Florida Chabad synagogue and community center set aflame in arson

The Florida Las Olas Chabad Jewish Center was ravaged by a fire in an act of arson early Saturday morning, causing damage to the synagogue, Hebrew school, and community center, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and Las Olas Chabad said.

Security footage showed a man placing what appeared to be a flammable substance into the grill of a minivan parked outside the center. The arsonist, in custody and identified by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department as Scott Hannaford, 50, had attempted to set fire to other objects outside the center, including what appeared to be an electrical box. Fire Rescue said on Saturday on social media that the fire leaped from the vehicle to the building.

Hannaford had come prepared with materials needed to commit arson, and it did not seem a crime of opportunity but a targeted attack, Las Olas Chabad codirector Rabbi Chaim Slavaticki told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. His belief was informed by previous interactions with the alleged arsonist.

“It’s not just an attack on the community, it’s an attack on the entire city and the Jewish people,” said Slavaticki.

Events that proceeded the fire

The Friday evening before the fire, the alleged arsonist had blocked the rabbi and his wife from entering an alleyway by the facility when they sought to park the car before Shabbat and a Hebrew School family dinner. Slavaticki said that the arsonist screamed at the rabbi and raised his middle finger.

The Chabad had negative interactions with Hannaford in the past, but Slavaticki said that while the center’s neighbors saw Hannaford around the area, they didn’t have such clashes with him. Consequently, Slavaticki personally believed that Hannaford was targeting the Jewish community.

FLPD said that based on the information it had at the time, the arson was an isolated incident and was not considered a hate crime. Hannaford was a transient suffering from mental illness and has been charged with arson, criminal mischief, and possession of cocaine.

Slavaticki said state law enforcement was still investigating the incident, and that despite his beliefs about the arson, he thought it was important to “let the professionals do their job.” The rabbi added that he was grateful for the support of the authorities and rescue services for their work.

The rabbi also thanked locals who saw the fire and called 911, saying that if they had not done so “it would have all been burned down.”

There were also minor miracles at play, according to the rabbi. The minivan was reduced to metal slag, but somehow a siddur, a prayer book, survived the inferno between two seats. The fire also damaged the kitchen in the building, but Slavaticki said it was a miracle the propane tanks didn’t explode.

The Jewish center said it was saddened that the center established 10 years ago was damaged, leaving no home for its various community projects. The building suffered smoke damage and on Monday was still unsuitable for habitation.

The Jewish community suffers a great loss

“The loss that we feel right now isn’t just a loss of property but a loss to all those who count on us,” said the Chabad center.

The Torah survived the fire, but a specialist is being brought in to repair smoke damage. Until the synagogue is safe, prayers are being held outside next to a wall set up to look like the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The Chabad center has two special projects in addition to a Hebrew school, with programming for special needs community members, and an organization for wounded and traumatized ex-IDF soldiers. A Purim event was set to be held in a community member’s house.

Going from celebrating a Friday night Hebrew school dinner for students and families, which the Las Olas Chabad said in a statement filled them with pride, to rising on Saturday morning to find their synagogue burning was horrifying. Slavaticki said he was awoken by people knocking on the door to tell him about the fire.

Yet despite the loss, Slavaticki said that they were “committed to do even more than before.”

“The community has really come together,” said the rabbi. “We are united and strong, and life will always prevail.”

Las Olas Chabad center did not have insurance because it didn’t own the building and is seeking to raise a million dollars through a fundraiser to rebuild the center.

“Despite the tremendous setback that this will cause, we will rebuild our home!” said the Chabad rabbi. 

Donations to the Las Olas Chabad center can be made through https://www.charidy.com/rebuildlasolas