was reportedly sleeping in the house before the fire started, but the building was quickly evacuated without injuries. According to Yeshiva World News, however, one firefighter was injured.

The building was owned by Yeshivas Bais Yehudi, which is affiliated with the Neturei Karta movement, and is listed as being operated by Rabbi Dovid Feldman, a Neturei Karta leader.

Monsey Fire Chief Andrew Schlissel said the building had been kept in “very poor” condition, with boxes of anti-Israeli literature strewn across the floors and hallways, making it difficult for firefighters to operate inside.

"The general conditions of this house were very poor," Schlissel said. "The hallways were filled with boxes and very narrow. It was difficult for us to get through to fight the fire."

The fire left the building completely destroyed.

In 2007, another building operated by Yeshiva Bais Yehudi was also destroyed in a fire, which Neturei Karta attributed to arsonists trying to “stifle the opposition to Zionism”.