New York, NY, February 28, 1997...The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed shock at the apparent arson attack on Warsaw's only synagogue.

"In a city where the majority of the Jewish population was murdered by Nazis during World War II," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, "this apparent arson attack inflames the injuries of a community attempting to heal."

In a letter to the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Mr. Foxman said, "we appreciate your expression of sympathy and your rigorous condemnation of the attack and all acts of racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia" and "commend your firm assurances that such acts will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

ADL called on the government of Poland to make the investigation of this crime a priority and to ensure that the Polish Jewish community is properly protected. The League noted that the incident came just days after another Jewish institution in Warsaw had received a bomb threat.

Mr. Foxman said he was heartened by the condemnation of the attack and the outpouring of support for the Jewish community by politicians, Roman Catholic leaders and Polish citizens.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.