The attacker, a drunk 20-year-old skinhead, entered the Lubavitch Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue in the Russian capital, and began slashing worshipers with his knife. The attack occured as the worshipers were preparing for evening prayers.
Six people were lightly wounded - eight, according to some reports - including an American and two non-Jews.
Yossi Kogan, son of the congregation's rabbi, Yitzchak Kogan - who lived in Israel for several years - said that the attacker first stabbed the guard and then started stabbing congregation members in another room. "I heard yells, and I ran over there and jumped on him, until guards came and handcuffed him," Yitzchak said. His shirt was blood-stained, though he was not seriously hurt.
Other witnesses said the attacker had yelled out Hitler's name and, "I have come to kill Jews!"
Russia's Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar cut short his visit to Israel and returned to Russia following the attack. In an official statement, Rabbi Lazar said the attack was "a consequence of militant and unpunished anti-Semitism and open propaganda of extremism and fascism for which no one has ever been brought to justice... It’s here. It is fascism."
Many other official Jewish and Russian bodies expressed shock and outrage at the attack. Anti-Semitism in Russia is widely felt to be on the rise. An Israeli government report has ranked Russia third, after France and Britain, in instances of anti-Semitic violence.
In 1999, an attempted bombing of the same Moscow synagogue was thwarted when a young boy accidentally discovered the bomb. The building was crowded with children at the time.
The lone Israeli who was wounded in the attack, 19-year-old Aharon Yechezkeli of Kiryat Malachi, was originally listed in serious condition after having been stabbed in the neck. He underwent an operation, however, and his life is no longer in danger. A 34-year-old Los Angeles rabbi, Michoel Mishulovin, who had recently returned to Russia, was stabbed in the stomach and hand, and underwent surgery last night.
A statement by Russian Jewish Congress President Vyacheslav Kantor reads, "The incident causes more than just pain and indignation. Blood spilled in the very center of Moscow is another alarming signal for Russian society. The danger of militant nationalism cannot be overlooked... [Modern Russia does not have] a state policy of anti-Semitism, yet there is engrained domestic and political anti-Semitism. The indifference of law enforcement agencies is no less dangerous."