In what is believed to have been the first antisemitic attack in North Macedonia since World War II, the country’s only synagogue, in the capital city of Skopje, was targeted in an attempted arson attack Sunday, authorities said.
Photos from the Beth Yaakov Synagogue shared on social media show the synagogue’s door and courtyard charred by fire.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed two suspects climbing a fence, pouring fuel, and throwing a firebomb before fleeing. Police found a fuel canister at the scene, but have yet to identify suspects in the case.
The attack was quickly condemned by national figures and the Jewish community.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timco Mucunski said on X that the attack was “utterly unacceptable and strongly condemned.”
“There is no place for such acts in [North Macedonia]. An investigation is underway, and those responsible will be held accountable,” he wrote. “Our society stands firm on tolerance and multiethnic coexistence.”
???????? Skopje, North Macedonia, April 12, 2026: According to local reports, an arson attack targeted the entrance of a synagogue and Jewish community building early this morning.
Two individuals set fire to the door before fleeing. pic.twitter.com/DJBVSa7ax3
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) April 12, 2026
Israel’s Ambassador to North Macedonia Vivian Aisen said the attack “strikes at the very values of coexistence the Jewish community upholds.”
“I stand with the community and trust the authorities will act swiftly to bring those responsible to justice,” she posted on X.
Members of the country’s small Jewish community were outraged. “This act represents a serious attack not only on our community’s safety, but also on the principles of religious freedom, dignity, and peaceful coexistence that we have upheld for generations,” said Pepo Levi, the president of the Jewish community, in a statement shared by the World Jewish Congress.
“This incident reflects the continued vulnerability of Jewish sites in Europe, where places of worship and community life remain at risk,” the European Jewish Congress added. “Such acts seek to intimidate and disrupt Jewish presence.”
The Beth Yaakov Synagogue in Skopje, consecrated in 2000, is the only functioning Jewish house of worship in the Baltic country.
The country, with a total population of some 1.8 million people, has only about 200 Jews, with nearly all of them based in Skopje. Before the Holocaust, the country had nearly 8,000 Jews and five synagogues in Bitola, and some 3,000 Jews in Skopje, according to the World Jewish Congress.
In 1943, almost all of Macedonia’s Jews were deported to Treblinka, and about 98 percent of its population was murdered.
Belgian police conduct their investigation outside a synagogue that was his by a blast overnight in Liege, Belgium, March 9, 2026. (John Thys/AFP)
Synagogues have increasingly been the target of vandalism attacks as antisemitism has skyrocketed in communities around the world. In recent months, there have been incidents in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States. In Australia, there have been several incidents of synagogue arson in recent years, including a December 2024 attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne.
