Vandals broke into the Siah Yisrael synagogue in Jerusalem Jan. 28, damaging Torah scrolls, walls and other Jewish ritual objects. Members of the synagogue found the items early Jan. 29 scattered across the floor.
“This morning we were shown a shocking case of the desecration of a synagogue and destruction of Torah Scrolls in Kiryat Yovel,” Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said in a statement. “This was a serious incident that is reminiscent of dark times of the Jewish people; we will not allow crimes like this to occur in our time.”
Photos obtained from the Jerusalem Post show the Torah scrolls dirty and dusty and a hole cut into the side of the art.
According to the JTA, the synagogue does not have any security cameras.
“I am shocked at the desecration of a synagogue in Jerusalem,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “The police must immediately find those responsible in order to bring them to justice.”
Israeli politician and former Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin, wrote on Twitter, hoping that the Israeli police find the people responsible and “bring them to justice.”
תמונות קשות ומכאיבות הבוקר מבית הכנסת בקרית יובל. אני בטוח שמשטרת ישראל תגיע אל מחלליו ותביאם לדין במהרה על מנת להבטיח כי מראות שכאלה לא ישנו. pic.twitter.com/OFi3lZxOHR
— ראובן (רובי) ריבלין (@ruvirivlin) January 29, 2019
The Jerusalem Post also reported that this attack comes after attacks on two synagogues in the central coastal city of Netanya. The Netan Ya Reform congregation was flooded on the night of Jan. 26 when unknown vandals broke in and placed a hose through it with the water running. Prayer books, furniture and building infrastructure was ruined by the water, which was knee-deep as of Jan 27.
The same weekend, prayer books were burned at the Orthodox synagogue McDonald International Shul (or New Synagogue) in Netanya, where the words “Hail Satan” were found graffitied on the wall.
“Two synagogues were vandalized in one week, the first in Netanya, and the second one – this morning in Jerusalem, our capital” Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein told The Jerusalem Post. “It happened here, in the Jewish state.”
